A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF NEPAD ON NIGERIA’S RELATIONS WITH WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES, 1999 – 2007

Abstract

Development has over the years appeared to be an elusive milestone for Africa as states in the continent, since independence till date, are still battling with various development needs and challenges such as a rapidly growing poor population, inequalities, unemployment, environmental degradation, unstable economy and a recurrent problem of civil unrest and insurgency. This paper considered a few perspectives that have been proposed to enhance social and economic development in Africa, particularly the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which seeks to create a self-reliant and developed Africa. In this paper, we argued that NEPAD, like prior growth plans for Africa, has been unable to meet the renaissance needs of the continent particularly because her development plans are designed and strung around exogenous influences. From the standpoint of the Dependency theory we have argued that the current externally focused model for African socio-economic development is not effective. No continent or country ever developed relying on foreign aid and assistances; rather such dependence deepens the disarticulation of the economies of states in Africa. On this note, this paper suggests that Africa, as a matter of urgency, needs to rely less on foreign aid, and begin to extensively increase domestic investment to finance its development.