Nigeria’s Role and Membership in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas): A Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Sub-Regional Integration, 1975-2024

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) always meant different things to different people. To some, it was a talk-shop Union for high-level government officials while others construed it as a cry for “utopia” resultant from the sub-region’s past failings. However, this survey was meant to appraise and clarify issues on the ECOWAS, and highlighted its problems and prospects. None of the countries in the sub-region had established the firm pillars of an industrial economy, such as iron and steel and machine tools complexes; and the petro-chemical industry. The survey examined in detail the deficiencies vis-à-vis what made the leaders of the sub-region think it was worthwhile to form a union: an economic union. But there were previous efforts in the West African sub-region at integration before the ECOWAS Treaty was signed in Lagos in May 28, 1975. To this extent, the roles played, inputs made and the benefits that accrued to the integrating units, especially to Nigeria, were critically examined. Inclusive in the inputs were the immense human and material resources which Nigeria contributed to the ECOWAS which, unarguably, were at the expense of her citizens? This paper considered, against the backdrop of Nigeria’s persistence in the ECOWAS effort of her national interests, foreign policy objectives and diplomacy in contradistinction to a citizen-oriented diplomacy. It undertook a juxtaposition of the ECOWAS efforts vis-à-vis pre-existing economic models in other parts of the advanced world, such as the African Economic Community, the Latin American versions and the New World International Economic Order. The analytical method was adopted and the findings included, among others, that Nigeria played the big brother role in the ECOWAS to the detriment of her citizens and national development and economy.