BOUNDARY DISPUTES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NEPAD IN WEST AFRICA: 2001-2014

BOUNDARY DISPUTES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NEPAD IN WEST AFRICA: 2001-2014

ABSTRACT

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development and, at the same time, to participate actively in the world economy and body politic. The programme is anchored on the determination of Africans to extricate themselves and the continent from the malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalising world. However, the plethora of border disputes across the West African region over the years appears to have undermined attainment of the goals of good governance, poverty eradication sustainable economic and political development. This study, therefore, investigates boundary disputes and the implementation of NEPAD in West Africa between 2001 and 2014. The Ex- post facto design was used as the research design. Date from secondary sources such as books, journals and official document were qualitatively analysed. The findings show that before the adoption of NEPAD, various institutional framework for conflict resolution, including the international Court of Justice, UN Charter on Peaceful Resolution of conflicts failed to reduce high incidence of boundary disputes, such as Nigeria – Cameroun, Ivory coast Ghana, Mail – Burkian Faso, etc. In West Africa. It further shows that the African Peer Review Mechanism is an effective strategy for resolving boundary disputes in West Africa. The study therefore recommends the establishment of a permanent body or structure for the review of border issues in Africa. This will provide African States a venue to channel their grievances for mediation.