The ECOWAS Protocol Relating to the Regulation on Transhumance Between ECOWAS member States 1998/2003: Challenges of Implementation
By
DANJUMA D. JISE Asst. Research Fellow, Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna Centre for the Study of Leadership & Complex Military Operations NDA Kaduna Nigeria
The International Conference on ECOWAS at 40 Benue State University Makurdi
ABSTRACT The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had recognized transhumance as mode of livestock production to attain self-sufficiency in food production, food security, economic and political stability in the region. The ECOWAS Protocol Relating to the Regulation on Transhumance Between ECOWAS Member States 1998/2003 seeks to regulate transhumance by ensuring that herd movements are regulated and take place along defined corridors allowed by member states. At issue are the rising tides of insurgency within the Sahellian belt; the intra-state and inter-state conflicts arising between sedentary farmers and nomadic pastoralists or herders against the stark realities of Climate Change. The difficulties arising from the implementation of the protocol between member states has tended to present security challenges that is apparently intractable. The paper attempts a critical assessment of 1
implementing the lofty initiatives of the protocol in a bid to identifying gaps. It makes some policy recommendations for improvement.
Background Seeking to promote stability and development following their independence from colonial rule, countries in the West African sub-region determined to embrace a policy of regional economic and cultural integration, on 28 May 1975, a treaty was signed in Lagos, Nigeria, by sixteen West African nations.1 establishing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 2 The treaty aimed at once, to strengthen sub-regional economic integration through the 1 The original 16 ECOWAS states were Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Mauritania withdrew its membership in 2002. ECOWAS today therefore consists of 15 member states.
2 Known in French as La Communauté de Économique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO)
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progressively freer movement of goods, capital and people and to consolidate states’ efforts to maintaining peace, stability, and security3West Africa encompasses countries of immigration and countries of emigration as well as countries that combine both, and countries that serve as migrant transit routes.4 The main traditional countries of immigration have been Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, and in the early 1970s Nigeria also became a major migrant-receiving country as the oil boom generated ample employment in various sectors of the economy. The major sending countries, mainly labour-exporting, include Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Togo. Senegal has been both a labour-exporting and labour-receiving country. These migratory configurations have however changed somewhat in recent years. Senegal for example has taken on an additional role as a transit country for migrants seeking to enter the European Union; Ghana and, in later years, Nigeria, became labour-exporting as a result of the deteriorating economic conditions in Ghana in the late 1960s and in Nigeria in the mid-1980s 5. In recent years, Ghana has experienced a flow of return migrants as the economic situation there continues to improve. The treaty which covered almost all fields of economic activities, affirms in Article 27, the need for a long-term objective of establishing a Community citizenship that could be acquired automatically by all nationals of the Member States. This reinforced the preamble to the treaty that outlined the key objective of removing obstacles to the free movement of goods, capital and people in the sub-region. Phase 1 of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the Right of Residence and Establishment of May 1979, which guaranteed free entry of Community citizens without visa for 90 days, was ratified by Member States in 1980 and put into effect forthwith6. The relationship between Nigeria and the world, especially West Africa is considered vital to Nigeria’s relationship with neighboring West-Africa in the Grand Strategy for National Security 3 The original treaty was revised and updated in 1993. The Revised 1993 Treaty of ECOWAS (signed 24 July 1993 in Cotonou, Benin) reconfirmed at article 59 the right of community citizens to enter, reside and establish in member states and enjoined member states to adopt all appropriate measures to implement and ensure such right.
4 Aderanti Adepoju , 2008 “Operationalising the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons: Prospects for Sub-Regional Trade and Development Network of Migration Research on Africa (NOMRA) 5 Aderanti Adepoju, . 1988. Labour migration and employment of ECOWAS nationals in Nigeria. In T. Fashoyin (ed.) Labour and Development in Nigeria. Lagos: Landmark Publications Ltd. 6 Aderanti Adepoju, 2001. Regional Organisations and Intra-Regional Migration in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and prospects. International Migration 39 (6) 43–59. (Special Issue on International Migration Policies)
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has historical antecedent in Nigeria’s efforts at floating ECOWAS in the 1970s and its commitment to the policy of good neighborliness especially after the civil war experience to ward off any form of third level threat among other considerations.7 ECOWAS Instruments and Security Architecture “ECOWAS was established by the Treaty of Lagos signed in May 28, 1975. The member countries of ECOWAS are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Cape Verde. Mauritania used to be a member but decided to withdraw in 2000 to join the Arab Maghreb Union”.8 “The main objective of ECOWAS is to promote cooperation and integration in the context of an economic union of West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its people, to maintain and increase economic stability, to strengthen relations among the Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent. If the initial objectives were essentially economic, the Community however took on political and security issues well. In 1990, it established a peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) to help deal with various conflicts in the region”. 9 The ECOWAS code of conduct is the latest installment in a long line of efforts at the regional level to plug the security gap and lock in democratic gains in some West African states, while the ECOWAS code in essence draws from and builds upon earlier policy instruments relating to regional security and good governance, its primary aim among these is the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993, Article 58 which prescribes the need to safeguard and consolidate regional peace, security and stability.10
7 Celestine Oyom Bassey & Oshita O. Oshita, Governance and Border Security in Africa, African Books Collective, 2010, P. 299-300.
8 http://www.uneca.org/oria/pages/ecowas-economic-community-west-african-states-0, 4/1/2015, 8:43am.
9 Ibid.
10 Alan Bryden & Funmi Olonisakin, Security Sector Transformation in Africa, LIT Verlag Munster, 2010, p. 122.
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“In 1999, ECOWAS adopted a 'Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security. After the ECOWAS Authority and the Secretariat, which has been a Commission since 2007, it involves a Mediation and Security Council (MSC), in which decisions are taken by a two-thirds majority of member states. ECOWAS has mandated the MSC to authorize all forms of intervention and decide on the deployment of political and military missions. In 2001, a supplementary protocol was adopted, which dealt with democracy and good governance, and sought to establish a set of mandatory constitutional principles, including separation of powers, free and fair multi-party elections and a “zero-tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.11 Colonel Abdurrahman Dieng, on behalf of commissioner for political affairs, peace and security of ECOWAS Commission, stated key ECOWAS regional security instruments which includes the 1999 protocol relating to a mechanism for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peace keeping and security, the 2001 supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance and he also noted that in 2008 ECOWAS conflict prevention framework and the 2011 supplementary Act relating to a code of conduct for the armed forces and security services, ECOWAS made efforts to redefine security as a subject not the exclusive preserve of the military and political class but it also includes the participation of the civil society as a common denominator in the process.12 Introduction Regional self reliance in the context of food security is key to making any inroad to development block integration. Livestock pastoralism as vital component of food security was acknowledged as an important part of the Sahelian economy, and livestock mobility is a vital strategy to gaining access to seasonal availabilities of high quality forage and to reduce vulnerability of livestock to local rainfall deficit13. Herd mobility follows a seasonal pattern called transhumance along specific paths or corridors. Passing through agricultural areas, corridors vary between 5 11 Emmanuel K. Bensah Jr., Explaining the ECOWAS Peace & Security Architecture, Modern Ghana, 10 April, 2012. 12 Abdou Rahman Sallah, West Africa: ECOWAS Framework On Security Reviewed, All Africa, 23 May, 2014.
13 John McPeak, & Matthew Turner, “Management of River Systems for the Future: Mapping Transhumance Corridors in West Africa”. Adapting Livestock to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program Research Brief No.3 2012.
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and 20 meters in width, allowing livestock to move through cultivated zones without removing significant amounts of land from agricultural production14. Mobility is north-to-south oriented with coordinated seasonal movements that allow both crops and livestock to use key resources. During the rainy season, livestock move to northern pastures to take advantage of the sparser, but higher quality vegetation found there. During the dry season, livestock move along corridors to the south where agricultural pressure is often, but not always, higher. Livestock progress along transhumance corridors between relatively well-defined resting points, generally close to water. The length of time that livestock remain at these resting points varies from one day to several weeks. Each day, herders take livestock to graze and or water in the area then return to resting points in the evening. The attractiveness of a resting point, the length of the stay of a herd, and the size of the herd present in any given year is strongly affected by the availability of forage and water in a 4 km radius surrounding the point15. Transhumance is vulnerable to corridor blocks and the loss of pastures around encampment and water points due to encroachment by crop fields. Corridor management is thus a major issue for village and commune-level government because of the competing needs of farmers and herders. In cases where corridors are closed because of the growth of cultivated areas, local authorities may seek to identify alternative corridors through their jurisdictions. Unfortunately, these decisions are often made without consideration of how local corridors connect to regional networks or how corridors connect to water and forage access. As a result, the usefulness of many corridor stretches have deteriorated, increasing the vulnerability of regional livestock and the potential for farmer-herder conflict.16 Conceptualization Lhotse et al. have provided definitions of transhumance, and these may be summarised thus: “Transhumance is a system of animal production characterised by seasonal movements of a cyclical nature and to varying extents. These movements take place between complementary 14 Ibid 15 Ibid 16 ibid
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ecological zones, under the care of a few people, with most of the group remaining sedentary.” Transhumant herds usually move away from environments that are out of balance, harsh and changing, such as Sahelian zones. In such a context, transhumance can be seen as a form of adaptation of these environments and optimisation of ecological complementarities between Sahelian and Sudanian regions. It is a livestock system based on a strategy of ecologically viable, ad hoc management of pastoral resources, which has enabled herding 64 communities, particularly the Fula, the Tuareg and the Moor, to survive the major ecoclimatic crises that periodically affect the Sahel countries.
In the SWA region, pastoralism is the main rearing system for domestic ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats and camelids). In the Sahel countries, such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, an estimated 70% to 90% of cattle are reared under this system. Cross-border transhumance is thus the dominant feature of pastoralism in the region. Although there are no reliable statistics to quantify the numbers of animals involved, estimates by various professional herders’ organisations during the Mission of Experts’ consultations suggested that more than two million cattle are driven yearly in transhumance to Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Nigeria. The region of the Liptako-Gourma Authority (372 000 km2), an intergovernmental (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) agency for rural development, reports more than half the herds of the three countries as being reared under the pastoral system. It was estimated in 2006 that In Mauritania, the flows of transhumant animals towards Mali and Senegal are estimated at more than one million head, i.e. 5% to 10% of Mauritania’s total livestock.17 Seen by Sahelian herders as an opportunity to improve the productivity of their herds, or even to save animals from certain death, it is not, as one livestock farmer said, that herders have a particular taste for moving around, but is rather something imposed by natural conditions. Nonetheless, cross-border transhumance is seen by the inhabitants of reception countries as a plague to be eradicated18 17 IRIN Afrique, (2006) Sénégal-Mauritanie : nouvel accord sur la transhumance entre la Mauritanie et le Sénégal. Consulté sur Internet le 24 septembre 2006. www.secheresse. info/article.php3?id_article=2986 18 ECOWAS & SWAC/OECD 2008, “Livestock and Regional Market in the Sahel and West Africa: Potentials and challenges”. Study carried out within ECOWAS Commission and SWAC/OECD partnership on the future of livestock in the Sahel and West Africa.
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The pastoral groups identified within these corridors belong to three sub-systems of the pastoral production system; the nomadic pastoralists, semi-nomadic pastoralists and the agro-pastoralists. The first two subsystems are known as the transhumant pastoralists within which are groups referred to as the Uawa, the Bokolohi and the Mbororo. All the three groups belong to the Fulbe (Fulani pastoralists). The Fulani are the most numerous and widespread pastoralists not only in Nigeria but across the west African sub-region 19. Though, in Nigeria, there are some pastoralists groups like the Koyam, Kayi, the Shuwa and related peoples who are found in semi arid zone around Lake Chad other than the Fulbe pastoralists. As the tradition entails, the animals exist by scavenging depending in natural grazing. The nomadic pastoralists practice transhumance, moving south in the dry season and north in wet seasons in keeping with their seasonal variations in the availability of water and prevalence of bovine diseases.20 The semi – nomadic pastoralists normally have a home base where they most of the time, cultivate some crops and by so doing combine crop and animal husbandry.
The natural disasters brought about by changes in global climate change and weather conditions have threatened and will to continue disrupt the pastoral activities in this region without a concerted or collective action to restore the situation. These impacts of climate changes coupled with rapid growth of population and resultant pressure on the land has brought the pastoralists and the sedentary farmers under unusual competition over scarce natural resource thereby dragging them into violent conflicts and clashes. This is the case in many parts of Nigeria including Benue, Taraba, Gombe and Plateau states which are flash points. This paper is structured in three parts: Part I focuses mainly on the founding of ECOWAS, what informed it and how it has fared over the years. Part II deals with efforts aimed at drawing up series of protocols in line with its traditional principles and core values of cooperation, mutual dependence and peace and security within the sub-region. It narrowed down to the 1998/2008 19Yakubu Mukhtar (2002), Musa Daggash; The Story of a Shuwa Arab Boy; Heinemann Education Books (Nigeria) Ltd
20 Derrick J. Stenning (1959) Savannah Nomads: A Study of the Wodaabe Pastoral Fulani of Western Bornu Province, Northern Region, Nigeria. London: Oxford University Press.
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Protocols on Transhumance and Free Movement of Persons. While part III dwell on the challenges of Implementation, issues arising thereof and some recommendations for improvement. The ECOWAS Protocol on ‘Free Movement’ The leaders of West Africa recognized in the early 1970s that intra-regional integration could be an important step towards the sub-region’s collective integration into the global economy. In the long and tortuous process of establishing the African Common Market and African Economic Community, the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos set out clearly a framework for establishing sub-regional cooperation unions – to serve as building blocks towards a continentwide economic integration. The possibility, and indeed the necessity, of creating sub-regional and regional economic cooperation and integration organizations in West Africa – and in fact in all of Africa – was reinforced by the experiences both in developed countries, and in other developing countries.21 Among such organizations are the European Economic Community; the Latin America Free Trade Association (LAFTA); the Caribbean Community (CAICOM); the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN); the Central American Common Market (CACM); cooperation agreements among African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and so on. The formation of ECOWAS thus to a certain extent re-created the kind of pseudohomogeneous society that had once existed in the sub-region. Hence, the Free Movement of Persons Protocol – the first to be ratified and operationalized – ushered in an era in which the free movement of ECOWAS citizens within member countries was once again possible22. The coming into force of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons coincided with a period of economic recession in most of West Africa, especially in the countries bordering Nigeria, which at that time was itself booming economically, fuelled by the oil Boom of the 1970s. As well as attracting all types of skilled migrants, the oil-led employment opportunities in Nigeria were a magnet especially to unskilled workers, who came in their droves from Ghana, Togo, Chad, Mali and Cameroon to work in the construction and services sectors. The short-lived oil boom resulted 21 Aderanti Adepoju, . 2002. Fostering Free Movement of Persons in West Africa: achievements, constraints, and prospects for international migration. International Migration 40 (2) 4–28. 22 Aderanti Adepoju, 2001. Regional Organisations and Intra-Regional Migration in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and prospects. International Migration 39 (6) 43–59. (Special Issue on International Migration Policies)
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in a rapid deterioration in living and working conditions within the country. In early 1983 and in mid-1985, the Nigerian Government revoked, respectively, Articles 4 and 27 of the Protocol, and expelled between 0.9 and 1.3 million illegal aliens, mostly Ghanaians23. The ratification of the second phase of the ECOWAS Protocol, on Right of Residence, which came into force in July 1986, coincided with the implementation of the structural adjustment program in Nigeria. In June 1985, about 200 000 illegal aliens were again expelled as the economic crisis deepened. This development created a crisis of confidence that rocked the Community to its very foundations. Most countries of the sub-region have enacted, or retained a series of laws which in effect restrict ‘foreigners’, including nationals of community states, from participating in certain kinds of economic activities, and the expulsion of aliens from some Member States is negating the whole raison d’être of the establishment of ECOWAS.24 Nonetheless, the 1992 revised Treaty of ECOWAS affirmed the right of citizens of the Community to entry, residence and settlement, and enjoined Member States to recognize these rights in their respective territories. It also called on Member States to take all necessary steps at the national level to ensure that the provisions are duly implemented. In response to the challenges inherent in promoting and supporting such an approach, the ECOWAS 30th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Abuja in June 2006, mandated the Executive Secretariat to take the initiative in defining an ECOWAS Common Approach on Migration. This was adopted in January 2008 at the 33rd Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ouagadougou, with a focus on the following: promoting free movement within the ECOWAS zone; promoting the management of regular migration; policy harmonization; controlling irregular migration and human trafficking, particularly of women and children; protecting the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, taking into account the gender and migration 23 Aderanti Adepoju, .2009. Migration management in West Africa within the context of ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the Common Approach on Migration: Challenges and Prospects. In M. Tremolieres (ed.) Regional Challenges of West African Migration: African and European Perspectives. Paris: EOCD (in English and French). 24 Ibid
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dynamics dimension. The primary objective of the ‘Common Approach’ is to enhance the management of migration through the development of a harmonized system and a comprehensive, balanced approach as a basis upon which member states would develop, strengthen, implement and coordinate migration policies and programs in cooperation and partnership with the international community25. There is however a general lack of information on the framework document at national level, even among national officials. ECOWAS Decision A/DEC.5/10/98: a regional regulation to be adapted to local circumstances Cross-border transhumance is governed by Decision A/DEC.5/10/98, adopted at the 21st Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government, which lays down the conditions for the movement of livestock, the care of transhumant animals and the reception of transhumant livestock. The mechanism for implementation of the decision is the ECOWAS International Transhumance Certificate (ITC), a type of passport for transhumant herds, which has the following objectives: i.
To allow management of the departure of transhumant herds.
ii.
To ensure sanitary protection of local herds.
iii.
To provide the inhabitants of reception zones with advance information on the arrival of transhumant herds.
The decision is intended to complement and reinforce national regulations on cross-border transhumance. But since it was adopted, the decision has encountered many obstacles to its application. On the one hand, transhumant herders from Burkina Faso and Niger complain that transhumant tracks and corridors in reception zones (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana) are being occupied and that they are subject to much administrative harassment. On the other hand, the inhabitants of reception zones accuse transhumant herds of damaging crops and harvests, 25 ECOWAS 2008. ECOWAS Common Approach on Migration (adopted at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Head of State and Government), Ouagadougou, 18 January. Accra: ECOWAS Commission. Ghana News Agency, 2011 ECOWAS Trade Suffering From Failure To Implement Protocols Posted by admin on Aug 08, 2011
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illegally grazing protected areas with consequent degradation of wildlife and its habitat, violence to local people etc. Some of those concerned in transhumance complain of the inadequate involvement of grass-roots organisations and the rigidness of the Decision. Aware of the poor application of the decision, ECOWAS organises a yearly mission to raise the awareness of all those involved in transhumance – herders, traditional chiefs, central and decentralised authorities etc. For their part, countries are establishing bilateral (Benin–Burkina Faso, Benin–Nigeria, Benin–Niger etc.) or multilateral (Benin–Burkina Faso–Niger) agreements concerning the ECOWAS Decision in order to manage cross-border transhumance better. These promising initiatives would become more effective if grass-roots organisations (for example, the Association to Revive Herding in Niger [AREN] in Niger, the Departmental Union of Professional Ruminant Rearers’ Organisations [UDOPER] in Benin, the Pastoralism Communication Network [RECOPA] in Burkina Faso) and the Miyeti Allah group of Nigeria were made responsible for spreading information on the Decision.
The Problem Rural farmers and nomadic livestock pastoralists are the primary source of food in West Africa, especially the urban areas of most countries within the sub-region. Unfortunately sedentary/migrant farmers and transhumant pastoralists have engaged each other in a vicious circle of warfare that is threatening the peace and stability of many sovereign entities within the West African sub-region. The conflict which is of resource nature, has undermined the economic fortunes of pastoralism owing to the blockades/ stiff bottle necks and limiting factors of transhumant corridors which inhibits herding and transhumance migrations within the subregion. Very cardinal to this, is the contradictions arising from implementing the lofty objectives of the ECOWAS protocol on Transhumance and the challenges of actualizing its contents.
•
At issue is the disconnect between national authorities and State governments on the one hand and between the state governments and local/community authorities on the other, in terms of communication and consent of the ECOWAS operational protocols on Transhumance. Viewing such protocols through the lenses of an ECOWAS of people and their socio-political and economic realities as opposed to the ECOWAS of States, is a 12
requisite for Consent to, and implementation-respect for the protocols on Transhumance among other laudable initiatives. The statist approach to the implementation of multilateral protocols has not only proved less effective but has exacerbated the already feuding farmer-herder conflict within the sub-region. It may as yet, provided grounds for potential conflicts within the sub-region. •
Dearth of Stock Data for planning. Multiple stakeholders (government ministries, NGOs, elected and appointed officials, village chiefs, pastoral clan leaders, farmers, herders, etc.) do not have necessary information about the existing multilateral agreements or protocols, least is known by the interconnected communities, of the pasture fields and passages, corridors and the water points that make up larger transhumance systems, so it is difficult to determine and appreciate the broader regional importance. This information is important for national-level planners who need to convey these concerns to local management groups that recognize and protect these resources.
•
The slow paste of progress and implementation gaps of the protocols
Insurgency •
The rising tide of insurgency and terrorism and the corresponding global war on terror by way of counter insurgency measures between and among member states and its consequential weight on inter-group relations cannot be wished away. By its demographic footprints, ideology and utterances, unfortunately, insurgency in Nigeria and most parts of West Africa has come to be linked with certain identity groups viewed through ethnic and religious lenses. What is more, a reactionary response from other groups has demonstrated an unpleasant gesture to other innocent members of that identity group whether or not they share the views of the erring insurgents. Consequently, this has tinkered with the existing inter-group relations which hitherto, allowed for a more friendly and accommodating farmer-herder relationship. o The rise in identity consciousness often at the peril of national allegiances
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o The attendant distrust and suspicion of the traditional herder groups notably the Fulbe or Fulani as having links with insurgent groups and perceived indictment of same by host communities o The erroneous labeling of certain identity groups as responsible for every attack and other forms of criminality on the one hand and the frequency and consistency of the same group being visibly seen and often involved in provocative moves in the many cases such attacks. o The trends in radicalization and religious extremism o Political contestation within national frame with its attendant suspicions o Response to population explosion o Trans-nationalization of local conflicts and the civilizational mobilization of fault lines between traditional herder groups against the rest. o The role of conflict entrepreneurs and criminal groups •
A weak implementation mechanism
•
Different experiences faced in terms of local odds by member state, therefore a varying degree of commitment in the implementation among members thus making a uniform level of implementation still far from sight
Climate Change: Furthermore, until the 1980s, the great majority of aquaculture pioneering was based on rain fed cultivation. Rivers remained the preserve of fishermen and were often obstructed by dense vegetation where banks were grassy, herders could graze unimpeded. However, the introduction of fadama cultivation in Nigeria in the 1970s, changed things around thus presenting a totally different farmer-herder relationship. However, (fadama) cultivation since 1980s has meant that herders and farmers are now competing directly for access to river banks with consequential increase in conflict.26 26
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Recommendations •
A functional mechanism needs to be in place and existing ones strengthened between supra-national and sovereign states and between national governments and their states/local authorities to ensure compliance in the provision of the protocol at all levels.
•
Data on the subject of transhumance, immigration details and the conducts of migrants in relation to compliance to the protocols should be made available to authorities with periodic updates to guide planning and needed interventions and sanctions.
•
All obstacles to the smooth implementation of the protocol should be addressed by the respective authorities with a strong political will.
•
There is the crucial need for the integration of counter-insurgency measures in operating the ECOWAS protocol on transhumance. And forthwith, a reorientation of the community citizens to desist from stereotypical branding of certain identities as insurgents and such group must also leave up to the new trust to enable mutual confidence.
•
Intelligence gathering through responsible community citizenship will go a long way and is key to distinguishing between insurgents and innocent persons. o Explore programs of national cohesion and integration in a bid to solving intra state pastoralist-farmers feud before attending to the ambitious inter-state issues of transhumance
Roger Blench: “The Transformation of Conflict in Between Pastoralists and Cultivators in Nigeria” Journal of Africa, Ed M. Mortz Cambridge, 13 Sept. 2003.
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o Herders must be seen to be practically opposed to insurgency and committed to the common good of national or regional aspirations o Radicalization and religious extremism must be kept at bay and culprits brought under the full wrath of the law without impunity o All efforts should be geared towards putting the vexed issues of national questions to rest and forthwith, programs of mutual trust, equity and fairness ought to be engendered. o A realistic response to population explosion by member states will be necessary to minimize scarcity and conflict. o A mechanism that will treat conflict within its own domain will help check Transnationalization of local conflicts thereby expanding their scope and intensity.
o Conflict entrepreneurs and criminal groups within the region should be made to face the full wrath of the law without any sentiments, ill consideration or favor so as to serve as deterrent to others •
A monitoring mechanism is required to assess the implementation mechanism
•
The 2008. ECOWAS Common Approach on Migration (adopted at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Head of State and Government) should be the model framework so as to ensure the uniformity of implementations.
•
Community members as individual states and sub-regional blog should comply with the UN framework Convention on Climate Change under the Kyoto Protocol and members should implement to the later, the Nationally Appropriated Mitigation Action (NAMA) under the Non Annex I Group of countries and access their carbon credits for other greenfriendly programs as much as their surpluses allow.
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Notes
1. The original 16 ECOWAS states were Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Mauritania withdrew its membership in 2002. ECOWAS today therefore consists of 15 member states. 2. Known in French as La Communauté de Économique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) 17
3. The original treaty was revised and updated in 1993. The Revised 1993 Treaty of ECOWAS (signed 24 July 1993 in Cotonou, Benin) reconfirmed at article 59 the right of community citizens to enter, reside and establish in member states and enjoined member states to adopt all appropriate measures to implement and ensure such right. 4. Aderanti Adepoju , 2008 “Operationalising the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons: Prospects for Sub-Regional Trade and Development Network of Migration Research on Africa (NOMRA) Aderanti Adepoju, . 1988. Labour migration and employment of ECOWAS nationals in Nigeria. In T. Fashoyin (ed.) Labour and Development in Nigeria. Lagos: Landmark Publications Ltd. 6. Aderanti Adepoju, 2001. Regional Organisations and Intra-Regional Migration in subSaharan Africa: challenges and prospects. International Migration 39 (6) 43–59. (Special Issue on International Migration Policies) 7. Celestine Oyom Bassey & Oshita O. Oshita, Governance and Border Security in Africa, 5.
African Books Collective, 2010, P. 299-300. 8.
UNECA
2015
Accessed
at
http://www.uneca.org/oria/pages/ecowas-economic-
community-west-african-states-0, 4/1/2015, 8:43am. 9.
Ibid.
10.
Alan Bryden & Funmi Olonisakin, Security Sector Transformation in Africa, LIT Verlag Munster, 2010, p. 122.
Emmanuel K. Bensah Jr., Explaining the ECOWAS Peace & Security Architecture, Modern Ghana, 10 April, 2012. 12. Abdou Rahman Sallah, West Africa: ECOWAS Framework On Security Reviewed, All Africa, 23 May, 2014. 13. John McPeak, & Matthew Turner, “Management of River Systems for the Future: Mapping Transhumance Corridors in West Africa”. Adapting Livestock to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program Research Brief No.3 2012. 14. Ibid 15. Ibid 16. ibid 17. IRIN Afrique, (2006) Sénégal-Mauritanie : nouvel accord sur la transhumance entre la Mauritanie et le Sénégal. Consulté sur Internet le 24 septembre 2006. www.secheresse. info/article.php3?id_article=2986 11.
18
ECOWAS & SWAC/OECD 2008, “Livestock and Regional Market in the Sahel and West Africa: Potentials and challenges”. Study carried out within ECOWAS Commission and SWAC/OECD partnership on the future of livestock in the Sahel and West Africa. 19. Yakubu Mukhtar (2002), Musa Daggash; The Story of a Shuwa Arab Boy; Heinemann Education Books (Nigeria) Ltd 20. Derrick J. Stenning (1959) Savannah Nomads: A Study of the Wodaabe Pastoral Fulani of Western Bornu Province, Northern Region, Nigeria. London: Oxford University Press. 21. Aderanti Adepoju, . 2002. Fostering Free Movement of Persons in West Africa: achievements, constraints, and prospects for international migration. International Migration 40 (2) 4–28. 22. Aderanti Adepoju, 2001. Regional Organisations and Intra-Regional Migration in subSaharan Africa: challenges and prospects. International Migration 39 (6) 43–59. (Special Issue on International Migration Policies) 23. Aderanti Adepoju, .2009. Migration management in West Africa within the context of ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the Common Approach on Migration: Challenges and Prospects. In M. Tremolieres (ed.) Regional Challenges of West African Migration: African and European Perspectives. Paris: EOCD (in English and French). 24. Ibid 25. ECOWAS 2008. ECOWAS Common Approach on Migration (adopted at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Head of State and Government), Ouagadougou, 18 January. Accra: ECOWAS Commission. Ghana News Agency, 2011 ECOWAS Trade Suffering From Failure To Implement Protocols Posted by admin on Aug 08, 2011 26. Roger Blench. “The Transformation of Conflict in Between Pastoralists and Cultivators in Nigeria” Journal of Africa, Ed M. Mortz Cambridge, 13 Sept. 2003. 18.
19