CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

One motive that influenced the creation of almost all the West African International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) is the unity which has its origin in the Pan-African movements (UNECA 1983). According to Essien (2006) efforts at regional and sub-regional integration in Africa go back to the immediate post-colonial period. It was seen as an extension of the liberation movements and an effort to construct geographic entities that were economically viable and politically united. It also reflected the prevailing European experience with its emphasis on free trade within a Common External Tariff area. Thus, Anadi (2012) observed that, “by the 1960’s when most of the West African states gained their independence, the realities of the enormous distortions inherent in the colonial economy came to the fore.

            First, they were utterly left with highly fragile and structurally truncated economies based on the export of one or two agricultural commodities with inherent price distortions in the international commodity market. Also, the fact that none of these states’ national currencies were convertible further worsened the already destabilizing balance of payments problems in both their trade within the region and in their trade with other regions of the world” (Anadi 2005). The founding fathers of ECOWAS were quite aware of the huge challenges that confronted them at independence, following the years of unbridled exploitation and utter neglect of the basic needs of the citizens by the colonial masters; Britain, France and Portugal. Consequently, successful nation building has remained the biggest challenge for them because their economies are small, weak and highly competitive.

Accordingly, they were unable to exploit the complementarities of big and strong economies and are equally incapable of competing effectively within the global economy. These realities made regional integration an attractive option for West Africa. Undeniably, also, globalisation processes have brought home forcefully to the region the reality that it is impossible for any country, including the most economically and politically powerful, to go it alone. Now, more than ever before, all countries need one another to survive in a world where states are intricately weaved together economically, politically and technologically, with significant externalities for those that are unable to catch the globalisation train  (Sesay and Omotosho 2011). They also argue that contemporary integration schemes, particularly those in Africa, are essentially a post-World War II phenomenon.