THE CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING AFRICA INTO THE GLOBALISED WORLD THROUGH NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD)
Joseph C. Ebegbulem, John A. Adams, Ayuk A. Achu

Abstract
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is the latest in the long line of policy frameworks that have been adopted in the past to place Africa on the path of sustainable growth and development. The emergence of NEPAD is basically a pledge by African leaders predicated on a common vision, that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and place their country, both individually and collectively on a path of sustainable human development. Since its birth in July 2001, this African initiative which seeks to reverse the continent’s protracted economic and political backwardness and increasing marginalization in the world economy has drawn commendations from some African leaders, the G8 group, the Breton Wood Institutions (IMF and World Bank), and other stakeholders in international capital as a welcome development. Infact, it is widely believed that the regional document will reposition Africa on the path of long term development and reduce her marginalization in international economic relations. This paper examines the principles and visions of NEPAD to determine whether or not the new development initiative adopted by African leaders which has elicited so much excitement among African ruling elites and their western cronies, has been able to bail or can bail the African continent from her crises of dependency, underdevelopment, poverty, economic backwardness and political instability in this age of globalization. The paper also reviews Africa’s development predicament in the context of the new globalism to determine whether the integration of Africa into the global economy has helped the continent to recover from her development crisis. The concluding part of the paper articulates the challenges that face the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) vis-à-vis Africa’s development initiative in the 21st century.

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