DOI: 10.36349/sokotojh.2022.v11i01.004
AFRICAN UNION AND THE CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF NIGERIA AND NIGER REPUBLIC
AMBALI Rasheed
Department
of Political Science, School of Arts and Social
Sciences, Kwara State College of Education,
Ilorin.
akanbi107@gmail.com
08052233679
&
IBRAHEEM
O. Salawu
Department of Politics and Governance, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria. ibrahimsalus@gmail.com 08054148183
Abstract
Nigeria and Niger Republic have for a long time been in strong economic
relation which appeared to have been contributing
immensely in the development and improvement of the two countries as they shared common frontier in the West
African sub-region. The duo engaged in economic relation that involved exchange
of commodities ranging
from farm produce
to manufactured goods respectively.
To a very large extent the two countries could be said to depend on each other
for food supply and satisfaction of
other economic and social needs. Indeed, most Niger goods pass through Nigerian ports for imports and exports.
However, in spite of this long term economic relations between them, they are yet to find an enduring solutions towards
sustaining and developing their economies.
Premised on the foregoing, this paper examines African Union and the challenges
of economic integration and
development in two West African countries of Nigeria and Niger republic. The aim is to identify the various
challenges faced by the African union integration agenda in the economic
integration and development of Nigeria and Niger republic.
The paper adopted
qualitative method with the use of documented data to gather relevant
information and thematic analysis and
researcher reflexivity to analyze the qualitative data collected. It observed
that lack of political will; poor infrastructure;
security issues and minimal intra-regional trade among others are some of the challenges hindering
effective integration and development between Nigeria and Niger on one hand and African countries by
extension. The paper concludes that for effective integration and
development the aforementioned problem area must
be effectively tackled.
Key words: African Union, Integration, Challenges, Economic Integration, Economic
Development.
Introduction
Over the
years, Africa has been deeply engaged in the integration project, the
motivating factors for regionalism
particularly between developed and developing nations are not the same. For
instance, Africa has adopted regional
integration as a development strategy since 1960s mainly because of its potential socio-economic benefits. The
desires for a reasonable level of political and economic independence, and the high welfare
expectations of the people, have been considered as primary
reasons for
the creation of regional economic and political organizations on the African
continent. Evidence of this can be
found in the guiding objectives of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at its formation in 1963, which
according to Mangwende (1984) include but not limited to the promotion of African unity; the
achievement of a better life for the people of Africa; the promotion of international cooperation having due regard to the charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These objectives later transformed into the Lagos plan of action adopted at the April 1980 summit,
which was designed to boost economic development and the integration of African economies by, in particular,
recommending regional groupings and food self-sufficiency.
This was later replaced by the Abuja Treaty in June 1991 which established the African Economic Community. The treaty was
said to have envisaged in particular the creation, within a period of 30 years, of an African common market, a
parliament, a central bank and monetary
fund. Following the transformation of OAU to AU in 2002, the organization was
equally saddled with the
responsibility of accelerating and deepening the process of economic and
political integration on the
continent. Its founding act envisages bodies and institutions inspired in
particular by the model of the
European Union (The Africa-EU
Partnership: 2013). More importantly, as contained in Article 3(c) of the AU Constitutive Act, the
organization aim to accelerate the political
and socio-economic integration of the continent
while Article 3(e) stated that, AU has it as part of its
objective to encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the
charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, Article 3(j) has it that
the AU will promote sustainable
development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.
Article 3(k) promotes cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African
peoples (Constitutive Act of the African Union). Not only that African agenda 2063 also envisaged an
integrated continent politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa‘s Renaissance.
Consequent upon the attainment of independence
by most African countries, the desire to create super-national institutions
became necessary. This was
because, leaders in Africa
were anxious about multifaceted challenges of governance within the continent, particularly, the need to eliminate
the remaining part of colonialism so as to promote the principle
of self-determination and engender the establishment of truly sovereign states that would be free from all forms of
external interference. And to also unite different
independence states in Africa as a tool to achieving internally motivated development. Hence, the establishment of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963 to serve as the much
needed African super-national organization.
In a lecture delivered at ACARTSOD Tripoli,
Libya in (2002) Abdalla opines
that, the OAU was not formed in a vacuum. Its creation
according to the author was the culmination of a long struggle by Pan-Africanist, a struggle which was
said to have dated back to the 19th Century, with primary motive of promoting unity, solidarity and
international cooperation among the newly independent African states. The organization did provide both practical
resources and political force needed for countries in their struggle
against colonization and championed the fight against
the apartheid regime in South Africa. Notably, the OAU
did make significant efforts towards the goal of regional economic integration. One of such was the
famous Lagos Plan launched in 1985 and the adoption of the treaty establishing the African Economic Community (AEC),
also known as the Abuja treaty in 1991.
These were aimed at promoting continental unity through harmonized economic and
security policies within Africa‘s
Regional Economic Communities (REC). Although this was one motivation for the establishment of the OAU, severe limitations and constraints within the organization prevented it from effectively delivering on its mandate, hence,
its dissolution and succession by the African
Union in 2002. With the establishment of the AU, there were
high expectations that the new
body would be a force for better change
in Africa and an effective instrument for combating
Africa‘s multifaceted challenges in the new millennium. However, it is almost six decades (59 years) after the creation of the OAU and
two decades (20 years) after the transformation of OAU to the AU,
the continent is yet to adequately address
its multifaceted developmental
challenges.
Nigeria and
Niger Republic share a common land boundary which covers over thousand
kilometers. Going by historical
records, the two West African countries were colonial creation of Britain and France respectively which was born out of
series of negations, treaties and conquests during the first decade of the 20thCentury. By
1960, the two countries got their political
independence and have since exchange diplomatic missions and entered into various bilateral relations
which border on trade,
industry, culture, education and politics
with a view to improving the
socio-economic and political life of
the citizenry. The duo established the Nigeria- Niger Joint Commission for cooperation in March, 1971 as a strategy
towards promoting their socio-economic development. However, one of the perceived major problems to effective trade
and integration in most Regional Economic
Commissions is lack of political will. This is because some countries resist
liberalization and tend toward protectionist
policies to protect trade. Manifestation of this can be seen in the August 19, 2019 pronouncement by Nigeria
government to close her land border. The closure seems to have generated issues between Nigeria and her neighbours
(including Niger republic) and to that extent
been criticized by them. Their criticism of Nigeria policy was based on the
existing Free Trade Agreement in the
sub region and the continent at large (to which Nigeria is a signatory) which seeks to eliminate restrictions on trade
among African countries. The AU African Continental Free Trade Area‘s objectives is to create a single continental market
for goods and services and expand intra-African
trade across the Regional Economic Communities and African continent by
extension. Although, Article 26 of
the Protocol on Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes permits states to take certain restrictive
measures so as to ensure compliance with their own local laws and Article 27 of the same Protocol permits
restriction on the basis of security but members are not expected to apply the measures
arbitrarily to cause unjustifiable discrimination between state parties(Bola, 2019 and the African Union Commission 2016).
Amidst the foregoing
scenario on how the AU hope to realize its
integration agenda particularly as it affects Nigeria and Niger republic remain a serious challenge and a
major concern for this paper. Premised on the foregoing, the paper examines African Union and the challenges of economic
integration and development in two
West African countries of Nigeria and Niger republic. To realize this
objective, the paper is sub-divided into five sections.
Section one introduces and gives the background information. Section two reviews the works of previous
scholars in the study area. Methodology and discussion of results are contained in sections
three and four respectively while the conclusion as well as recommendations is contained in section five of the paper.
Literature Review and Conceptual and Clarification
This section
focuses on a review of some important concepts that are related to the research
topic. These among others include; development,
integration, economic development and integration.
The Concept of Development
Development
like many other concepts in social sciences is very complex, and has been
viewed differently by scholars across disciplines. The conception and interpretation of each of the scholars
is to a large extent influenced by the orientations of their individual disciplines.
Development of a nation in the
opinion of Reginard, (1983) cited in Raji, (2014), is to a larger extent
depends on efficient management of resources which involved the ability of the nation to have the capacity
to
identify much
of the available resources within its jurisdiction, and the economic
opportunities for their optimal use.
This, according to the author, involves some knowledge of the stock inventory
of these resources and the ability to
give a concrete control analysis over them in terms of their optimum application and effectiveness. As contained in Oladele (2005), Hirst and
Peters posited that development
suggests changes of an irreversible nature through time, the direction of which
is characteristic of that which
develops. Walter Rodney (1972) cited in Okonette (2006), opined that, it is wrong to absolutize development. Hence, the author relates it with another
concept of underdevelopment. He however argued that
underdevelopment cannot be understood in isolation. It must be conceptualized as a means of comparing
levels of developments. Moreover, underdevelopment according
to Rodney is not synonymous with absence of development but admitted
the possibility of relating the concept to other aspect of life such as
physical, mental and others. In the
author‘s view every people have developed in one way or another and to a
greater or lesser extent,
underdevelopment makes sense only as a means of comparing levels of
development. It is very much tied to
the fact that human social development has been uneven and from a strictly economic view-point some human groups have
advanced further by producing more and becoming wealthy.
Rodney also
views development as a multi-lateral process. It is conceived within the context
of the capacity for independently
increasing ability by a people to live a more satisfactory life by way of exploitation of the resources of nature. The author emphasizes the universality of development given
that where ever man was he increasingly responded to challenges posed by nature
and steadily overcome them and
moved to a higher standard of living. On why different people developed at different rate when left on their own, he stated ―part of the answer lies on the environment in which human group evolved and part of it lies on the superstructures of human society‖
(cited in Okonette:286). Superstructure here refers
to social relations, forms of government, legal system, pattern of behavior and belief systems or ideology. In line with
Rodney‘s view of development, Osagie
(1995) cited in Lawal (2005) opined that development is a more inclusive
concept with its social, political
and economic facets. It is the qualitative and quantitative positive
transformation of the lives
of a people that does not only enhance their material well-being but also ensures
their social well-being
including the restoration of human dignity. It then means that development goes beyond economic indicators. Todaro (1989)
cited in Ogwu (2002) differentiate three core values of development. The first core value according to the author is the
ability to provide as many people as possible
with their basic needs or the ability to
acquire adequate food, shelter, healthcare and
protection. The second value revolves around the perception of
individuals or groups of self-worth and
esteem as a respected member of society. The third value is that of freedom in
the sense that individuals and
society at large have an expanded range of choice, not only with respect to the material necessities for self-reproduction
but also in their ability to have a say in, if not determine, the method
and process by which values are
allocated in the society.
Olusola (2020)
perceived development to be a gradual growth
of something so that it becomes strong and more advanced. A nation
according to the author is said to develop when she has many industries and a very strong economic
status. Whereas, a nation is classified as developing when she is poor and is trying to make its
industry and economic system more advanced and strong by maximizing and appropriating every available national and
international opportunities. The author however, noted that there are social and religious vices that may not allow the needed values to work and thereby impeding national
development. National development in the opinion of the author manifests from two axis, the upper and lower. The upper being the national leaders
who may
be doing all they know for national development but may fail in their efforts if there is no complementary effort on the part of the
citizens which constitute the lower axis. As cited in Alo (2005), Seers (1969) opined that in
consideration of development in a society, three pertinent questions
must be asked; and these in his opinion are; what has been happening
to poverty, unemployment and inequality? In his
word, if poverty, unemployment, inequality in any society has been reduced to the barest minimum
regardless of the volume of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in such society, the society can be described
as developed. If on the contrary, the volume of GDP is increasing with poverty, unemployment and inequality at a very
high level, then such a society is underdeveloped.
In different African states; from Nigeria to Niger, inequality, unemployment
and poverty are common features. The GDP
and per-capital income is nothing
to be proud about compared
to the more industrialized West. By this analysis, Africa is a continent of
developing states. Based on the
foregoing therefore, development is conceived in the context of this paper as a multi-dimensional process involving the
political, economic and social spheres of life of a people. It deals with the general welfare of the
entire population of a state; the capacity of the political system to coordinate its affairs with little or
no interference from external force(s), the level of social integration of the people, most especially
in a plural society and of course the
degree at which people are patriotic
about the state. However, the focus
here is on those issues, which for the past several years have
hindered Africa‘s developmental aspirations.
Economic Development
Economic
development remains the primary objective of the majority of the world‘s
nations. The most crucial social task
facing every government is how to raise the well-being and socio-economic capabilities of people. To this effect,
government regularly disburses aid, undertook investments, frame policies and made plans towards
achieving this goal, or at least to get closer to it. Economists sometimes
attribute the state of material
well-being of a nation to its per capita gross national income
(GNI): the per person value of income earned by the people of a country over a given year or the Gross Domestic Product, GDP,
which restricts itself to domestically produced income, and ignores net income received from other countries,
such as dividends, interest or repatriated profits. However, it has been further
argued that economic
development cannot be identified, in a definitional sense, with the level or
growth of per capita income. It is perhaps universally accepted that development is not just about income,
although income (economic
wealth, more generally)
has a great deal to do with
it. It is really a belief about the world, which is that the universal features
of economic development—health, life
expectancy, literacy, and so on— follow in some natural way from the growth of per capita income,
perhaps with the passage of time. Implicit here is a belief in the power of aggregate economic forces to
positively affect every other socio-economic outcome that we want to associate with development. The concept of
development has been traditionally associated
with economic development, but more recently it has evolved to encompass both
social and economic development. In this integrated perspective, economic development is initially viewed as an engine for social development
with several positive effects on economic progress at later stages. Although the concept of social development is
inclusive of economic development, it differs
from it in the sense that it emphasizes societal development at all levels of
economic, political, social, and
cultural aspects (Gore, 1973 cited in Shamsun, 2014). In order to solve social problems,
planned comprehensive social
change like social
development is not enough, rather
economic and cultural
efforts at national
and international levels are needed.
Therefore, development in this
context revolves around sustainable growth, poverty reduction, environmental protection, institutional transformation,
gender equity and human rights protection. It also involves the upward movement
of the entire social system in a society, i.e. the attainment of a number
of
ideas such as
a rise in productivity, knowledge, just institution and liberating attitudes.
It entails provision of basic needs
such as food, education, health, safe drinking water and shelter which usually
is a function of continuing involvement of each individual in the social and material
condition of his/her existence as a virtue.
Integration
The earliest trace of ―functionalism‖ here referred to as integration may be seen in the writings of David Mitrany (1943) and in the
utterances of a statesman, Jean Monnet, who was said to have advanced the argument of a peaceful,
unified and co-operative world. The advocates were said to have discovered the cause of international tensions
and conflicts in the crudely
organized international
system, looked at the national exclusivism and arbitrary fragmentation of the
world as an outdated and a dangerous legacy
of the pre-industrial age. The traditional doctrine of sovereignty and any form of aggressive and
chauvinistic nationalism becomes a matter of aversion for the functionalists and as a solution to the
war prone mentality of the world states, they optimistically lay emphasis on the need for regional
co-operation and integration of the states
that would naturally give way to the emergence of a new and war free world. More
importantly, the theory and practice of
international integration developed by David Mitrany, is said to have its roots
in the nineteenth century concept of
welfare cooperation. Such cooperation was conceived as a means to reduce the likelihood of wars among nations. It
largely was the vision of Saint-Simon, who looked beyond the concept of laissez-faire and pleaded for welfare cooperation among nations to
satisfy basic human needs. Thus he
provided the link between lasting peace and the satisfaction of basic human
needs (David; 1943). Some writers
of international political
theory as Karl Deutsch, E.Hass,
Leon Lindberg and Stuart
Scheingold have picked up threads to develop the idea of ―integration‖ to denote either a process towards or
an end-product of political unification among separate national units. Since they have taken a cue from
functionalism, their integration theory should be taken as a developed
form of the idea of ―functionalism‖ cited in Johari
(2013).
Integration as
a concept in contemporary sense comprises both a process of cooperation among states and institutions and a set of theories
about that process.
Integration theory desires
the integration of two or more
states to form a new and larger entity for defending themselves as well as for contributing to the situation of
world peace. As cited in Johari (2013) Deutsch argues that integration is the attainment within a
territory of a sense of community and of institutions and practices
strong and widespread enough to assure, for a long time, dependable expectation of peaceful
change among its population while Ernest Hass in
his own, sees integration as the tendency towards the voluntary creation
of larger political units, each of which self-consciously eschews
the use of force in the relations
between the participating units and groups.
Joshua (2003:379) defines
international integration as ―the process by which supranational institutions replace national ones – the gradual
shifting upwards of sovereignty from state to regional or global structures‖. The foregoing suggests that
the integration theory desires regional integration for the sake of international peace and security based on the consideration of
supra-nationality. Through this
process, the states in the form of international actors would be expected to
voluntarily give up certain sovereign
powers and evolve new techniques for tackling common problems. This theory challenged the foundation of realism,
which relied strongly on state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Economic Integration
Economic
integration is said to be mainly a post-War phenomenon, as Machulp (1977) has
observed that no subject index of
any book in international economics prior to 1953 contains the entry integration and it was with the Marshal
Plan for the reconstruction of Europe that the term came into official use. Economic integration
theory was said to have been developed by the liberal economic thinkers and preceded the theory of
political integration developed by the political scientists such as Ernst Haas and Leon Lindberg. Integration
was conceived in two ways: either as a process or as a goal. Balessa (1969) defines economic integration as a process
and as a state of affairs. In the liberal economic
thought, as pointed out by El-Agraa, the international economic integration is
mainly treated as concerned with the removal
of all trade impediments between
the participating nations
and with the establishment of certain elements of cooperation and
coordination between them. The economic
integration was seen more as a process whose goal was considered the
establishment of a political union. The minimum requirement of economic integration was considered as the removal
of all the unnecessary and unnatural restrictions which hindered to free
trade, because free trade was conceived
as the key indicator of economic integration. Economic integration as described
in Mark and Steve (2009) is
interpreted to mean market integration and said to imply the process by which the economic barriers against exchange of
goods, services, capital and people between two or more countries are eliminated or reduced. The process is said to
start with a Preferential Trade Area (PTA), followed
by a Free Trade Area (FTA), moved to a Customs Union and Common Markets and terminated at Economic and Political
Union. Maiyaki, (2017) sees economic integration as an aggregate of the desire of nation-states to garner their
resources together for the purposes of gaining
comparative advantages within the region. The end product of economic
integration as emphasized, encourages
specialization, improves resource allocation and enhances industrialization
through joint production of goods
and services, as well as protection against adverse developments in world markets.
African Union
and the Challenges of Economic Integration and
Development
Nigeria and
Niger have been in strong economic relation for a long time which appeared to
have been contributing immensely in
the development and improvement of the two countries as they shared common frontier in the West African
sub-region. The duo engaged in economic relation that involved exchange of commodities ranging from farm produce to
manufactured goods respectively. To a
very large extent the two countries could be said to depend on each other for
food supply and satisfaction of other
economic and social needs. Indeed, most Niger goods pass through Nigeria ports for imports and exports. However, in
spite of this long time economic relations between them, they are yet to find an enduring solutions towards sustaining
and developing their economies. It has been
established in the introduction section that the motivating factor for regionalism
and economic integration in Africa is
for the unity of African nations in order to achieve large markets for themselves, reap the benefits of economies
of scale, and attain a coherent political cooperation. These benefits notwithstanding, regionalism and economic
integration in Africa has often been plagued
with several challenges. Some of these challenges as it affect Nigeria and
Niger relation in particular and
Africa nations in general include;
lack of political will, the underdeveloped nature of infrastructure on
the continent, security issues, and minimal
intra-regional trade among others.
One of the
major challenges before the African Union is the political will of the
governments and peoples of Africa.
This has always been a problem to effective trade and integration in most Regional Economic Commissions and
manifests itself in the behavior of some countries to resist liberalization and move towards
protectionist policies to protect trade.
It would be recalled that
among the
problems that prevented the defunct OAU from effective performance is lack of
political will on the part of African
leaders to translate regional plans into national policies and actions. As cited in Dayo (2002) Amoako opined that:
The lack of
sustained political commitment to put in place agreed policies and plans has been one of Africa‘s major shortcoming, and in the context of the African
Union, this is an issue that needs to be addressed (Dayo: 2002:99).
African leaders
usually are quick to sign treaties establishing institutions for the
achievement of specific objectives,
but they do not always take the necessary steps to ensure that these
institutions work effectively in the
interest of the people. The implication of this is that, if African countries cannot abide by a consensus reached by
themselves after discussions, then we may not achieve the unity necessary and needed to propel the
African Union. Manifestation of this can be seen in the August 19, 2019 pronouncement by Nigeria government to close her
land border. The government closed
its border against its neighbours in a bid to stem rampant smuggling across the
border, and perhaps the exportation
of insurgency. The closure seems to have generated issues between Nigeria and her neighbours (including Niger
republic) and to that extent been criticized by them. Their criticism of Nigeria policy was based on the existing Free Trade Agreement in the sub region and the
continent at large (to which Nigeria is a signatory) which seeks to eliminate
restrictions on trade among African
countries. The AU African Continental Free Trade Area‘s objectives is to create
a single continental market for goods
and services and expand intra-African trade across the Regional Economic Communities and African continent
by extension. Although, Article 26 of the Protocol on Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes permits
states to take certain restrictive measures so as to ensure compliance with their own local laws
and Article 27 of the same Protocol permits
restriction on the basis of security but members are not expected to apply the
measures arbitrarily to cause
unjustifiable discrimination between state parties. The border closure,
although justified (evidence has revealed
a deleterious impact on not just local food production, but also the growth of cross-border transactions of legitimate businesses), was in defiance of both AU Constitutive
Act and ECOWAS treaties on trade liberalization and freedom of movement. Amidst the foregoing scenario, how the AU hope to
realize its integration agenda particularly as it affects Nigeria
and Niger republic remains a serious challenge.
The underdeveloped nature of infrastructure on the continent
also begs for solution; lack of adequate infrastructure by way of roads,
energy, power, rail, telecommunications and other links for the facilitation of the free movement of
goods, capital, services and persons, including the right of residence. The situation is caused by weak
productive and industrial sectors in the two countries and the sub region at large due to poor
infrastructural conditions. This contradicts the objective to promote
sustainable development at the economic,
social and cultural
levels as well as the integration
of African economies stipulated in Article 3(j) of the Union‘s Constitutive
Act. The level of infrastructural
development in Nigeria is not encouraging; an economy that runs on generating sets and ever increasing diesel prices obviously
cannot compete within the sub regional market not to talk of the continent. In term of infrastructure, Nigeria
appears to be clearly unprepared for the led protective AU Common Tariff and that
of ECOWAS in the sub region which is one of the key pre-requisites for economic integration of the continent.
Removing the tariff shield in the present high
operating cost situation will stifle manufacturing operation in Nigeria. This
situation is also applicable to Niger
republic, thus complicating the integration process. Niger republic for example depends
on Lagos for most containers
heading to the country and due to the absence
of a rail line,
containers
take up to two weeks from Lagos to Niger and vice-versa by road. Free movement
of people, capital, goods and other
factors is imperative to the smooth functioning of regionalism and economic integration, as with integrated
economies, people have to be able to move easily from one place (economy) to the other, with no
structural impediments. A developed transport system is a sine–qua-non
for economies to operate efficiently, enhancing trade by minimizing cost
and time of moving people and goods
to where there are jobs and markets. The landlocked status of Niger republic, bureaucracy, difficult Customs
arrangements, and poor transport infrastructure, among others, account for the country‘s high transportation costs.
According to the 2021 report of African Development
Bank, the transportation problems in Africa is said to result in lower
intra-African trade and thereby
posing a serious problem and almost consumes the integration dream in the continent.
However, the
current development in the sub region and between the two countries gives hope.
As reported in Daily Trust Abuja,
February, 2021, a 2013 USAID baseline study on the LAKAJI (Lagos-Kano- Jibiya) corridor showed that
it costs over $3000 and takes approximately 12.5 days to send a 20-foot container from Jibiya in northern Nigeria to
Lagos in the southwest. Conversely, it costs
nearly $5,000 and takes approximately 19.5 days to ship a 20 –foot container
from Lagos to Jibiya. The high cost
of transporting goods along the corridor is largely due to the lengthy
clearance time and associated cost at
the Lagos port. The overall cost and delivery times along the Lagos- Kano-Jibiya corridor are significantly
greater than similar corridors in West Africa. The foregoing made the USAID to suggest the construction
of rail network to link Lagos to Jibiya bearing in mind the huge economic activities along the LAKAJI corridor. The
organization thus suggested the construction
of a rail track linking Nigeria, a country with massive port activities, to the
Niger republic, a landlocked country.
Consequent up on this, the government of Nigeria has since begun the construction of the rail line. During his official
state visit to Nigerian President
at the presidential villa, Abuja, the Niger leader Mohammed Bazoum
commended the Nigeria government for
approving the sum of $1.96 billion rail project. The 284 kilometer rail project
will connect Kano in Nigeria to
Maradi in Niger republic. The project was believed to be crucial to rail development
in Nigeria and in the West African
sub-region. It was being executed
by Mota-Engil Group, a multinational engineering, and
construction company. The approval of the project was given at the federal executive council in September
2020 and began in February 2021. The project, with 15 stations along the corridor, is expected to boost socio-economic
activities in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa
states in Nigeria, as well as Maradi in Niger republic. Bazoum said that the
project is an infrastructure that will integrate
the economies of Nigeria and Niger. He said that he was in Abuja
to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts at ensuring that the
project has taken off and hoped it will be sustained because
the project will radically change
the trading exchange
between the two countries
(The Premium Times 1st April 2022). It is hoped that when completed,
the project would boost regional
trade and end the plight of manufacturers and traders along the corridor by reducing
freight cost from Lagos to
other parts of the country.
Conflicts present
another important challenge
that is hindering regionalism and economic integration and development in Africa.
Regionalism and economic integration can be attained in an environment of peaceful co-existence among
and within countries in a given sub-region. It is very difficult for countries to be fully integrated when they still
engage in conflicts. Currently, Nigeria and
the Niger republic, and by extension, the sub-region is battling terrorism and
internal security challenges due to
activities of Boko Haram in North-Western Nigeria, Niger, and at the Cameroon border and banditry.
The implication of these conflicts
is that the affected countries
will continue to
divert their scarce
resources to the purchase of arms and ammunition, which can only bring further destruction, rather than focus on priority
areas of social and economic development. These conflicts apart from fostering
disunity also scare away investors
and thus compound
Africa‘s underdevelopment. The AU must intensify its effort in this regard
in order to promote peace,
security and stability on the continent as contained in Article 3 (f) of
the constitutive Act. According to
Obasanjo (2003) cited in (Raji 2014), the former Nigeria president, in his
explanation of the crisis and
problem of development in Africa opined that African continent remains the
world‘s enduring development
challenge, world‘s most highly indebted region, where poverty is endemic,
pervasive and deep, where conflicts
and socio-political crisis still remain a recurring feature, a region being ravaged by AIDS and tropical diseases. He
concluded that the foregoing represents the feature of African society in spite of almost half a century of independence. The situation in Africa today is not too different from what was
obtainable 19 years ago when the former president made his assertion. In fact, statistical evidences
in contemporary African countries show that the situation is far worse
today.
The National
Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that 133 million Nigerians are
multidimensionally poor. In the
latest Multidimensional Poverty Index report launched in Abuja the federal
capital territory of Nigeria, on the
17th November 2022, the NBS said that 63% of Nigerians were poor due to a lack of access to health,
education, living standards, employment and security. The index is said to offer a multivariant form of poverty
assessment, identifying deprivations across health, education, living standard, work and shocks. The
CEO of the Bureau and the Statistician General of the Federation, Semiu Adeniran, said that, this was the first time
the NBS, would conduct a standard multidimensional
poverty survey in Nigeria. The survey was said to be the largest in its series
with a sample size of over 56,610
people in 109 senatorial districts in the 36 states of Nigeria and was implemented in 2021 to 2022. The survey added
a fourth dimension of work and shocks which
make a difference with the global MPI (multidimensional poverty
index) which uses three dimensions. (health, education and living standards). The 133 million
poor Nigerians recorded
by the NBS was said to have
exceeded the World Bank‘s proportion for Nigeria. In a press release by the NBS on 17 November 2022 in Abuja
titled: Nigeria Launches its most extensive National measures of multidimensional poverty. The survey was a
collaborative effort between the NBS, the National
Social Safety- Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations
Children‘s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As said earlier, the survey
sampled over 56,000 households across
the 36 states of the federation and FCT, and was conducted between November
2021 and February 2022. The National
MPI is said to be 0.257, which indicate that poor people in Nigeria experience just over one- quarter of all possible
deprivations. Over half of the Nigeria population are multidimensionally poor
and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations are also said to be
apparent nationally in sanitation, time to health care, food insecurity, and housing. The report
further indicated that 40.1% of people are poor according to the 2018/2019 National Monetary Poverty Line,
and 63% are multidimensionally poor according to the National MPI 2022. Multidimensional poverty is said to be higher
in rural areas, where 72% of people are poor,
compared to 42% of people in urban
areas (Punch online 18/11/2022).
In the case of
Niger republic, the country is said to be one of the poorest countries in the
world with population of about 24.21
million people. Over the years, the country‘s situation has only worsened as the humanitarian context grows more
dire due to insecurity, hunger, the climate crisis, and COVID-19. About 3.8 million
people are said to require humanitarian assistance, 42.9% in
poverty,
earning less
than $1.90 per day with 83% of the population living in rural areas and 20%
could not meet basic daily food and
nutrition needs, average life expectancy in the country is put at 62.4 years.
Despite relative peace for years, the landlocked country of Niger is fighting a
virtual war against poverty and
hunger. Forced migration is said to have contributed to the high poverty levels especially since 82% of Nigeriens earn
their income from farming and livestock; livelihoods easily lost when people are forced to relocate.
In 2021, the United Nations rated Niger the least developed country in the world (closely followed by
the Central African Republic, Chad, Burundi, and South Sudan). Currently, the World Bank considers the deteriorating
security condition to be one of the three main causes of poverty in Niger. The face of poverty in the country
is said to be overwhelmingly female, with girls and
women representing an estimated 75% of Nigeriens living below the poverty line. Social inequalities between the roles
and responsibilities of men and women in
society fuel disparities that very quickly become economic hardships. All of
these elements make the cycle of
poverty even more difficult to break for millions of Nigeriens living on less
than $1.90 per day (Concern Worldwide
US Inc. 2022). What the foregoing statistics suggest is that previous efforts
at developing Africa by its
leaders, has achieved insignificant success.
Minimal
intra-regional trade continues to be a challenge to regionalism and economic
integration and development in
Africa. Trade among countries in regional and economic groups is relevant to the development of the region.
Intra-regional trade is said to contribute positively to the widening of the markets; has a high capacity of
creating jobs and speedy investment and growth; and has the ability
to position countries
to take advantage of even greater trade
with countries outside
the region. In spite of
these potential benefits, African countries have not made enough efforts to enhance intra-regional trade. Trade
creation, trade diversion, and economies of scale form the basis of regionalism and economic integration
among countries. However, the situation on the ground is that intra African trade is conducted at a very insignificant
level. This has become an obstacle in view
of the fact that many African countries are still being financed by their
former colonial masters and conduct
more trade with them than with each other. Daniel and Eric Evans (2014)
justified this assertion in their
study on Regionalism and Economic Integration in Africa: A Conceptual and Theoretical Perspective. The authors
observed that the 2009 report of the African Development Bank shows that the continent has a substantial amount of oil
and gas resource that, if exploited strategically,
can help boost growth within it. As contained in their study, Africa is said to
have approximately 124 billion
barrels of oil reserve, an estimated 100 billion barrels awaiting discovery offshore, and some 509 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas reserves. The study further revealed that out of the 54 African countries, several of them are either oil producing
or in the process of becoming oil producers. Keen interest in the oil
and gas industry according to the study has attracted many multinational oil and gas corporations,
all of which are almost of foreign origin and the oil produced is often not refined on the continent,
but usually exported to advance nations unrefined and then re- imported refined at an extra cost for
domestic usage. Such corporations include; ExxonMobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Anadarko, BG Group,
Statoil, Petrobras, GalpEnergia, Tullow Oil, Kosmos Energy, Ophir Energy, Cove Energy, Pancontinental Oil and Gas
NL, and Premier Oil. Why are African
companies not more involved in oil and gas exploration? Huge investment is said
to be involved, and only a united
Africa could create such opportunities for indigenous companies in the areas of oil exploration and refinement.
The implication of this is that there will be huge movement of funds from Africa to other parts of the
world and thus compounding the developmental problem of the continent.
Added to the above analysis is the fact that most countries produce
mainly raw materials for which there
is virtually no demand in other African countries. This deprives Africa of some
revenue that it could use to develop,
as more trade within Africa would imply more internally generated funds to support
the integration process and development of the continent.
The African Union is an attempt to end this situation by making trade
within Africa easier, reducing bureaucratic obstacles. The idea is to first build regional blocs in West,
Central, East, North and Southern Africa and then ultimately merge these into one big economy on the
basis that bringing four or five groups together is easier than negotiating with 53 countries at the
same time (The Guardian, July 13 and 14 2002). How the AU will achieve this objective remains a serious task. This is
because of the similarities of the economies of state within the continent, which reduces the level of complementarity in trade commodities. Related to the foregoing is
the proliferation of national currencies in Africa, which are strongly linked to monetary systems and
institutions that were established by the former colonial masters. This creates the problems of
payments arrangements and convertibility with consequent difficulties for interstate commercial transactions. It needs not be repeated
that African states
transact their business
with the use of international currencies such as the Pound
Sterling, the French Franc and the US Dollar and
efforts at achieving common currency in the continent has not been fruitful.
Thus, slowing down the pace at which African countries engaged in trade relations.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This paper has
examined the factors hindering the effective integration and economic
development of the two countries that
need each other as close trading partners in Africa. Nigeria needs the support and cooperation of the republic of
Niger especially with respect to the issue of good neighbourliness, general security
and other areas of political
and socio-economic needs.
The creation of the Nigeria-
Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation is to compliment the efforts of the existing
sub regional and regional organizations and strengthen cooperation between the two countries towards
their integration and development. As contained in Okechukwu (2018) the areas
of developmental coverage
of the commission include;
transport, telecommunications network,
trade, environmental management and promotion of livestock breeding,
joint rural programs, energy, industry, health, management of aquatic resources,
combating cultural enemies, security and border
management among others. However, in spite of this long time economic relations
between them, they are yet to find an
enduring solutions towards sustaining and developing their economies. This has been blamed on many factors,
some of which include: lack of political
will, the underdeveloped nature of infrastructure in
the west African sub region and Africa at large, security issues, and minimal intra-regional trade
among others. Having made this intellectual discourse, it is very worthwhile
to make the following recommendations:
·
There is need for strong political will and commitment by the
leadership of the two countries and
African leaders by extension to turn resolutions and consensus reached by
themselves into national policies and actions if effective
integration and development must be
achieved.
·
A developed transport system is a sine–qua-non
for economies to operate efficiently, enhancing trade by minimizing cost and time of transporting goods and
services to where there are jobs and
markets. Based on this measures have to be put in place to ensuring the
sustenance of the ongoing development of the transport system so as to
achieve effective intra-African trade.
·
Making lives better and enjoyable for Nigerians, Nigeriens and AU
citizens by extension will depend to
a very large extent on how the two countries and the entire AU member states
are able to deal with internal security
challenges such as Boko Haram,
arms smuggling,
kidnappings terrorism
and activities of bandits which threaten the political and economic stability of member states. Nigeria has
taken a lead in this direction by funding the activities of the multi-national joint task force,
currently maintaining security in the
Lake Chad Basin against the terrorists.
The operation must be sustained.
·
There is need for Nigeria and the Republic of Niger to improve and
strengthen bilateral ties and develop
structures necessary for an effective transit trade agreement in which Nigeria
opens her trade corridor to
Niger-bound merchandise and vice-versa. This is imperative because intra- regional
trade has tremendously boosted the economies
of other regional
blocs like the European
Union, North American Free Trade Agreement and the South American Economic Organization. Effective trade has no doubt
remained a key factor in a successful regional
integration and development.
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