ECOWAS and Sub-Regional Integration in West Africa: An Appraisal
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Date
2015
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Covenant University Journal of Politics and International Affairs
Abstract
Regional integration is viewed as a veritable means of leveraging comparative advantage within a common market for the purpose of promoting trade growth and development. It is the recognition of the inevitable role of trade to stimulate rapid socio-economic cum political development that spurs countries within West African sub-region to establish the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In the last four decades of its existence, the community has been able to achieve remarkable progress in some areas. ECOWAS has remained united, even though it has been reduced from sixteen to fifteen members with the exit of Mauritania. Nevertheless, the organization can pride itself as the largest regional grouping in Africa. It has also demonstrated a measure of effectiveness in matters of security and conflict resolution by the establishment of ECOMOG and only recently, ECOWAS leaders also called for synergized actions against Boko Haram by accepting the establishment of the Multinational Joint Task Force as well as the commitment demonstrated by Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad in the fight against the terrorist group. The methodology adopted for the study is qualitative. Therefore, the main thrust of the paper is to examine such areas that are beneficial to members of the community. Of particular importance are issues of trade, technology, investment, and free flow of ideas and movement of persons within the sub-Region that permit the congruence of a large single market which make possible comparative advantage and economics of scale. ECOWAS has not really progressed beyond resolution and treaties in these areas. As a result, the community has to battle with the exiguous internal market and the fact that all the countries of the community are almost producing the same product. The community’s problems are worsened by globalization which it has to contend with and giving the fact that the economies of majority of members are fragile and incapable of competing with more sophisticated products brought in by the liberalization of the market, and so the paper further to assesses the benefits accruing to these countries from trade direction, and development-based infrastructures such as energy, communication, industries among others in the face of their dependent posture in the globalized world.
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Adeola, G. L. and Fayomi, O. (2015). ECOWAS and Sub-Regional Integration in West Africa: An Appraisal. Covenant University Journal of Politics and International Affairs. 3(1); 29-30.