Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told Kigali media: “This is where our salvation lies: trade between them and therefore the development of our economies. This agreement will lead to a change in the perception of the continent by the rest of the world. “Most of Nigeria`s trade is oil exports to Asia and Europe, and Nigeria`s share of non-oil trade in Africa is relatively small. By reducing barriers to intra-African trade, AfCFTA can only improve trade with its neighbours. The Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) [9] is a free trade area with 28 countries starting in 2018. [1] [10] [11] [12] It was created by the African Free Trade Agreement between 54 of the 55 african union nations. [13] The free trade area is the largest in the world, in terms of the number of participating countries since the creation of the World Trade Organization. [14] Accra, Ghana, is the secretariat of AFCFTA and was commissioned by Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo on 18 August 2020 in Accra and handed over to the AU. The free trade area will not affect the “good work” of Africa`s regional economic communities, even by facilitating the liberalization and integration of regional trade in Africa, Songwe says. Instead, it will allow high-integration regional economic blocs to maintain such a high level. What complicates matters further is that Africa was already divided into eight separate free trade zones and/or union unions, with different regulations. [Note 1] These regional bodies will continue to exist; The African Continental Free Trade Agreement aims firstly to remove barriers to trade between the various pillars of the African Economic Community and, finally, to use these regional organizations as building blocks of the ultimate goal of an African-wide customs union. [21] [30] [31] [32] The free trade agreement aims to reduce tariffs between Member States.
Nigeria will need improvements and adaptations to its administrative infrastructure, legal and trade if he wants to implement the free trade area and embrace it completely, and Ajagbe is aware that it is “not as robust as it should be,” although he says this also applies to its neighbours: “It is a brave new world for much of Africa and many support services – legally included – are still ongoing.” Last May, the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into force after its ratification by a sufficient number of African countries, marking a decisive step in the pan-African trade journey.
