BURKINA FASO SEEKS BILATERAL TALKS WITH NIGERIA

BURKINA FASO SEEKS BILATERAL TALKS WITH NIGERIA

Burkina Faso has formally proposed a bilateral session with Nigeria to review cooperation and reset ties. The proposal came when Nigeria’s new ambassador to Burkina Faso, Syndoph Endoni, presented his credentials in Ouagadougou on Friday.

The two neighbours have had a rocky relationship.

Tensions have been high since Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger left ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Nigeria, as ECOWAS’s leading power, imposed sanctions on the breakaway states. Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, once warned that his country was ready to fight and accused ECOWAS of causing thousands of deaths through sanctions.

There have been other flashpoints. In December 2025, Burkina Faso detained 11 Nigerian Air Force personnel after their aircraft made an emergency landing. In August 2026, the AES rejected President Bola Tinubu’s claim that insecurity in the Sahel was worsening Nigeria’s security challenges.

Now both sides are trying to reset.

Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Marie Traoré, said the two countries share the same history, the same people, and the same enemy. He announced the proposed bilateral session to review cooperation and explore new prospects.

Ambassador Endoni conveyed President Tinubu’s appreciation and pledged to work in a spirit of brotherhood.

The two countries have already started cooperating on digital infrastructure. Nigeria is exploring new fibre routes through Niger and Benin that could reduce internet costs in landlocked Burkina Faso by up to 50 percent.

A bilateral session could turn recent friction into renewed engagement centred on security, mutual respect, and regional stability.

Tinubu blamed the Sahel for Nigeria’s insecurity. Burkina Faso said the four countries face the same enemy. Now they are talking.

What will come out of these talks, and how will it reshape security in the region.