History and Prospects for Regional Integration in Africa: By Professor Adehayo Adedeji, CFR

Abstract

Introductory Remark by Professor Adehayo Adedeji, CFR at the Third Meeting of the African Development Forum. Professor Adedeji, on remarks highlighted that, Trade relations between African and European countries have been described as a hub-and- spoke arrangement. The OECD countries constitute the hub while individual African countries are the spokes. The key feature of the hub-and-spoke arrangement is that trade between the hub and each spoke is naturally dominated by the former to the detriment of the latter, unless the spokes work in a concerted manner. The 1945 Pan African Congress -the fifth in the series -held in Manchester, England was the first to be dominated by Africans and African issues, even if it was very much the creation of the diaspora leaders. However, as a large number of countries became independent in the 1960s, pan- Africanism was supplanted by sub-regionalism and nationalism. between 1975 and 1983, Africa did succeed in establishing three sub-region- wide cooperation and integration entities -ECOWAS, PTA/COMESA and ECCAS with 16, 22 and 10 countries membership. By focusing virtually exclusively on economic cooperation and integration while making -the heroic ceteris paribus assumption as far as political and social factors are concerned, has contributed significantly to the lack of progress in the actualization of the vision.