Saturday, February 9, 2013

South-East Nigeria And Need For Regional Integration


By Chuks OLUIGBO

Regional economic integration is not a new thing. This is basically because no state or country can claim to be self-sufficient. This reality is what gives rise to economic interdependence and cooperation among nations/states. Across the world, nations have always seen the need to join forces so as to leverage the economic advantages within and among the cooperating nations. It is this joining of forces that has given rise to such regional economic blocs as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union (EU), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab League, among others. While some of these have been fully in operation for many years, with verifiable qualitative achievements, some are still being proposed.

What the above demonstrates is the imperativeness of economic cooperation. And, as Ngila Mwase, an analyst, said of the African region, “Successful regional economic cooperation and integration can help the region attain greater economies of scale, rationalise location of industries and other economic entities, encourage specialisation in production, enhance industrial efficiency and reduce both transport and transaction costs and, in turn, the costs of doing business.” This is applicable not only to Africa but also to all other regions wishing to pursue economic cooperation and integration.

In Nigeria, analysts have continued to emphasise that the nation developed at a greater pace during the era of regions than in the present era of states. Joe Keshi, director general of the BRACED Commission, for instance, said in a paper presented at the recently concluded South-South Economic Summit: “Both pre- and immediate post-independent Nigeria operated a regional structure that allowed each of the regions to grow and develop at its own pace and capability. The healthy competition among the regions, the various regional agendas, and the level of economic development were responsible for the huge optimism about Nigeria in the 1960s. The balkanisation of Nigeria under military rule, the creation of states, many with very limited capacity to succeed without the Federal Government, and the revenue sharing formula have made it imperative that each state, each geographical region or zone must be strategic in the choices they make for the future of both the states and the country at large.” Beyond this, he made reference to “the force of economic regionalism that is impelling the creation of powerful economic blocs within countries, between neighbouring countries, and even among countries in different continents”, which presents solution to the inadequacies thrown up by current global and national political structures.

In line with this thinking, in many parts of the country, states are already integrating along regional lines. The states of the South-West have come together under the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), while the South-South states have launched the BRACED (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta) Commission. Some northern states are also reported to be mooting the idea.

One is therefore shocked to hear Martin Elechi, governor of Ebonyi State, being quoted as calling on Igbos to shun the calls for South-East regional economic integration. According to the report, Elechi stated in a radio programme on Ebonyi Broadcasting Corporation (EBBC) that each state in the South-East has its peculiar challenges and economic needs which may not be in tandem with what other states may need, pointing out that it was better for each state to identify its peculiarities and go for them.

If the governor actually made the above statement, then it is very unfortunate. But his apprehension is easy to understand. He is afraid of losing his ‘sovereignty’. It is a general feeling among many South-East leaders who are always more interested in carving out and maintaining ‘little fiefdoms’ for themselves, where they would be the sole sovereigns wielding unchallenged authority, rather than working for the good of the greater majority. It was probably the same sentiment that drove Theodore Orji of Abia State to sack non-Abians – fellow Igbos at that – in his state civil service: to show the world that he is the ‘Unchallenged Lord of the Abia Ring’.

Be that as it may, some points can bear to be made here. While Governor Elechi and others who wish to are free to argue as much as they like about the peculiarities of the individual states of the South-East, they should not forget that prior to 1967, the entire areas that make up the present day South-East Nigeria and parts of the South-South were one entity: Eastern Nigeria. When Yakubu Gowon carried out the first ever state creation exercise in Nigeria in 1967, he excised the minority areas of Eastern Nigeria from the Igbo speaking areas and the remaining part – today’s Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi States – was called East Central State. Murtala Mohammed in 1976 gave Nigeria 19 states. That exercise split the East Central State into two – Anambra and Imo. Subsequent state creation exercise by Ibrahim Babangida carved Enugu out of Anambra and Abia out of Imo; and finally, Sani Abacha in 1996 created Ebonyi out of Abia and Enugu. So, without doubt, the entire area that makes up today’s South-East is essentially one entity, homogeneous in all aspects, with only observable dialectal differences. As a result, integration is only natural to the region.

To say that the states of the South-East need economic integration as much as other regions of the country – or even more so – is merely stating the obvious. There is no doubt that the South-East is among the least developed areas of the country – if not the very least – in terms of infrastructure, which is worsened by the virtual absence of federal projects in the region. This is one reason the Igbos of the South-East are scattered in all parts of Nigeria and the world where they contribute immeasurably to development, while their home region remains a backwater. Joining forces will likely reverse this trend. Working together, the South-East states, rather than wait eternally for a sleeping – or politics playing – federal government, can pool resources and commence work on the direly needed Second Niger Bridge and such other projects, rehabilitation of the badly damaged interstate roads in the region, and development of other infrastructure that would bring the Igbos back home to invest. I often imagine what Igboland would be if just a quarter of Igbo investments in Lagos alone is brought back to Igboland!

Obviously, regional integration will bring more gain than pain to the South-East. This is not to say, however, that it is going to be one long night of romance. As the BRACED director-general, Keshi, rightly warned, “No such venture provides instant ‘nescafe’ solutions, nor is it without its challenges. It is a long journey with ups and downs, twists and turns.” The path is going to be tortuous, but the integrating states must brace up for the challenges, as a man running for his life never tires out.

I will conclude with Augustine Avwode’s incontrovertible submission: “In a society troubled by economic stagnation and abject poverty, the best approach should be collective rather than individualistic. And as no state can really claim to be self-sufficient, it seems to make more sense for states that are contiguously located and also bonded by historical, cultural and linguistic affinities to explore jointly the potential available for development within such regions.” This is the path the South-East must toe, and the time to do it is now.

*This article was first published in BusinessDay on Tuesday, 29 May 2012.

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