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Tag: ECOWAS

  • Sad holidays for ‘starving’ ECOWAS scholars

    Sad holidays for ‘starving’ ECOWAS scholars

    A postgraduate scholarship scheme sponsored by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has become a nightmare for some African students studying at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the University of Ibadan (UI) because of unpaid allowances for over six months. Their fate is uncertain as the scheme is being scrutinised by the regional body, reports OLUWATOYIN ADELEYE.

    Most students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have resumed from their homes refreshed after the Yuletide.

    But it was not so for the over 30 students under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Nnamdi Azikiwe Academic Mobility Scheme (ENAMS) studying at the university.

    They remained in their hostels against their will, as they had no funds to either travel home or celebrate with their peers who were in school with them.

    ENAMS is a scholarship scheme of the ECOWAS that gives students from the 15 member-states of the Commission the opportunity to engage in a fully funded graduate programme of their choice. The scheme is coordinated by the Association of African Universities (AAU).

    Participants in the scheme are studying in three universities in Africa, namely: UNILAG and the University of Ibadan, both in Nigeria, and Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal.

    Despite protesting last month over lack of funding for over six months, the ENAMS-UNILAG students’ situation has not changed for the better.

    They complained about difficulties of reaching their coordinators over the issue, making them feel abandoned and neglected in a foreign country.

    While some are frustrated and want to return to their countries, others are calling for the remittance of their stipends to enable them complete their course work and sustain their upkeep.

    Biochemistry student, Lamin Darboe from Gambia, said he was miserable during the holidays.

    “The holiday was not good for me at all. I was locked up in my room, hungry and watching movies. Right now, I don’t even have soap to wash my clothes. My friends and I are just seated here thinking of what we are going to eat for lunch. I have not been able to do a lot of activities that I was supposed to do,” he said.

    Another student, Andre Jacques Molou from Guinea, who is running his Masters in computer science said: “We have been suffering here. Only God is with us. It is very hard to survive without money. I have been depending on my friends to survive.”

    Civil Engineering student, Anthelme Hodonou from Liberia said his holidays met him hungry.

    “It was not easy. We are stranded here. I was just in my room and it was very boring. We don’t have anybody to talk with so we are just like that. I have been drinking garri for over two weeks now. I am not the only son of my parents so I cannot continue to depend on them to send money.”

    Chala Komlan from Togo said the recession has worsened the situation.

    “The fact that we have not received our stipends till now is really bad. In this recession, everything is very expensive. So we don’t even know how to manage this situation. We are forced to borrow to survive and they are not communicating with us. We are also forced to ask our parents to send us money but that is even difficult because we are in different countries.”

    Tikemo Paye from Liberia, who is doing his Masters in the department of Botany, said, the lack of funds has stalled his research.

    He said: “The holidays were not good at all. We were all just in the hostel. I have completed my course work but I am now running my research work. I have not been able to go to the field. My supervisor communicated with me, telling me to go with my colleagues to Takwa Bay for our fieldwork. I don’t even know the place. I am also supposed to do my research in Gashaka-Gunti National Park in Taraba State. But I don’t have funding for my research. The stipend pays for our transportation, communication and every service we need in this country. Now the stipend is not coming on time and my programme is for one year and six months.”

    Emmanuel Lambte, a Ghanaian doing his masters in medical sciences, lamented that the suffering had gone on for too long considering they are not allowed to work.

    He said: “I am doing research. You have to fund the research and it is not a small amount. It is huge. You have to do laboratory tests, get the results, and buy apparatus among others. All these, we fund through our stipend. So since it is not coming, our research work has been stalled. In fact, we have had to improvise and it has been really hard. The period that the money was not coming was too much. Six months living in a foreign country, without funds is so bad. Even if they want to do something like that, it should not go up to six/seven months. We are not allowed to engage in any paid employment. We signed an agreement that we are to be fully engaged in our studies. We don’t want this situation to continue. I have been doing marginalisation. I now feed once or twice a day, I cut down my air time allowances, I now walk more than I take commercial transport, all to cut down cost so that I can use what I have to sustain me.”

    Nigerian beneficiaries of the scheme are also lamenting.  Agama Kalu from Ebonyi State, said he almost committed suicide due to starvation last month.

    He said he had exhausted the money he borrowed, using his first degree certificate as collateral, and he is now left with nothing to either pay back or continue his upkeep.

    Kalu said: “My holidays went very bad. I practically starved. This is not the time of pretending that it is well. Everybody travelled and we were left alone. Even the officers that used to give us little information about our status with ECOWAS no longer reply our emails. They should come and take us back to our countries since they have violated the agreement we made.

    “The interest rate for the money I borrowed to finish my programme has accumulated to an extent I cannot pay. Because I failed to pay back at the stipulated date, the interest keeps accumulating. I used my original B. Sc certificate as collateral. We were all in the hostel during the holidays with no place to go. We need stakeholders in the education sector to intervene.”

    Chidinma Dibejuba, from Imo State, lamented forced extension of her one-year programme in the department of Zoology because she could not meet up with the deadline for her research.

    She said: “It has been frustrating getting any work done. We were supposed to commence our research in my department since May. I did not start mine until as late as August, because of lack of funds. The materials are expensive and to get the humans to even cooperate with you is another aspect. I am supposed to have rounded up my research and defended this month, but now I am still here working on it. So my stay here will automatically be extended. Also, I have had to cut down on a whole lot of expenses and we have not been able to pay for our accommodation for the new session and even some of the months we have stayed. So how do we expect the authorities to let us stay in the hostel until probably our convocation day when we still owe previous accommodation fees? A lot of us are on one year programmes but that one year is no longer feasible for us. We have to extend by an extra year and we cannot convoke with our mates this month.”

    Chinedu Emmanuel, an ENAMS beneficiary studying information science at UI, said the situation is not different in Ibadan.

    He said: “We still owe accommodation and tuition fees. We owe about seven months accommodation fees and we don’t know what will happen this year.”

    Meanwhile, Coordinator of the programme, Prof Jonathan Mba, said AAU is innocent in the matter.

    He told The Nation that AAU only acts as the intermediary between the programme sponsor and the participants.

    He noted that the ECOWAS was under a new administration, which was investigating the programme, hence they have refused to fund it any further until their investigations are done.

    “There are nine students at UCAD, 32 at UI and 33 at UNILAG. The bulk of them started in January, others came in February and March due to admission issues. AAU signed an agreement with each of the students that they will be paid their stipends from time to time as we review their academic progress. So this is what is happening. We can only dispense the money given to us by the funding agency. We asked each student to open a bank account for their funds. The money is transferred directly to their accounts and we settle the institutions directly for their tuition fees. But the ECOWAS has not given us any funds because of their ongoing enquiry on the scheme. We have been in touch with the students to let them know the situation and we have been in constant communication with ECOWAS to let them know that the students are in serious predicaments,” he explained.

    Prof Mba also said: “Please contact ECOWAS directly as AAU has not received any funds from ECOWAS yet. As soon as we receive money we shall disburse to all the ECOWAS Fellows.”

    Efforts made by The Nation to get a response from an ECOWAS official in Abuja proved abortive.  There was no response to calls and text messages sent to the phone number provided.

    However, a media personnel attached to the body (names withheld) said she was unfamiliar with the case.

  • Jammeh to receive Buhari’s delegation Friday

    Jammeh to receive Buhari’s delegation Friday

    President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia will receive the High Level ECOWAS mediation team led by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.

    The delegation had on Monday resolved to visit Jammeh on Wednesday towards ensuring violence-free handover of power to the President-elect, Adama Barrow, on January 19.

    Buhari is mediating in the crisis alongside Mr. John Mahama, the immediate past president of Ghana.

    A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said the shift in date will not prevent the delegation from realizing the ECOWAS mandate and goals.

    The statement reads: “President Buhari reiterated the appeal on Monday by ECOWAS leaders that the Gambian leaders do everything they can to douse the tension in the West African country, which has led citizens to leave the country due to political uncertainty.

    “The Nigerian leader said ECOWAS is committed to the resolution of the crisis through inclusive dialogue with respect to the constitution and the will of the people of Gambia.”

     

     

  • Ekweremadu warns against military action in Gambia

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday warned against any military action by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Gambia.

    He said military action in the Gambia could plunge the country into bloodletting and threaten the security and peace of the entire sub-region.

    A statement issued by his media Aide, Uche Anichukwu, said Ekweremadu regretted that West Africa had witnessed so many bloodbaths, including armed conflicts and human sufferings engendered by insurgency and terrorism.

    It said Ekweremadu urged the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and the international community to explore dialogue, while also allowing Gambian laws to take preeminence as a sovereign nation.

    The immediate past Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament canvassed sanctions in line with the traditions and relevant Protocols of ECOWAS, rather than any form of military actions, should dialogue and judicial options fail.

    Ekweremadu said: “From Liberia to Sierra Leone and Cote D’Ivoire, among others, West Africa has seen so much bloodletting and political instability. Heavy destruction of lives and property has also been visited on the sub-region by insurgency and terrorism, which remain present danger to the peace and security of West Africa.

     

    “Instructively, what normally started like child’s play often resulted in protracted, but avoidable political upheavals and fratricidal wars. This is why the people of West Africa, especially the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, must tread with utmost caution to ensure that the sub-region is not plunged into yet another needless bloodletting and humanitarian crisis over the Gambian political challenge.

    “Importantly, we must all acknowledge the fact that Gambia is a sovereign state. If her Constitution and electoral laws allow for judicial role in resolving electoral disputes, then the Gambian constitutional courts must be allowed to count in resolving the political impasse.”

  • Gambia: ECOWAS intervention declaration of war, insult – Jammeh

    Gambia: ECOWAS intervention declaration of war, insult – Jammeh

    Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, has accused West African regional body, ECOWAS, of declaring war against his country for refusal to step down at the end of his mandate this month.

    Jammeh, who accused ECOWAS of putting forces on alert in case he refused to step down, has vowed to stay in power despite losing a Dec. 1 election to rival Adama Barrow.

    He also promised to defend Gambia against any outside aggression, in a New Year speech broadcast on state TV.

    The veteran leader initially conceded defeat in the vote, then changed his mind days later – raising fears that regional powers might have to intervene to oust him. His mandate runs out on Jan. 19.

    Marcel de Souza, commission president for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said last week that the body had put standby forces on alert.

    In his speech, Jammeh decried “the resolution of ECOWAS on the current situation to implement the results of Dec 1, 2016 presidential election by whatever means possible”.

    He apparently acknowledged again that the poll did not go in his favour.

    “It is in effect a declaration of war and an insult to our constitution.

    “Let me make it very clear that we are ready to defend this country against any aggression.

    “My government will never opt for such confrontation but defending our sovereignty is a sacred duty for all patriotic Gambians,” he said.

    Barrow’s surprise victory and Jammeh’s initial decision to concede after 22 years in power was initially seen as a moment of hope on a continent where autocratic leaders are becoming more entrenched.

    Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has stepped in as an ECOWAS mediator to offer Jammeh an “honorable exit”, but Jammeh said the bloc could no longer fulfill that role.

  • AU backs ECOWAS’ decision on Gambia

    The Chairman of the African Union (AU), Mr. Idriss Deby, on Monday expressed full support for the decisions adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State on the political situation in The Gambia.

    In a statement issued in Addis Ababa, Deby commended the ECOWAS Heads of State for their “principled stand with regards to the situation in The Gambia.

    He said the AU was in full support of the decisions reached at the meeting held in Abuja on December 16, including “the consideration to use all necessary means to ensure the respect of the will of the people of The Gambia.’’

    “The Chairman of AU reaffirms its readiness to pursue and intensify coordination efforts with ECOWAS and the United Nations,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the statement as saying on Monday.

    “This is in order to facilitate the speedy and orderly transfer of power to the President-elect, including its full support to President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as ECOWAS Mediator in The Gambia.’’

    Deby, who is the President of Chad, repeated his call on The Gambia’s outgoing President Yahya Jammeh to facilitate the smooth transfer of power to the newly elected president, Adama Barrow, as decided by The Gambians.

    He also called on members of the security forces in The Gambia to strictly abide by the country’s Constitution and the rule of law.

     

  • ECOWAS students lament paucity of funds

    Students under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Nnamdi Azikiwe Academic Mobility Scheme (ENAMS) have protested lack of funds and neglect.

    The students, who are running various graduate programmes at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and University of Ibadan (UI) staged a peaceful protest in the Henry Carr Postgraduate Hall in UNILAG yesterday.

    They said they have not received any stipends in the last six months.

    One of the students, Agama Kalu, from Ebonyi State, said: “We have not received our stipends since July. They paid our tuition fees but no upkeep fee.

    “But the problem we have now is that when we send mails, they do not reply, when we call, they do not pick our calls and it is difficult reaching them because they are outside the country.

    “We are hungry. I wanted to strangle myself the other day, because I was depressed and tired.

    “I have not eaten for some days now. I have been taking garri.

    “A colleague from Liberia slumped the other day and we managed to save him.

    “When we contacted ECOWAS, officials said they had remitted the money.”

    Agama said the paucity of funds have affected his studies.

    “It has affected my academic performance drastically. It has affected me in all areas and I don’t have any family in Lagos,” he said.

    A Ghanaian, Joyce Alornyeku, who is studying Cell Biology and Genetics, said her research has suffered.

    She said: “This problem started before we started our research. We were supposed to fund our research from the money.

    “I have had to restart my research more than twice because I did not have the money to further the work.

    “I did the fieldwork but there was no money for me to start the laboratory work. So I had to stop and wait for money but by then, my fieldwork had become stale and I had to start all over.

    “But after June we have not received any funds and they did not give us any tangible information.

    “I am done with my research now and I am just waiting for my money. I want to go back home but there is no money and I am stranded here.”

    The programme coordinator, Prof Jonathan Mba, said the fault is from ECOWAS.

    He said his organisation, the Association of African Universities (AAU), only acts as the intermediary between the programme sponsor and the participants.

    Mba noted that ECOWAS was under a new administration, which was investigating the programme, hence it has refused to provide funds until its investigations are done.

    The don, who spoke with our correspondent from Accra, Ghana, said the last stage of ECOWAS’ verification, which was scheduled for last Friday, was cancelled due to flight problems.

    He identified with the students’ predicament, noting that the new date for the exercise would be communicated to them.

    “I relayed this situation to the students through an e-mail and I copied their vice chancellors and deans.

    “AAU does not receive subvention from any government.

    “It is just a membership based organisation and the projects we run pay for the projects we implement.

    “The delay is not caused by AAU. It is from ECOWAS,” he said.

    No ECOWAS official could be reached for comments.

  • Gambia: Take decisive action now, Sirleaf tells ECOWAS

    Gambia: Take decisive action now, Sirleaf tells ECOWAS

    •Expresses worry over recurrence of Boko-Haram attacks
    •Says trade among member states not encouraging

    The political crisis in the Gambia dominated discussion yesterday when the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), met in Abuja.

    It was the 50th Ordinary Session of the meeting of the highest organ of the regional body.

    Worried over turn of events in the Gambia, the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, demanded action from the body so as to prevent serious crisis.

    The Liberian president urged ECOWAS leaders to come up with a peaceful resolution before January 19, 2017, the constituted date when the mandate of president Jammeh comes to an end.

    Johnson-Sirleaf also reminded her colleagues of the unpleasant political situation in Guinea Bissau, which according to her has undermined the regional peace and security in the region.

    She said, “Since our last Summit in Dakar, regional peace and security has been undermined by unfolding situations in The Gambia and Guinea Bissau. With respect to Gambia, on December 1, the people of the Republic of The Gambia voted decisively for a change in the political leadership of the country by electing the candidate of a seven-party opposition coalition.

    “On the same date, the incumbent president conceded to the result of the election and congratulated the elected president. On December 10, the incumbent president rescinded his concession and called for a fresh vote.”

    While disclosing that efforts by a delegate from ECOWAS to prevail on President Yaya Jammeh to drop the call and accept the result as the wish of the people did not yield desired result, she said it is time for ECOWAS to live up to expectation and salvage democracy in the region.

    “In response, on December 13, an ECOWAS Mission which I headed and comprising Presidents John Mahama, Muhammadu Buhari and Ernest Bai Koroma, accompanied by Dr. Mohamed Chambers, Special Representatives of the UN Secretary General to West Africa and the Sahel, proceeded to Banjul to mediate with the concerned parties toward a resolution that would respect the will of the people.

    “The mission was successful in its consultative effort by holding meetings with the president, the president-elect and all the relevant stakeholders. It is now important that the authority, at this summit, considers recommended measures to bring this matter to successful conclusion before January 19, the constituted date when the mandate of the incumbent president expires,” she said.

    On security matters, the chairperson said ECOWAS is very concerned about the Boko Haram recurring attacks in Nigeria and other countries of the Lake Chad Basin. She added that the commission is equally worried about terrorist attacks on civilians and military targets in Mali and the recent attack in Burkina Faso where several persons were said to have been killed.

    She called for a minute silence in regards of the victims and charged the summit to find lasting solution particularly to the new transhumance security challenge which he noted has not only claimed the loss of many lives but is impacting negatively on regional food security.

    She advised other countries facing similar problems to adopt the Nigerian approach to managing transhumance challenges noting that it is a model that can be shared at bilateral levels.

    On the economic front, Johnson-Sirleaf who expressed worries over recent growth performance of the community said, “Trade within the community is very low which currently stands at around 12 percent. We need to do more. The success of regional integration rests largely on our collective resolve to fully implement the protocol on free movement of people and goods, particularly the Common External Tariff (CET) and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS)”.

    She also urged states to endeavour to meet their financial obligations to ECOWAS to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the community development programmes.

  • ECOWAS lauded over adoption of Single Biometric Identity Card

    ECOWAS lauded over adoption of Single Biometric Identity Card

    Member countries of the ECOWAS have been commended by President Muhammadu Buhari for adopting single biometric identity card meant to facilitate free movement of persons within the sub-region.

    The president gave the commendation at the ongoing 50th Ordinary Session of the Authority and Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, in Abuja on Saturday.

    He expressed optimism that the single biometric identity card would also facilitate the establishment of a single currency in the sub-region.

    Buhari noted that considerable progress had also been made in the areas of industrial policy, mineral exploitation, agriculture, environment, infrastructure, telecommunications and energy.

    “The adoption of a single biometric identity card is also commendable and will facilitate the establishment of a single currency while engendering Free Movement of Persons.

    “Considerable progress has also been made in the areas of industrial policy, mineral exploitation, agriculture, environment, infrastructure, telecommunications and energy.

    “We also have in place a coordinated capacity to respond to the threat or outbreak of pandemics through the Regional Centre for Disease Control and Surveillance, which is now domiciled in Nigeria.”

    On climate change, the president stressed the need for collective efforts by leaders in the sub-region to confront climate change.

    According to him, the negative consequences of Climate Change, including the drying up of water bodies are real in the region.

    Another adverse effect of globalisation, which we need to confront collectively, is Climate Change which is affecting our countries in many ways such as desertification, erosion, the rise in sea level and flooding.

    “This situation is further worsened by the near absence of response and adaptive capacities in our countries.

    “The negative consequences of Climate Change, including the drying up of water bodies are real in the region.

    “For example, Lake Chad, which was once one of Africa’s largest water reservoirs, has over the years shrank to less than 10 percent of its original size, drastically affecting livelihoods of millions of people living in the Basin.

    “This has resulted in environmental degradation, poverty, underdevelopment and displacement of peoples.

    He, therefore, stressed the need for a regional coordination framework that to reduce the impact of Climate Change in the sub-region, saying that authorities in the region must embrace long-term measures to develop low carbon and climate resilient development initiatives.

    The president emphasised that the Commission’s Department and relevant Institutions responsible for environmental affairs should be strengthened to enable them to combat the effects of Climate Change in the region.

    He said: “Development Partners can also play crucial roles in the fight against Climate Change.

    “Consequently, we must seek closer cooperation with the Development Partners in long-term solutions to combat this phenomenon.”

    Buhari also remarked that since the launch of the ECOWAS Vision 2020 to transform ECOWAS from “ECOWAS of States to ECOWAS of peoples, our Community has accomplished remarkable progress in achieving Community objectives for a stable and prosperous West Africa.”

    According to him, foremost amongst these achievements is the management of conflicts and the maintenance of peace, stability and security in the region.

    He said that peace and security were the necessary ingredients for development “as one could not exist without the other.

    “We have substantially enhanced our capacity for dealing with conflict as amply demonstrated in the quick intervention of the Community to douse tension and restore peace in Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso.

    “The efforts of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, in combating terrorism in Nigeria and in the neighbouring countries, have significantly degraded the capacity of Boko Haram in the region.

    “Even though sporadic attacks on soft targets have been recorded in the past few weeks, just as we have sustained the military pressure on the terrorists.

    “We have every right to feel proud of these achievements which have moved us to the realisation of the objectives for which ECOWAS was established, namely the promotion of peace, security and economic integration.”

    He, however, called on the regional leaders to pay greater attention to conflict prevention mechanisms in the region to sustain these gains and manage conflicts more effectively, saying that “prevention is cheaper in every respect”.

    He also urged them to devote more resources to Early Warning Mechanisms in order to develop an effective Conflict Prevention Strategy.

    “We also need a stronger political will for Peace -Keeping Operations in our sub-region as we have done in the past,” the president said.

  • ECOWAS’s sweet poison

    ECOWAS’s sweet poison

    African proverb goes the not-so-gentle wind that sets the pap seller’s nerve on the edge merely serves notice to the flour seller that the danger is right at the door. So also goes the saying about the proverbial bird perched precariously on the line: neither the rope nor the bird would know comfort in the ensuing asymmetrical relationship. These sayings came to my mind as I reflected on the increasingly testy relations between Big Brother Nigeria and its ECOWAS neighbours – more so, in the wake of new measures being pushed aggressively by the Nigerian government to deal with the debilitating economic crisis.
    Today, if the myth has endured that the Nigerian economy somehow possesses an infinitely elastic capacity to withstand all manners of abuses without tipping over, the new dawn would not only suggest how hollow our pretenses about our status as an economic giant, but the fat lie that we can become all manner of things to all manner of interests without paying a huge price. For while it seems given that the Nigerian economy given its relative size only needs to cough for the economy of its neighbours to suffer fits, the assumption has probably held all along that the Big Brother– ever ready to play the brother’s keeper – will continue to carry on, no matter what.
    Some people are no doubt in for a rude awakening. For even if we didn’t cast away pretenses about being the sub region’s beast of burden; or even pretend that our nationalist forces, still too subtle if not incoherent, are barely recognizable; clearly, the dimming prospects of an early recovery from the current recession makes such a nary proposition a nary one at this time. It is a natural law rooted in the quest for survival. I guess it’s the dawn of our economic nationalism.
    In this, Nigerians only need to pay attention to developments at our border posts to appreciate the point being made. Let’s flashback to May 2013. Then, the Federal Government had slammed a ban of rice importation through the nation’s land borders. Having set 2015 as target date for local sufficiency in rice production after massive investment promotion in the sub sector, the government had rightly reasoned that the booming trade puts its plan into jeopardy.
    That was more than three years ago. The route, as far as we know remains shut to rice importers. Three years after –no thanks to the ability of our nationals to cut corners but more importantly, our neighbours’ ready disposition to subvert our economy without any threat of sanctions, more vessels from Thailand with thousands of cargoes are today headed for Benin, Niger Republic, borders than those headed for the Lagos Port even when these consignments have Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano as final destinations. In fact, only last week, Agriculture Minister, Audu Ogbeh would raise the alarm about some 571,000 metric tonnes of parboiled rice from Thailand arriving Benin Republic headed for the Nigerian market for, as you guessed – Christmas.
    Need I talk about frozen poultry products – which although officially banned, are not only found in every nook and cranny of our markets but are already massed in warehouses along the borders waiting to be smuggled in. And all of this at a time our local producers are gasping for breath.
    Now, if all goes according to the plan of Audu Ogbeh and company, the entire 571,000 metric tonnes of rice would not be coming into the country anytime soon – certainly not for this Christmas or the New Year festivities.
    The same is also true of the other major item of trade – the used car business. Whereas our local ports are next to idle – no thanks to the impossible forex regime that have rendered importation a no-go, Nigerians have found attraction in the neighbouring ports ostensibly because shipping and duties are by far cheaper. Never mind the agreement which mandates Benin Customs to hand over their Nigerian-bound cargo to the Nigerian Customs for assessment. These are observed in the breach. Or the cost to the Nigerian treasury said to be hundreds of billions annually. As it appears, the chicks may have come to roost – the Big Brother seems to have had enough: effective January 2017, vehicle imports will no longer be allowed through the land borders. Once again, our pretence about getting our neighbour to behave responsibly has fallen flat.
    The reality of course is that times are changing. At a time of shrinking exchequer, Nigeria obviously needs all the revenue from all legitimate sources. That’s not all. Its agriculture and industry needs all the protection that it can get from foreign invaders hiding under the ECOWAS protocol. Not only that, it struggles to deal with the situation in which its backyard has become a huge dump for all manners of imports.
    I understand the old debate about the unfriendliness of our ports, the crippling bureaucracy and the mind-boggling corruption said to make doing business such hell and how this makes the neighbouring ports attractive. No doubt, there is a lot to be said of the need to streamline our port operations and procedures to make the more competitive and business friendly. After cycles of interminable reforms, they are legitimate arguments to make now and for all time.
    At issue is whether these concerns should be allowed to obviate mounting concerns about duplicity of our ECOWAS neighbours, particularly when their activities are injurious to us. We must of course understand that none of these goods are produced in the sub region, which of course raises the unlikelihood of their ban being seen as a violation of the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of goods and services. Moreover, the idea that a supposedly friendly neighbour will deliberately set itself up as a transit camp for goods destined for a third party country in brazen violation of its own domestic policies would seem far beyond the pale of modern trade protocols. That, unfortunately is the terrible situation which the sub regional body has found itself.
    And so what to do? Simple. The Big Brother may not have the money or muscle to build a Trumpean wall along its borders. What it must find is the will to enforce the rules governing trade with its neighbours. And this must come with a certain knowledge of costs of breaches being very steep. After all, the Holy Writ says that one should love one’s neighbours as – not more – than oneself.

  • Naira’s depreciation threatens ECOWAS single currency

    Naira’s depreciation threatens ECOWAS single currency

    The adoption of a single currency among member-states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by 2020 is under threat because of the free fall in naira value, members of the ECOWAS Macroeconomic Policy Committee on Multilateral Surveillance, have said.
    They spoke during a two-day technical meeting in Abuja at the weekend.
    They noted that even when various policies have been introduced and at various stages of implementation in member-countries, the current economic situation in Nigeria has impacted negatively on the economy of member states.
    Outgoing Chairman of the ECOWAS Macroeconomic Policy Committee on Multilateral Surveillance, Ommy Sar Ndaiye, noted that the depreciation of the value of the naira and other economic challenges facing member states, especially Nigeria are affecting the economy of the entire region and plans for the adoption of a single currency in the region.
    “The depreciation in value of the naira and other economic factors in Nigeria are affecting ECOWAS. We all know that whatever happens in Nigeria weighs heavily on our economies. If there are challenges there it would reflect on the region,” she said.
    While noting that the commission has made remarkable progress in its macroeconomic policies, Ndaiye also urged the committee to chat the way forward for the economy of member states.
    She therefore urged the committee members to look inward and find better ways to strengthen economic ties within the region.
    Also, Commissioner of the ECOWAS Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research, Mamadou Traore lamented the vulnerability of the economy of member states.
    Traore said the meeting was aimed at reviewing the 2015 report, as well as monitor, evaluate and make appropriate recommendations that would help revive the economy of member states.
    “Despite efforts by the commission to strengthen the economy of ECOWAS, the economy is still vulnerable to external shocks,” he said.
    The commissioner also urged member states to update their database on a regular basis on measures that drives economic growth and also furnish same to the commission for proper information.
    He said the 2015 report on the macroeconomic convergence for the region showed a slowdown in growth of the economy when compared to the year before. Traore, identified factors such as lack of raw material, poor state of infrastructural development in member states countries and the depreciation in value of the naira has been responsible.
    The commissioner said since the deadline for the adoption of single currency is fast approaching, the committee should set agenda to look into the progress made so far as well as identify challenges that may hinder its smooth operation.