NIGERIA AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY:
THE AFRICAN UNION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
As a result of the ambition for economic growth and regional integration among African nations, the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa), the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community), the EAC (East African Community), and the ECCAS (East African Community) were established (Economic Community of Central African States). In the African Union, these sub-regional organizations are all officially recognized, and their different activities have contributed to the growth and development of the continent.
Before the formation of the Economic Community of West African Nations (ECOWAS), West Africa was made up of a number of states with a variety of cultures, customs, and indigenous languages that had developed as a result of various colonial experiences and administrations. In the centuries before colonialism, the West African region was home to numerous famous empires, including the Oyo Empire, the Sokoto caliphate, the Wolof, the Kanem Bornu, and the Mali Songhai. However, these empires lacked integration among themselves, which arose as a result of the diversity of ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, and tradition (Onwuka, 2012).
The drive to promote regional integration and collaboration among these governments resulted in the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). To take advantage of this opportunity, one of the first measures made towards the integration of ECOWAS was taken in 1945, when all of the French-speaking nations in the area agreed to establish a common currency, known as the CFA Franc, as a means of promoting economic cooperation. After President William Tubman proposed an economic union for West African states in 1964, Guinea, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, and Sierra Leone signed a single currency agreement in 1985, but nothing tangible came of it until the Nigerian and Togolese heads of state, General Yakubu Gowon and GnassingbeEyadema, embarked on a regional tour in 1972 to campaign for and show support for the idea of regional integration, which ended in failure (Davidson, 1999).
Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, and Togo signed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Treaty on May 28, 1975, in Lagos. ECOWAS has as one of its key aims, as stated in Article 27 of the treaty, the creation of an ECOWAS citizenship for all of its member nations, which has contributed to the improvement of the level of life in all of its member countries. By establishing ECOMOG, the organization has contributed to the construction of a framework for security monitoring and control, which has helped to promote peace in the area. Due to the fact that commercial relations between member states are properly coordinated with the Protocol on Free Movement, the economic interests of member states have benefited as a result of this. Nigeria, for example, offers natural gas and power to member nations like as Benin, Ghana, and Togo, among others. These advancements have allowed the members to have a single purpose and objective despite their differences, despite the fact that various attempts have been made to establish a common currency with official languages being English and French in order to facilitate communication amongst the members. Due to the organization's pursuit of free movement of people, commodities, and money, the ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement, Residence, and Establishment of West African Citizens was drafted in 1997 to address this issue (Goodwin-Gill,2002).
The Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Residence, and Establishment was formed in May 1979, and it provided ECOWAS people the freedom to freely enter and depart any ECOWAS member state for a period of up to 90 days. The Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence, and Establishment was established with a 15-year implementation and establishment period. Within the first five years of the protocol on free movement, the use of visas into ECOWAS member states was abolished, and ECOWAS citizens with valid travel certificates and international health certificates were allowed to freely enter and exit within an ECOWAS state for a maximum of 90 days. The Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence, and Establishment was established with a 15- (Comfort,2013).
Under the terms of their individual national laws, ECOWAS nations may still reject entrance to an inadmissible immigrant into their country. After being deported from a nation, an immigrant's life, prosperity, and family should be ensured by the country in which he or she was deported (Adepoju, 2007). The delayed right of residence came into effect in July 1986 when all member states accepted it, despite the fact that the right of establishment has not yet been established. Member states are required to remove all forms of obstacles that prevent the Protocol on Free Movement from being implemented in order to achieve the objectives set forth in Article 2(2) of the Treaty of Rome, with the removal serving as a foundation for regional cooperation and integration in West Africa (Ojo, 1999).
.