Abstract
Nigeria and Niger Republic have for a long time been in strong economic relation which appeared to have been contributing immensely in the development and improvement of the two countries as they shared common frontier in the West African sub-region. The duo engaged in economic relation that involved exchange of commodities ranging from farm produce to manufactured goods respectively. To a very large extent the two countries could be said to depend on each other for food supply and satisfaction of other economic and social needs. Indeed, most Niger goods pass through Nigerian ports for imports and exports. However, in spite of this long term economic relations between them, they are yet to find an enduring solutions towards sustaining and developing their economies. Premised on the foregoing, this paper examines African Union and the challenges of economic integration and development in two West African countries of Nigeria and Niger republic. The aim is to identify the various challenges faced by the African union integration agenda in the economic integration and development of Nigeria and Niger republic. The paper adopted qualitative method with the use of documented data to gather relevant information and thematic analysis and researcher reflexivity to analyze the qualitative data collected. It observed that lack of political will; poor infrastructure; security issues and minimal intra-regional trade among others are some of the challenges hindering effective integration and development between Nigeria and Niger on one hand and African countries by extension. The paper concludes that for effective integration and development the aforementioned problem area must be effectively tackled.
Key words: African Union, Integration, Challenges, Economic Integration, Economic Development.
DOI: 10.36349/sokotojh.2022.v11i01.004
author/Rasheed, A. and Salawu, I. O.
journal/Sokoto JH | Vol. 11 | Page 155- 169
