West Africa Single Currency: The Lesson From European Currency

1. West Africa Single Currency: The Lesson To Learn From European Single Currency By Dr. Mehenou Amouzou 1888PressRelease - Before talking about a single currency or economic association between the states members, we need to examine the current political structure that allows a single faction to confiscate power for twenty years or more. Western Africa states which are represented by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a commission comprised of countries of 15 States with an equivalent of 300 million people. These numbers account for 4.5% of the world's population and just 0.5% of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With an anticipated annual economic growth averaging approximately 5%, ECOWAS is now exploring the opportunity to create a single currency for ECOWAS member's states mirroring the Euro for European countries. Before talking about a single currency or economic association between the states members, we need to examine the current political structure that allows a single faction to confiscate power for twenty years or more. The political instability of these member states have depleted human rights and instituted a totalitarian regime. This regime is largely based and support by the now prominent election policies. I say now prominent but it has been a long standing practice for one party to the election to exercise unpropitious acts like intimidation, threats and even death to win a given election. Can these countries ever abide by legitimate election worthy to be adulated by the international community?

2. Do these countries receive sanctioned economic aid from the world community that is visible in the states operating budget? The question is asked because we ponder the division of the country's leaders agenda is it personal or geared to support the general populous? The thoughts and questions we ask are deafening to a community. To think these occurrences are widespread and normal serve to steal ones spirit. People of these countries are defeated and are subjugated to indentured servitude. Vote confiscation creates political instability and its success is currently responsible for a two to three percent misappropriation of the country's resources. This 2 to 3% is further evident pertained to wealth and poverty; the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. These countries often live with 97% poverty with no access to health care or hospitals, vibrant schools systems or school at all, clean water and other basic necessities afforded to inhabitants of developed countries. One ECOWAS member country received financial assistance from a developed country to improve the country's health care system. The improvement was intended to benefit the country's own people. Much to the chagrin of the developed country a few days after receiving the funds, the member country invested 1/3 of the financial assistance with another western with inferior stability to the originating country; which happens to be a Western African country. The second point focuses on Nigeria and the management of the country's resources. Nigeria, one of the richest countries in Africa with an abundance of natural resources once exported food to neighboring African countries, Asia and the Occident. The export of natural resources which is very important in Nigeria with agriculture accounting for 90% allowed the country's nationals to eat at least three meals daily. In 1974, Nigerian currency; the Naira was a stronger currency than the United States' dollar.

3. Oil was discovered in 1956, by 1974 oil revenues constituted over 80 percent of total government revenues and over 90 percent of export earnings, the country's leaders were ecstatic. As the country entered the realm of an international juggernaut commodity it began to move budgets and other resources away from Agriculture and infrastructural stability's to the unknown of oil exports. Eventually, Nigeria began to import food and other necessities by leveraging oil and future oil revenues which served the purpose of budget balancing versus budget surplus. The oil revenues were not well distributed which has led to real socio economic problems. Oil and chemical processing locations positioned next to the villages, cities, schools, hospitals and farmer lands badly affect social conditions causing deterioration everywhere. Further, this situation has created upheaval within the country, particularly among women, seniors, children and others who die almost every day with no recourse due to these socio economic problems and the terrorist organization Boko Haram. It seems that the North of Nigeria is going to become a cessation country. The faction causing destruction arguably has the support of outside interests who may provide military arms and funds to continue its stronghold. If we follow the change of custody of even the arms procurement we may trace impropriety to the customers and even the manufacturers; then we have a solid footing to bellow this societal destruction to the world and various global oversight groups. These few things mentioned above demonstrate how West Africa needs to commit to improve and consolidate political powers among the member states. Once this occurs, further commit to developing an eco-industrial plan to make the region grow from 0.5% of the world GDP to 10% which based on our research is possible.

4. WEST AFRICA SINGLE CURRENCY LEARNING LESSON FROM THE EURO! It is very difficult to explore or to anticipate West African single currency without examining, reviewing or comparing the potential currency with the European single currency. One of the primary political goals for insisted European integration was, and may still be, to increase Europe's role in world affairs. This may have occurred because of the United States forcing France and the United Kingdom to withdraw their forces from the Suez Canal in 1956. The former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer told a French politician that individual European states would never be leading global powers, but "there remains to them only one way of playing a decisive role in the world; that is to unite to make Europe. . . . Europe will be your revenge." One year later, the Treaty of Rome launched the Common Market. European integration started to coordinate, to defend and protect their political affairs and interests as a group better than just one single country dealing in the world affairs. European integration was conceived to counterbalance, the USA super hegemony power and domination in the world affairs. However, European cohorts believed this power was only due to Europe's position after its traumatizing experience in World War II left it fragile and weak. Although the Common Market was set up in 1967 to form the European Communities, thereafter, in 1992, the Maastricht Treaty gave birth to the European Union (EU). The EU covers large areas of free trade, labor mobility and scheduled for adoption of the single currency and an integrated European market for goods and services. The European Commission says this mechanism's main purpose is a step toward greater political unity. It also makes a plausible argument that a free trade area can be successful only if its member countries have a concerted interest; a single currency. Certainly there is nothing in economic logic or experience, which shows that free trade, requests the single currency.

5. The sentence 'single European currency' simply means a European, shared economy in which most of its member states share the same currency in order to expedite integration within Europe. I beg the question that the term 'single currency' is coined by some European entity that may have trademark rights; funny but cautiously true. Although this is an idea quite simple to understand, its actual effects are more complicated and difficult to analyze. The idea of single European currency was introduced in 1999, but Winston Churchill had previously broached and discussed the idea of a 'sharing economy' in the early 20th Century. His idea was promulgated on the grounds of a possible unification of Britain and France. Churchill's view was that Franco-British Union should "provide for joint organs of defense, foreign, financial and economic policies" (Shlaim 1974, p. 27). The reason this theory of fallacy as many coined did not adhere is because he (Churchill) based his infatuation some believe largely on its inability to safe fail England's possible invasion from Hitler's Germany. The single European currency has economic and social-political impact on the European Union. From an economical perspective the currency demonstrates impact on economies of scale (production prices), trade and integration. The member states are basically a consortium which from a socio-political aspect boasts its political influence on the EU. It was argued it could also be a problem threatening the European Economy when individual economic problems arise in different countries. The political difficulties that came as a consequence of this incident are mostly concerned with the changes in policies and appropriate reforms implemented to help the European Union gain enough power to come out from the crisis. According to a report produced on March 15, 2011 by the Council of the European Union a reform in the 'Stability and Growth Pact' has been implemented with aims at 'strengthening economic governance in the EU' (p. 1). More specifically,

6. a change in the 'Stability and Growth Pact' denotes changes in the national government spending and taxation to influence the economy (ibid.). However, this procedure may prove to be time and cost consuming, affecting the position of the EU and causing it to operate at a slower rate and sometimes unstably and unproductively. As of today the single currency experience could be interpreted as failed policy for the European Economy due to a mixed evaluation regarding the impact of imposing a single currency on a heterogeneous group of countries, other spillover consequences, the sovereign debt crisis's, the large trade deficit and the overall the fragile state of European banking conditions across the Euro zone. European leaders had too much confidence and false hope guided by personal motives when setting up the European Central Bank. Giving the Central Bank power to intervene on the diverse group of countries fixing and solving problems that were unique to the individual country and not the member countries as a whole. It was a mistake to overlook and underestimate these consequences. The responsibility for controlling and implementing a single monetary policy to guide each individual country was decided by certain European political leaders. The decision to make the shift to a single Central bank in Germany was also coupled with a shift of political power to these decision makers who again were (are) guided by mercenary motives. Germany and France played very crucial role in the function of this new Central Bank by dictating painful austerity measures to Greece and Italy. Germany and France clashed on how the financial assistance would be shared. Germany has created a stability agreement by establishing financial penalties for any of its members that has a budget deficit more than 3% of GDP or a debt that is over 60% of its GDP, but when France and Germany violated this agreement there was no sanction and the agreement was meaningless; thus the shift of control previously mentioned.

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