Map of Nigeria

Sanmi Lepe

The Gambia and Mauritania were the last two West African countries that signed the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) in 2018. Ghana signed in 2016 and after two years of participation, it recorded a whopping $3.3billion, while Nigeria recorded a much lower Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of $2.2billion in the same year. That was the first time Ghana would edge Nigeria, by over $1billion and the trend has continued ever since. Nigeria is the only member of ECOWAS yet to ratify the agreement.

It will be awfully difficult for Nigeria to reach its full potential at the African Continental free Trade Area (AfCFTA), if it continues to boycott the EPA. Already the EU is a well established partner of the African Union (AU) in the free trade area agreement. A whopping sum of €72.5million had already been donated by EU through its Pan-African Program (PANAF).

Nigeria lost the opportunity of taking a pivotal role in shaping the AfCFTA because it was one of the last to ratify the extraordinary agreement, 53rd out of 54 countries. The EPA appears to be moving in a similar direction, as Nigeria would likely become one of the last signatories when finally ratified.  In 2016, the EU threatened to terminate Free Market Access it granted Nigeria, if it continued to refuse the signing of the EPA.

At TICAD 8 in Tokyo, Japan signed several mega investment agreements with 12 African countries. Not less than 92 MoUs were signed. South Africa signed agreements in green hydrogen and ammonia projects while Namibia also signed the twin investment of critical minerals and green hydrogen. Sadly, Nigeria could only attract a minor agreement in the sales and marketing of pharmaceutical drugs.

Switzerland is one the countries that recently indicated interest to support Nigeria, but it may be difficult to ink many of the available agreements if some bold policies and collaborations are not in place. There are several opportunities across various sectors that the Swiss government could be of immense support. The same applies to Japan, United States, United Kingdom, China, Netherlands, South Korea and even Airbus, all have indicated unwavering interest in Nigeria.

The EU insists the EPA would help institute factories and zonal hubs across Nigeria, with the creation of numerous job opportunities. It may be a prudent decision to reopen talks if such investment opportunities can be guaranteed. Nigeria is the currently the only member of ECOWAS yet to sign the agreement.

Sanmi Lepe

Knowledge Economy Expert