Colombian drug traffickers financed the re-election campaign of President João Bernardo Vieira in Guinea-Bissau in 2005. But the growing narcotics problem in West Africa - with an estimated 2.5 million consumers - has not received adequate attention globally.

Several countries in West Africa are currently undergoing constitutional review processes. As these processes progress, taking different forms in each country, all involved must remain mindful that the true purpose of a constitution is to uphold the will and the rights of the country’s citizens.