By Danjuma Amodu | March 15, 2026
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memunatu Ibrahima, has emphasized that education is the strategic backbone of West Africa’s integration aspirations.
Ibrahima stated this at the closing of a joint meeting on reinforcing curricular alignment with the socio-economic needs of the sub-region in Lome, Togo.
“The future of our young population depends not only on the process of education, but also on the relevance of this education for agriculture, technology, the transformative industry, renewable energies, creative industries, entrepreneurship, and regional value chains,” Ibrahima said.
She stressed that ECOWAS must prioritize education to achieve its integration goals, saying, “If ECOWAS intends to be more than a geographical space, our greatest investment must be in the minds and capacities of our people. Because, after all, it is not the borders that define integration, it is the ability of our citizens to shape a prosperous future.”
The meeting, themed “Strengthening Curriculum Alignment with Socio-Economic Needs of the ECOWAS Region,” brought together committees on education, science, culture, health, telecommunications, and information technology.
Ibrahima urged member states to align curricula with labour market needs, emphasizing digital literacy, research, and innovation. She also highlighted the need for inclusivity, ensuring women, girls, and marginalized groups are not left behind.
“An aligned curriculum must be inclusive. Distinguished members, ladies and gentlemen, integration is not an abstract concept. It happens when a graduate from a Member State can contribute with confidence to the economic growth when the education developed in a country is expanded throughout the region, when education stimulates economics and economics stimulates prosperity,” she said.
The ECOWAS Parliament pledges to support educational reforms, supervision, and harmonization to transform education in the sub-region. Ibrahima warned that the future of West Africa depends on decisions made today in classrooms, parliaments, and institutions.
She concluded, “Together we will build a scenario in which education drives innovation. Innovation drives productivity and productivity drives shared prosperity.”
