CHALLENGES TO HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA.docx

Adiat Abiodun

CHALLENGES TO HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA.docx

The study examined ECOWAS mechanisms in addressing the challenges of human security in West Africa and investigated the importance of regional framework in strengthening and promoting human security in the sub region. It also established a nexus between human security and conflict prevention in West Africa. These were with a view to providing insight on the importance of regional framework in addressing the challenges of human security in the sub-region. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. For primary data, 34 in-depth interviews were conducted at the various departments of ECOWAS, which include: Political Affairs, Agriculture and Environment, Gender and Human Development, Trade and Free Movement, as well as Infrastructure. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted at the Department of Political Science of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies of six West African countries in Nigeria. These embassies include Liberia, Mali, Ghana, Benin Republic, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The respondents are as follows: five people in the senior cadre rank from ECOWAS which is the main organisation that the work had as its focal point. These respondents covered the selected departments of the organisation. For the academic institution, three respondents who had worked on ECOWAS and related areas were interviewed. Lastly, two senior members of staff were interviewed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies of the six selected West African countries making a total of 22. Furthermore, secondary data were sourced from ECOWAS documents, such as protocols establishing its various organs, institutions and modus operandi of the institution, books, journals, articles, magazines, newspapers and unpublished literatures as they are relevant to the subject matter. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive and content analyses. The results showed that the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework of 2008, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme of 2006 and ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Goods which were the organisation’s mechanisms for addressing human security challenges in the sub region, were adequate but with certain challenges. The results also revealed that the importance of the regional framework at addressing human security challenges was in strengthening and promoting human security in the sub region. This is because, the combined efforts of all states in the sub region under ECOWAS contributed to the drastic reduction of violent conflicts in the sub- region and also improved economic performance of the member states. Furthermore, the results also showed that there was a strong nexus between human security and conflict prevention. This is evident in the drastic reduction of violent conflicts in the sub region implying that the promotion and strengthening of human security could serve as conflict prevention mechanism. The study concluded that regional framework was successful in addressing the challenges of human security in the sub- region. ...Read more

CHALLENGES TO HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA. 4.1 Extreme Poverty and Human Deprivation in West Africa. The phenomenon of poverty is a social term which can be defined in different ways, depending on the context. Specifically, poverty can be expressed as a situation whereby there are insufficient resources or income. In its tremendous form, it implies lack of vital human wants, such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing, housing, clean water and health services. According to the United Nations (1998), the term poverty can be defined as a fundamental denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity resulting in a lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in the society. According to this definition, lack of the capacity to participate effectively in the society is referred to as been; a lack of food, healthcare, clothing, and security (Clempson, 2010). It is important to note that, there are many indicators for measuring poverty level. But many of these indicators have failed to reflect the true nature of poverty in the developing countries (Deaton, 2005). This is as a result of too much reliance on economic data, most importantly in conceptualizing poverty in Africa. Since their inception, West African states have been battling with the problem of poverty which is majorly caused by corruption and it has played an essential role of alienating the people from their rulers (Addo, 2005). Furthermore, the high level of corruption in the region, which is caused by prevalence of kleptocratic governments among its member states, has worsened the region’s problem of poverty (Bayern et al, 1999).Essentially, the measurement of poverty level is not supposed to be uni-directional; in other to have a holistic understanding of its nature and the problems it poses. For a comprehensive understanding of the level of poverty in the West African sub-region, a multi-dimensional approach will be adopted in this study. This will enable us to have a thorough understanding of the poverty level in the sub-region and the level of human 1

deprivation. Generally, monetary and capacity measures which was developed by the World Bank in the 1990s has been the way by which poverty is been measured. The measurement is income and consumption based which categorises levels of poverty based on inability to be able to acquire certain necessities. In disagreement with this approach, Sen (1976) pioneer the development of dozens of indicators for measuring the phenomenon and since then there has been a plethora of poverty indicators. According to IFAD (2001), poverty in West and Central Africa is essentially a rural phenomenon. This is because majority of the poor people in West African Countries lives in rural areas. Out of the 120 million impoverished populations in West Africa, 75% of this population domiciled in the rural areas (Mohammed, 2001). The table below is an illustration of the Urban and Rural population distribution in West Africa: 2

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CHALLENGES TO HUMAN SECURITY IN WEST AFRICA.docx