Nigeria, Feb. 2 -- Wednesday 28th January marked the expiration of the six-month grace period the Economic Community of West African States gave to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, who unilaterally left the organisation to create a rival Alliance of Sahelian States in September 2024. As with other international organisations, states are sovereign, and membership in these bodies is as voluntary as their withdrawal. As such, what is left of the erstwhile 15-member bloc and its leadership under Nigeria's president, Bola Tinubu, should simply let the departing members be without bending over backwards to get them to remain. The advocated fait accompli should be seen as a product of the organisation's failure to forge an identity of its own, ins...