Restriction of movement affects West African trade – Envoy
Ghana and Nigeria have enjoyed sisterly relations as the two largest economies in West Africa. Both countries share common values and aspirations and support each other at many bilateral and multi-lateral fora. In this interview, the High Commissioner of
Daily Trust: NigeriaGhana ties have existed for quite some time now, are you actually comfortable with the existing bilateral cooperation?
When you look at the space called Nigeria and its people as well as the space of Ghana and the people that occupy it, I find it difficult to take about two different countries. I see us as one country, one people. But for purposes of modern day geographic arrangement, both are sister countries, which are so close that the relations are very fraternal and cordial. As a result of that, we relate more on the informal than the formal level, which are both success stories and a challenge in modern day international system of exchange. For the informal, Ghana and Nigeria relate more when it comes to people-topeople diplomacy, which is where diplomacy should be. A lot of countries are struggling to achieve that.
However, because of the international system that we are part of, the formal is also very critical, which not only helps to focus but also promote sustainability. In terms of our modern day system of exchange, we have a lot of work to do to put in place the mechanism and sustain and focus our efforts in a very strategic manner such that we can face the challenges that surround us.
DT: Is there any aspect of the relations you are not impressed with?
I’m satisfied in terms of relative calculation. When we look at relations between the two sisters countries, there is a kind of toast for people to see. But I’m also not satisfied because we have not organised it in such a way as to maximize the huge potentials that exist in this great country, Nigeria and Ghana. There is a lot more that we could do. For instance, in the area of trade and investment, bilateral trade is a common challenge not only between Nigeria and Ghana but also in other African countries. We trade more with outside of our continent than with ourselves. That is because we are not yet looking at issues in a more strategic manner. There are so many things that we take for granted. Between Ghana and Nigeria, there is what is called Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation.
The last time we met was in 2010. This framework is to monitor our performance and correct distortions. I have suggested that we need to look at our historical bonds and our current potentials and do what we are doing with the rest of the world, trimming of cities between the two countries. If we do that, we have additional framework of cooperation which will promote people-to-people relations and create investments. We need to do more of that, we are doing it with other countries outside our continent but charity
DT: What about NigeriaGhana bilateral trade relations?
Generally in Africa, the informal sector is very strong but because of poor data and statistics, we are not able to properly capture that sector, though it is very critical to our national and regional development. When you look at trade between Ghana and Nigeria, the oil, energy sector is skewed towards that because Nigeria-Ghana trade is heavily influenced by that sector. So, most of our imports from Nigeria are from that sector. Beyond that, there is a lot happening on other sectors. A lot of trade is going on between our people, especially at the borders.
However, in that particular area, those who engage in it go through some challenges at the borders, which have not encouraged them to sustain their businesses or expand them. Those are the issues we need to address bilaterally. Though, the challenge is not peculiar to Ghana and Nigeria, it cuts across the whole sub-region. Through ECOWAS, we created a protocol for free movement. My take is that we need to begin thinking out of the box. The manner in which we implement the regional integration agenda is hinged on the history of our geographic states which begins with the colonial era. Because of that, we are tied to a model which begins from there. During meetings either at ECOWAS or African Union levels, you hear of Francophone and Anglophone.
Centuries ago, we had the transSaharan trade, free movement. If you read the writings by Muslim scholars on West African history, you would be amazed by the level of civilisation at that time. When, today, we are complaining about the challenges of free movement, you ask yourself what we have done better than centuries ago. If we don’t begin to understand our own history, our feet will not be on the ground. If you go to the borders, you would see people living with deeper history and not limited by perception of Anglophone and Francophone. They know each other as a family. They are the ones we should be learning from to implement the integration agenda. But we are super-imposing the system on them.
DT: Absolute free movement is still a challenge for ordinary citizens in the sub-region, and this threatens the sub-region’s efforts to achieve economic integration. What do you think can be done to ensure free movement?
Who owns ECOWAS? Is it the citizens, the heads of states or the public servants, who have been recruited in the institution to serve the citizens? That is the question we must answer correctly. In 2007, in the wisdom of our leaders, they said we are moving from an ECOWAS of state to ECOWAS of people. When the leaders have spelt out that vision, what do we do next? Are we waiting for the leaders to make the people do what is expected of them or the people take advantage of that?
When we look towards change, in reality we are expecting others to change and not us. The media has a major role to play when we say we are transforming from an ECOWAS of state to ECOWAS of people. At the national level, you have the Nigerian Union of Journalists. In Ghana, we have it also, but there is none at the regional level, and that is the best way the media can interface with ECOWAS. Individually, it does not work. My appeal to the media is to organize themselves at the regional level and engage the ECOWAS parliament and commission as well as the member states to ensure free movement in a sustainable manner. Accountability is also very important. If we have a system of accountability in place, then we can begin to see some progress.
Customs and immigration officials at the borders demanding money before allowing citizens to pass is only a part of the problem, the picture is bigger than that. Their welfare should be taken seriously. For ECOWAS institutions, there must be quality of service from people we recruit into the regional institutions, who must show value for money and must be accountable. In our member states, the institutions that we created to monitor regional integration, we must be interested in who is there and their performance. We must also support the government to implement the policy as well as monitor them to stay on track.
DT: How feasible is it for ECOWAS to have a single currency in 2020, the target year?
When a target is set, it is just an attempt to move forward. We should be looking at the activities put in place towards the target year. Even if we are moving slowly, so be it. But if we have a target year, and there is no movement, then there is a problem. The question we should ask is how we are organizing ourselves towards the target year. That will answer your question.
Customs and immigration officials at the borders demanding money before allowing citizens to pass is only a part of the problem, the picture is bigger than that. Their welfare should be taken seriously. For ECOWAS institutions, there must be quality of service from people we recruit into the regional institutions, who must show value for money and must be accountable