College of Leadership and Development Studies

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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.ECOWAS

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    ECOWAS Integration Policy and the Dynamics of Trans-border Mobility in West Africa
    (Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 7, Number 2, 2025-06) Osimen Goddy U.; Ochoga Edwin Ochoga; Ehibor Oremire Judith
    Background: This study critically evaluates the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) integration policy and its impact on trans-border mobility. The policy assumes that individuals migrate from stagnant to rapidly growing areas, from low-income to high-income regions, and from uncertain to secure employment opportunities. Objective: This research aims to investigate the implications of ECOWAS's neo-liberal-oriented policy, which is shaped by the dynamic forces of globalisation and encourages cross-border mobility among member state citizens. Methods: The paper used a qualitative research method, and the data were sourced from secondary sources. The gathered data were thematically analysed and presented in prose format. Results: The study finds that the assumption underlying ECOWAS's integration policy overlooks the complex social, political, and economic effects of trans-border mobility, which challenge traditional notions of comparative advantage and trade theories that underpin ECOWAS's integrative approach. Conclusion: ECOWAS's integration policy and trans-border mobility have moved from stagnant to rapidly increasing places, from low-income to high-income areas, and from sporadic employment prospects to areas where employment is more certain or guaranteed by contract. Key Contribution to Knowledge: This study provides new insights into the implications of ECOWAS's integration policy on trans-border mobility and its effects on West African communities, highlighting the need to reconsider traditional notions of comparative advantage and trade theories in the context of regional integration. Recommendations: The study recommends that policymakers and stakeholders consider the complex social, political, and economic effects of trans-border mobility when designing and implementing regional integration policies, and that further research be conducted to explore the implications of ECOWAS's integration policy on West African communities.
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    Assessing the security implications of the ECOWAS protocol on free movement in Nigeria
    (International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 8(2), 2025) Ochoga Edwin Ochoga; Osimen Goddy U.; Pokubo Ibiso Esther
    The study is designed to assess whether the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons has had negative implications for Nigeria’s national security. The study used key informant interviews and secondary sources as instruments to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The study critiqued the economic integration theory, and the assumption of the theory is premised on the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers among member states for the free movement of factors of production across national borders. It used the obtained qualitative and quantitative data to demonstrate how Nigeria’s national security has been negatively affected by the free movement regime of ECOWAS. The study reveals that there is a relationship between the free movement enabled by the Protocol and the spread of Boko Haram terrorism, cattle rustling, armed banditry, and the activities of violent herders in Nigeria. Poor implementation of the Protocol by Nigeria, arising from the non-enforcement of Article 4 of the Protocol, the absence of a migration central database, porous borders, and socio-cultural affinities among border communities, are the challenges associated with the implementation of the Protocol in Nigeria. This study argues that proponents of the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement are mainly concerned about the economic benefits of the Protocol for member states without considering the socio-economic complexities associated with the window provided by the free movement regime occasioned by ECOWAS. It is upon this contextual premise that the study reveals that, unlike previous studies, every region has its own specificities to take into account when addressing the concept of free movement. Indeed, given the specific character of migratory movements in each region, there are perhaps as many different approaches to the subject as there are regions. In conclusion, despite the socio-economic benefits of the free movement regime, it has shown that the Protocol has been poorly implemented by Nigeria, with its attendant consequences on Nigeria’s national security. This finding was arrived at by subjecting the conventional perspective of regional economic integration to scrutiny, using Nigeria as a case study. The study recommends that guided economic integration is more desirable for Nigeria’s national security than the ideological allegory of the economic integration theory.
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    The Role of ECOWAS in the Fight against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West-Africa Sub-Region
    (International Journal of Political Science Volume 6, Issue 4, 2020) Osimen Goddy U.; Anegbode John E.; Adi Isaac
    The conflict-ridden West African sub-region is a showcase of uncontrolled SALW proliferation. Vast quantities of arms have flooded the region despite their rampant misuse by state and non-state actors alike. The widespread availability of small arms to abusive actors poses a threat of unprecedented magnitude to West Africa, far greater than that of HIV/AIDS or Covid-19 in terms of its socio-economic and human consequences. Because of this proliferation, the fabric of the sub-region itself is rapidly changing, moving toward self-destruction. It is on this backdrop the paper examined the role of ECOWAS and its Convention in the Fight against SALW proliferation in the West Africa sub region. The paper revealed that, there are over one hundred million illicit SALW in West Africa, which has continue to fuel countless armed conflict in the sub region despite the un-relented efforts of ECOWAS to eradicate the menace in the sub region. The paper further revealed that ECOWAS Convention which seeks to combat the excessive and destabilizing accumulation of SALW within the sub region is nothing but a mirage as a result of weak national controls and lack of international cooperation on arms control that have led to the proliferation of these weapons on illicit markets. It was discovered that, the greatest barrier to resolving debates over gun policy in the sub region is the lack of comprehensive data and political will among the states. Hence, it concludes that, reducing SALW and the illicit transfer of weapons to combatants, criminals, and terrorists will require a fresh strategic approach with more defined objectives and greater commonality among the member states within the sub region. While the illicit proliferation of SALW presents one of the gravest security threats in modern times in the sub region, norms and frameworks, through ECOWAS such as the Programme of Action to regulate and prohibit the transfer, manufacture and possession of small arms and light weapons among unauthorized persons/organization will be welcome development but, such measures must be promoted through transparency, cooperation and exchange of information among member states.