Nation-States and the challenges of regional integration in West Africa. Vol. 11. The case of Nigeria

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Since their independence, Africa states West in particular have felt a need for regional integration in order to solve their development problems. The discouraging slowness in integration motivated the Human and Social Sciences Department of UNESCO to organize a series of seminars on West African regional integration in the ECOWAS région. The Nigerian Seminar, which took place from 26 to 29 February 2008, was the last in the series of seminars. This book is based on the papers presented during the Seminar.

The contributors agree that Nigeria can be both blamed and credi-ted for the pace of integration in West Africa. In spite of opposition both from within and outside the country, Nigeria together with Togo was able to bring ECOWAS into existence, thanks to the diplomatic and financial strength of Nigeria. However, tensions within West Africa diverted ECOWAS from its goal of integration into conflict management. Nigeria's role as the prime mover of integration in West Africa is weakened by several factors, such as contradictions within national interests, the force of globalization and Chinese presence. A cost-bene-fit analysis enumerates immense benefits made and to be made from ECOWAS.

Various aspects of Nigeria's experience in regional integration are there examined. These include the advocacy of chambers of commerce for common currencies among members of the West African Monetary Zone, security implications of defense pacts between some francophone member countries and France, and grassroots participation to solve pro-blems concerning borders and borderlands. Finally, facilitators and obstacles of regional integration are examined. The roles played by France and Nigeria in the integration of Western Europe and West Africa, res-pectively, are compared. Trade and trade-related structures, and monetary integration are seen to be important factors in regional integration. Multiple regional and economic commissions with overlapping func-tions as overseas development assistance are obstacles. A possible solution is for Nigeria to win the confidence of smaller member states of ECOWAS.