Nigeria and the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations, more commonly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly former territories of the British Empire. United by language, history and culture, the commonwealth aims to promote these values and also the values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law among its members. Although the members have no legal obligation towards one another, they try to encourage these shared values through the quadrennial Commonwealth Games and through its many educational and cultural exchanges.

This year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held between 27 and 29 November in Malta. The Queen of England as head of the Commonwealth, the United Nations secretary-general, the French president and over 38 heads of state or government were present at the three-day event to discuss issues ranging from climate change to peace and security, human rights, good governance and migration, sustainable development, health issues and poverty, especially in poor countries. Nigeria’s President Buhari attended the meeting from where he also headed for France for the United Nation’s 2015 Paris Climate Conference with most of the world leaders in attendance.

Nigeria formally joined the Commonwealth on attainment of political independence in 1960 and has remained an active member till date. The only exception was between November 11, 1995 and May 29, 1999 when Nigeria was suspended from the association over human rights violation and the extra-judicial killing of the Ogoni 9 led by Ken Saro Wiwa in 1995.

When Nigeria joined the Commonwealth in 1960, one of the benefits of membership was the visa-free entry regime operated by the Commonwealth. That greatly facilitated movements, trade, sports, cultural and educational exchanges and interactions among members of the organisation. However, the visa-free regime was ended in the late 1980s when the rate of migration from poor countries to the developed ones began to rise too steeply and consequently became unsustainable. That period coincided with when Nigeria was being savagely mismanaged by military dictatorships and academics, professionals, and even unskilled workers began to seek refuge in the developed Commonwealth countries, especially the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Malta.

Although that window has been closed, the educational, sports, and cultural interactions have continued, albeit in reduced forms. The Commonwealth Games are still held with great fanfare. Cultural exchanges between Commonwealth countries continue and thousands of Nigerians have benefitted and still benefit from Commonwealth Scholarships to countries such as the United Kingdom, Scotland, Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and many others.

Although the Commonwealth has been variously criticised as a colonial vestige of the extinct British Empire, a constant reminder of the domination of other nations and peoples by the British, and a largely idle organisation that is a mere talking shop for leaders with no means or ways of substantially affecting world affairs, its supporters, however, hold the organisation up as a success story in the ways it has fostered the ideals of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and friendship among its members. Its supporters also cite the queue of prospective members as evidence of its vibrancy and continued relevance. It is on record that many countries that have no ties with the Commonwealth have been seeking admission into the organisation. Its main attractiveness, according to some, is that it allows many of its small and poor members (who make up the majority of its membership) to network and build strategic alliances in the competitive modern world.

Since 2013, the Commonwealth has been exploring ways of reintroducing the visa-free regime among its members, to expand trade and even create a Commonwealth free trade zone. The issue of trade, especially the free trade zone, has gained greater currency in the United Kingdom where many politicians and Euro-sceptics are openly advocating for the Commonwealth free trade zone as an alternative to the UK’s membership of the European Union. They easily cite the 1940s to the 1970s where trade with Commonwealth member states accounted for more than 50 percent of the UK’s entire trade.

These are the issues Nigerians expect President Buhari and his colleagues to continue to champion at future CHOGMs and through the Commonwealth Secretariat to maximise their membership of the organisation.