ABSTRACT

In 1975 Nigeria took a lead in establishing the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, whose headquarters is in Lagos. The organisation’s sixteen members range from Mauritania in the West to Nigeria herself, and it includes countries once colonies of Britain, France and Portugal, as well as Liberia. ECOWAS’ objective is the creation of a great area of free trade and free movement in the West African area, to achieve which member states are prepared to concede the same degree of sovereignty as are the members of the EEC.