Transborder cooperation policy promotion at the local level: West African experience focusing on Nigeria and adjacent countries

Regional Development Dialogue

Volumn 17, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 153-172

  Asiwaju, A I ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BORDER AREA; BORDER REGION; CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION; DEVELOPING REGION; ECONOMIC COOPERATION; REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT; REGIONAL PLANNING;

AFRICA, (WEST); NIGERIA;

EID: 0030418691     PISSN: 02506505     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (48)

1. R. Strassoldo, "Border Studies: The State of the Art in Europe" in A. I. Asiwaju and P. O. Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands in Africa: A Multidisciplinary and Comparative Focus on Nigeria and West Africa (Lagos: University of Lagos Press, 1989).
2. Council of Europe, European Regional/Spatial Planning Charter (Strasbourg, 1984).
3. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
4. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
5. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
6. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
7. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
8. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
9. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
10. More elaborate discussions of policy implications of the definition of the highly contested concepts of border and borderlands are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, "Borderlands: Policy Implications of Definition for Nigeria" in Asiwaju and Adeniyi, eds., Borderlands In Africa; Niles Hansen, " European Transboundary Cooperation and Its Relevance to the United States-Mexican Border," Journal of the American Institute of Planners 49 (1983):336-43; E. R. Stoddard, "Local and Regional Incongruities in Bi-National Diplomacy: Policy for the U.S.-Mexico Border," Policy Perspectives 2(1:1982):111-36; R. Strassoldo, Frontier Regions: An Analytical Study (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1973); and R. Strassoldo, ed., Boundaries and Regions (Trieste: LINT), see Introduction; J. S. W. House, Frontier on the Rio Grande: A Political Geography of Development and Social Deprivation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982); O. J. Martinez, "Transnational Fronterizos: Cross-Border Linkages in Mexican Society," Journal of Borderland Studies (JBS) 5 (1:1990):79-94; and K. R. Nowotny and J. T. Peach, "The Economics of Border Areas" in G. M. Hansen, ed., Borders and Frontiers. Vol. 1: Teaching About International Boundaries (Las Cruces: Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, 1985).
11. The evolutionary history of nation-state territory and borders is discussed in greater detail in Strassoldo. "Border Studies;" Martinez, "Transnational Fonterizos;" and A. I. Asiwaju, "Overcoming Marginality through Public Policy: A Comparative History of Borderlands in Africa, North America and Western Europe" in S. Nolutshungu, ed., Marginality: Studies in the International Security of Minority Groups (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, forthcoming).
12. For a summary of the theoretical and empirical literatures on the nature and character of borders and borderlands, see Niles Hansen, Border Economy: Regional Development in the Southwest (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981), chapters 1 and 2.
13. Studies of borders in Latin America are examined in P. O. Girot, ed., World Boundaries. Vol. 4: The Americas (London: Routledge, 1994).
14. The post-1945 Western European consensus-building on border regions as unified planning spatial units is described in several works, especially those by Strassoldo, Frontier Regions; J. M. Quantin, "European Cooperation in Frontier Regions" (Background paper for the European Conference of Ministers Responsible for Regional Planning, second session, La Grande Motte, 25-27 September 1973); and V. Von Maichus, The Cooperation of European Frontier Regions: State of the Question and Recent Developments (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1975).
15. The post-1945 Western European consensus-building on border regions as unified planning spatial units is described in several works, especially those by Strassoldo, Frontier Regions; J. M. Quantin, "European Cooperation in Frontier Regions" (Background paper for the European Conference of Ministers Responsible for Regional Planning, second session, La Grande Motte, 25-27 September 1973); and V. Von Maichus, The Cooperation of European Frontier Regions: State of the Question and Recent Developments (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1975).
16. B. M. Barkindo, "Border Region Development as Impetus for Transborder Cooperation and Integration in Africa: The Nigerian Experience," JBS 8 (1:1993):21-38.
17. See A. I. Asiwaju, ed., Partitioned Africans: Ethnic Relations Across Africa's International Boundaries, 1884-1984 (London: C. Hust; and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985).
18. A.I. Asiwaju, "Borders and Borderlands as Linchpins for Regional Integration in Africa: Lessons of the European Experience," Africa Development 16 (2:1992).
19. Details of the concept of a "market-driven integration" are contained in I. Egg and O. J. Igue, "Market-Driven Integration in the Eastern (Western African) Sub-Region: Nigeria's Impact on Its Immediate Neighbours" (Synthesis report) (Paris, 1993), which like the preceding survey research, compare in perspective with J. MacGafee el al., The Real Economy of Zaire: The Contribution of Smuggling and Other Unofficial Activities to National Wealth (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991).
20. Details of the concept of a "market-driven integration" are contained in I. Egg and O. J. Igue, "Market-Driven Integration in the Eastern (Western African) Sub-Region: Nigeria's Impact on Its Immediate Neighbours" (Synthesis report) (Paris, 1993), which like the preceding survey research, compare in perspective with J. MacGafee el al., The Real Economy of Zaire: The Contribution of Smuggling and Other Unofficial Activities to National Wealth (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991).
21. Cellule Internationale d'Etudes, de Reflexions et de Gestion de l'Information sur les Echanges Regionaux (CINERGIE), "Cotonou Meeting, May 6-19, 1993: Regional Economic Integration Issues Between Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad" (1993). (in French)
22. The Club du Sahel of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris was the principal funding organization while the cosponsors were the Comité Permanent Inter-etats de Lutte centre la Secheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS), the Permanent Inter-State Commission on the Campaign for Drought Control in the Sahel, based in Ouagadougou. The illuminating supportive research was undertaken by experts based principally in the Department of Geography of the Université Nationale du Bénin (UNB), Cotonou; the Department of Rural Economy and Sociology of the institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA ), Montpellier; and the Institut National de la Recherche et d'Applications de Methodes de Development (IRAM) in Paris.
23. One significant research initiative undertaken under the CINERGIE is in the document entitled, West Africa Long Term Perspective Study (SAHID/94/439) (Published jointly by CILSS, Club du Sahel (OECD), and CINERGIE).
24. CINERGIE seminars and workshops included the meeting of regional experts on integration, Abidjan, 18-19 January 1993 (to consider the preliminary report of the team working on the "West Africa Long Term Perspective Study" Project); the Cotonou meeting of experts (to consider the report of the study team working on "Regional Economic Integration Issues between Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad"), 1-9 May 1993; and the Maradi meeting of experts focused on "Integration through Markets in the Sub-Region: Niger/Nigeria Interaction," Maradi, Niger, 20-22 October 1993.
25. See section 3 (a) of the National Boundary Commission Decree of 1987.
26. Ibid., section 7.
27. See A. I. Asiwaju, "Artificial Boundaries/Les frontières artificielles"(New York: Civiletic International, 1990), p. 37. This is a bilingual reissue of an inaugural lecture, published as "Artificial Boundaries" (Lagos: University of Lagos Press, 1984).
28. While working papers for the workshops in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are currently being published by the commission, those with respect to Niger and Benin have already been published; see A. I. Asiwaju and B. M. Barkindo, eds., The Nigeria-Niger Transborder Cooperation: Proceedings of a Bilateral Workshop, Kano, July 2-8, 1989 (Lagos: Malthouse Press for the National Boundary Commission (NBC), 1993); and A. I. Asiwaju and O. J. Igue, eds., The Nigeria-Benin Transborder Cooperation: Proceedings of a Bilateral Workshop, Badagri, May 8-14, 1988 (Lagos: University of Lagos Press for the NBC, 1994).
29. While working papers for the workshops in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are currently being published by the commission, those with respect to Niger and Benin have already been published; see A. I. Asiwaju and B. M. Barkindo, eds., The Nigeria-Niger Transborder Cooperation: Proceedings of a Bilateral Workshop, Kano, July 2-8, 1989 (Lagos: Malthouse Press for the National Boundary Commission (NBC), 1993); and A. I. Asiwaju and O. J. Igue, eds., The Nigeria-Benin Transborder Cooperation: Proceedings of a Bilateral Workshop, Badagri, May 8-14, 1988 (Lagos: University of Lagos Press for the NBC, 1994).
30. See the text of the European Outline Convention of Transfrontier Cooperation between Territorial Communities or Authorities (European Treaty Series; no. 106).
31. These and other details are contained in the communiqué jointly signed by the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Yaoundé at the conclusion of the visit.
32. The Gulf of Guinea Commission is expected to function along the lines of the Lake Chad Basin commission, also a four member-nation body embracing Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.
33. The Nigeria-Cameroon Joint Committee of Experts on Border Issues met thrice before the crisis of December 1993: first during the visit of the Nigerian Minister to Cameroon in August 1991, again in Abuja in December 1991, and once more in Yaoundé, in August 1993.
34. Details are contained in A. I. Asiwaju, ed., The Development of Border Regions: Proceedings of a National Planning Conference, Lagos, August 10-12, 1989 (Lagos: NBC, 1994).
35. New Nigerian (Lagos), 9 March 1993.
36. Nigeria's transborder cooperation policy initiatives were widely acclaimed by the national and international mass media. Each of the workshops was widely and positively reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA), and Radio France. The Ambassador of France to Nigeria at the time of the Nigeria-Niger workshop expressed his personal delight to his Nigerian counterpart, Lt. Col. Tandja Mamadou, stating that had a similar initiative been taken by Senegal vis-à-vis its neighbours, France and francophone nations would have been spared the embarrassment of the Senegal-Mauritania border clashes of 1989-90.
37. See OAU Document CM/IIG/CXXXVI/Add. 1 (author prepared draft of this Nigerian position paper upon request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
38. Report of the Minister of External Affairs to the 1992 meeting of the NBC.
39. ECOWAS: Revised Treaty (1993), chapter 58, p. 57.
40. This was one of the main findings in the Report of the Study for the Establishment of Inter-State Industrial Zones on West Africa (Lagos: ECOWAS, 1994). The author was one of two consultants appointed to undertake this study for ECOWAS.
41. See Asiwaju,"Borders and Borderlands as Linchpins for Regional Integration"; and his "Borderlands in Africa: A Comparative Research Perspective with Reference to Western Europe," JBS 3 (2:1993). The article is to reappear as the last chapter in A. I. Asiwaju and Paul Nuggent, eds., African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities (London: Mansell, 1995).
42. See Asiwaju,"Borders and Borderlands as Linchpins for Regional Integration"; and his "Borderlands in Africa: A Comparative Research Perspective with Reference to Western Europe," JBS 3 (2:1993). The article is to reappear as the last chapter in A. I. Asiwaju and Paul Nuggent, eds., African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities (London: Mansell, 1995).
43. The discussion of the North African situation draws heavily from Abdelwahab Biad, "North Africa" in United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNRCPDA), Lomé, Togo, "Workshop on the Role of Border Problems in African Peace and Security: A Research Project" (1993), pp. 38-48.
44. Among the fruits of the Tunisia-Algeria Friendship Treaty were the three joint industrial projects: white cement, diesel engines, and steel frames in the Tunisian border towns of Serina, Akiet Sidi Youssef, and Ghardimaou, respectively; see ibid., p. 43.
45. For details of the Latin American experience, see Luis Llambi, "The Venezuela-Colombia Borderlands: A Regional and Historical Perspective," JBS 4 (1:1989):1-38; and P. Ganster, "Andean Border Integration: Report on a Seminar in Lima, Peru, July 3-6, 1989," JBS 5 (1:1990):95-110.
46. For details of the Latin American experience, see Luis Llambi, "The Venezuela-Colombia Borderlands: A Regional and Historical Perspective," JBS 4 (1:1989):1-38; and P. Ganster, "Andean Border Integration: Report on a Seminar in Lima, Peru, July 3-6, 1989," JBS 5 (1:1990):95-110.
47. Asiwaju, A. I. and One, L. B., Reports of the Study for the Establishment of Inter-State Industrial Zone in West Africa (Lagos: ECOWAS Secretariat, 1994).
48. Council of Europe, European Outline Convention on transfrontier Cooperation between Territorial Authorities and Communities (Strasbourg, 1980).