Nigeria And Ecowas: The Challenges Of Internal Unity And External Conspiracy

Abstract

ECOWAS is a product of the post-colonial West African states. The primary aim of ECOWAS is economic integration of the independent states in the sub region. After over four decades of establishing the ECOWAS, the regional group is still challenged with achieving this primary aim. However, it has engaged in other secondary aims which include regional security and diplomatic and socio-cultural, as well as political integration. ECOWAS seems to have excelled more in the secondary aims at the expense of its primary aim. This study focuses on the nature of the states that constitute ECOWAS their official lingual diversity and their reflection in the regional body. At this point it is pertinent to note that the various states that constitute the regional body are at various stages of economic evolvement which also made the full economic and political integration to single currency very challenging. It also interrogates the external conspiracies that are inherent in the international capitalist system and how that has frustrated every effort geared at economic integration in the sub region. More particularly as this integration when fully actualized will pose huge threat to their former capitalist colonial lords whom many of the citizen of the individual west African States are currently residing and working there as citizens, helping to strengthen their economies.