Impact Of Terrorism On West African Regional Integration

ECOWAS is a regional body founded in 1975,comprising of 15 West African States with a vision of an economic integrated region.The ultimate goal of this regional body has been to promote cooperation and development through political,social and economic endeavors.Having faced similar challenges of especially poverty,West African countries felt the need to initiate a countries joint association that could help improve the standard of living of its citizens by increasing and maintaining economic stability.The region through ECOWAS in 1980 signed a People Free Movement Protocol which enhance movement of goods,services and people among member countries.At its establishment,ECOWAS did not have a security organ to which the regional body was exposed on several counts such as the civil wars in Liberia,Sierra Leone and series of coup d'état in the region.West Africa's security situation has further deteriorated since the rise of Boko Haram insurgency in 2009,in Nigeria.Apparently,there is a shift in the security tactics applied in the sub-region especially,as a result of terrorism.Sub-region's internal conflicts includes,some groups fighting their governments for natural resources,political,religious fundamentalism and chieftaincy.These conflicts have often resulted into formation of home grown terrorist organizations which have internationalized due to spill-over effects and further affected the integration of countries in the region.This research is aimed at analyzing the extent to which terrorism has impacted West Africa's regional integration.Using Nigeria as the case of study,this research shows how Boko Haram has influenced Nigeria's regional integration in the region.Applying historical method of research and descriptive analysis,the paper adopts a qualitative approach.In this study West African regional integration is measured using trade integration or the flow of goods,regional services linkages and free movement of people between ECOWAS members.The study shows how Boko Haram insurgency has affected Nigeria to a point being less integrated among its regional members.Terrorism in Nigeria has led to the breakdown of socio-economic undertakings in northern Nigerian states such as Borno,Yobe,Adamawa and others.The impact of terrorism in Nigeria and the region is multidimensional;the region has witnessed high prices of goods due to scarcity and cost of transportation of commodities;services i.e.telecommunication,education and health among others have been destroyed;and people have become less mobile in the region.In northern Nigeria,people have been restricted in their movement by the government there also limiting their crop production.Elsewhere,as media platforms report of terrorist attacks,kidnappings in certain areas,people limit their movements to countries believed to host terrorists.The study explains the extent to which Nigeria has been affected in terms of dropping on the ranks among ECOWAS.Nigeria since the establishment of ECOWAS was one of the most integrated countries in the region.The porosity of the West African borders has also been observed to have aided Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations create well-coordinated criminal networks across the region.In response,countries in the region erect strict cross border measures in order to reduce the scourge of terrorism from spreading across the entire region.This has further jeopardized an assigned Regional Integration Agreement(RIA)aimed at achieving a political,social and economic integrated West African region.Generally,this study comprises of five chapters: the first chapter gives an introduction on why West African states formed a regional integration body called ECOWAS.The introduction also underscores challenges the regional organization has come to face as a result of terrorism in the region;research significance;research question;objectives of the study;methods and materials used in this study which includes desk-top review,observation analysis and telephone official interviews;and the chapter ends with literature review to this study.Chapter two begins with an overview of the origin of regional integration and then the formation of ECOWAS.The study here gives an account of the background of Regional Integration theory used as a school of thought used in this study.Regional integration theories were first used in Europe in the 1950 s under the joint-movement of European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC).Early theories of regional integration were known as neo-functionalist and explain how ECOWAS befits definition of such regional integration body.Regional integration is a process in which political players from several different national settings are convinced to change their reliabilities,prospect and political ideologies to a new focus whose institutions possess or requires power beyond the already existing within a nation.Neo-functionalism is used in this study because the theory explains the essence why West African States formed a regional body called ECOWAS as a vehicle to foster an integrated economic development.The theory explain how free movement of people,goods,and services are cardinal for development across countries in a sub-region.The theory also explains some challenges which are likely to hinder realization of purported goals as the case of terrorism in West Africa today.Chapter three gives an account on the impact of terrorism on Nigeria's regional integration.The study in this section begins with brief explanation on how terrorism in Nigeria started.Thereafter,the study explains the impact of terrorism in the movement of goods,services and people inside the country as well as between Nigeria and its regional partners.Attacks by Boko Haram have often transcended beyond the borders of Nigeria.The spill-over effects of terrorism has caused Nigeria's neighbors to close their borders or limit the flow of goods and people to and from Nigeria.This chapter states the impact of terrorism on the tourism sector.The construction of infrastructure used in the distribution of commodities like oil across the region has been abandoned by the Nigerian government as they are vandalized by Boko Haram insurgents.Chapter four explains how terrorism has affected the integration of Nigeria among ECOWAS in relations to the free movement of goods,services and people.The study illustrates how terrorism has impacted in the free movement of goods both within and outside Nigeria in the region.As the northern part of the country has mostly remained unproductive,goods from elsewhere are not easy to transport to the intended destinations because Boko Haram fighters have burnt these goods.The free movement of people has been affected through reduction in number of people coming to Nigeria as tourists or business purposes.The federal government has also advised local residents especially in most affected towns and villages to reduce movements.This chapter also explains how terrorism has influence service delivery within Nigeria and towards regional members.Health care facilities,schools,communication and banking systems have been damaged.This has affected how Nigeria integrates with its regional members.The extent of Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria is highlighted as the basis for understanding the impact of terrorism on the movement of goods,services and people in the region.Since the signing of the people's free movement protocol,Nigeria was perceived to be the biggest beneficiary of the regional integration Agreement(RIA)due it being the economic powerhouse in the region.Nonetheless,Boko Haram insurgency has created one of the west humanitarian crisis especially in the northern part Nigeria in which most economic activities have been halted because people are unable to engage freely in crop production,livestock marketing and other social services due to fear of terrorism in the region.Elsewhere in the region,as border control measures are tightened in order to prevent the scourge of terrorism,a lot of countries which depend on supplies from Nigeria become cut off from trade routes.Today,terrorism stands as a huge obstacle to realizing a dream of seeing well integrated West African region if no better measures and efforts are put by all regional members.There are lessons to be learnt especially after seeing how Boko Haram terrorist group has affected Nigeria which is the biggest economy in the region.Terrorism in Nigeria has shown that instead of the government focusing on multi-sectoral development programs,all energy is often withdrawn from economic agenda and placed towards security concerns.Chapter five is the final one thereby giving a conclusion and personal opinions according to findings of the study.Recommendations and measures to be taken especially by all ECOWAS members in order to effectively counter terrorism in the region.