In spite of its challenges, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has made noteworthy progress, a former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, said on Thursday in Lagos.
“In spite of the initial slow take-off, the pace of activities at ECOWAS quickened from mid-1980s; it has improved tremendously.
“As the regional building block for eventual African integration, ECOWAS has made noteworthy progress,’’ he said.
Obasanjo spoke at the 8th Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) brainstorming session on regional integration.
The theme of the two-day session was “Regional integration in West Africa and globalisation: Challenges, opportunities and way forward’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the regional group of 15 West African countries was founded on May 28, 1975 with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, to promote economic integration.
It operates officially in three co-equal languages – English, French and Portuguese — with its headquarters in Abuja.
Obasanjo, represented by Prof. Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, noted that the regional integration process was initially slow.
According to him, the organisation’s protocol on free movement has eased trading in the region with “minimal restrictions’’.
On the proposed single currency for the sub-region, Obasanjo said there were already positive signs for the launch of the currency — the Eco – scheduled for 2020.
He said blueprints for continuous improvement of the region’s infrastructure, including the road networks, were already in place.
“A lot is also being done in the areas of telecommunications, energy and the adoption of the ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP).
“In the areas of security and governance, ECOWAS’ remarkable progress is worthy of mention.
“With these structures in place, it is not a coincidence that the region has been experiencing average economic growth rate of about six per cent,’’ Obasanjo said.
Obasanjo called for the removal of all obstacles that were hindering regional integration process.
A one-time Head of State, Retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, also noted that the vision of ECOWAS was predicated on the need to institute good governance among member-states as a pre-requisite for achieving economic development.
“While a lot has been recorded on the economic front, there are still some challenges to contend with.
“The issue of a common currency, for example, is yet to be implemented.
“Proper definition of an ECOWAS citizen is also yet to be articulated. While regional security is still a major challenge,’’ Gowon said. (NAN)
