Obstacles to regional integration: the human factor challenge to trade facilitation and port reforms in Nigeria

As ECOWAS regional integration arrangement becomes more inevitable, trade facilitation challenges also grow. But how well a country is positioned to take advantage of the gains and bear associated costs varies. It does not seem as though Nigerian ports are well positioned for the country’s leadership roles in ECOWAS. Worse, discussions about regional integration largely ignore this and government compensates for inefficient ports with trade distorting policies. This study therefore sets out to evaluate the state of the Nigerian ports. It found that by both international standards and stakeholder evaluations, Nigerian ports are inefficient. However, the sources of the inefficiency are hardly physical infrastructure as much as it is human and institutional deficiency. It therefore observes that the challenge of getting the ports to work for the good of Nigeria and the regional integration project is the challenge of getting government institutions working in the ports to reform their human capital. © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.