Military regimes in the West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso had what many called a “Brexit” moment in January, when they severed ties from the regional alliance known as the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS. Now their militaries are uniting in an effort to jointly fight Islamist militants, as Leeds Beckett University lecturer Olayinka Ajala explains to The World’s Carolyn Beeler.