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| Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq |
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq used a high-profile courtesy visit on Monday, October 12, 2026, to urge a decisive shift from longstanding political cordiality between Nigeria and Ghana toward concrete economic integration.
Receiving a Ghanaian delegation representing President John Dramani Mahama at Ahmadu Bello House in Ilorin, the governor argued that the two West African nations must ease border restrictions, expand manufacturing and services trade, raise GDP, and generate jobs across the sub-region—particularly with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) already in force.
“We need to move from political discussions to stronger economic ties, developing Africa, especially with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement being in place,” AbdulRazaq said.
“We need to ease border restrictions for movement of goods and services, trade manufacturing, increase our GDP, and create more jobs within West Africa.”
He specifically noted potential gains for Kwara in cocoa production and processing, drawing on Ghana’s established strengths in the sector.
President Mahama, represented by his Chief of Staff Dr. Julius Debrah, endorsed the message. The Ghanaian side agreed that economic cooperation should move beyond the largely political framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “As the Governor stated, ECOWAS, for instance, has been more of a political arrangement, but he said we can deepen it by considering bilateral trade arrangements between our two countries. And we also believe that since the Inter-African Continental Free Trade is based in Accra, we should also make sure that trade between our two countries improves,” the president’s representative stated. The delegation included Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu; the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority, Simon Madjie; and other officials. After the Ilorin meeting, the group proceeded to Offa for the University of Offa’s maiden convocation.
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Deep Historical and Personal Bonds Underpin the Moment
Nigeria and Ghana share more than six decades of diplomatic, cultural, and people-to-people ties dating to Ghana’s independence in 1957 and Nigeria’s in 1960. Both countries have long served as anchors of West African diplomacy and, at times, regional rivalry. Yet personal connections often humanize the relationship. President Mahama has deep roots in Offa, an agrarian town in Kwara State he has described as his “hometown in Nigeria.” His father, a Ghanaian rice merchant, married a Nigerian woman from the Balogun lineage in Offa.
Mahama lived there for about 18 months in the early 1980s with his stepmother and has returned for family and ceremonial visits. In 2015, the Olofa of Offa conferred on him the chieftaincy title Aare Atolase of Offa Kingdom.
The University of Offa’s decision to invite Mahama as Special Guest of Honour and confer an Exceptional Leadership Award therefore carried symbolic weight beyond protocol. Although state duties kept the president in Ghana, the presence of his Chief of Staff and High Commission officials underscored the continuity of those ties. At the convocation, which graduated 140 students (eight with First Class, 54 Second Class Upper, 76 Second Class Lower, and two Third Class), the Ghanaian message focused on turning academic credentials into enterprise.
Graduates were urged to “think beyond borders,” treat the African market as their opportunity under AfCFTA, and use technology intelligently rather than fear it. The university itself, licensed in 2021 and beginning academic work in 2022, has grown rapidly from two faculties to four and from a handful of students to hundreds, emphasizing ICT and entrepreneurship.
Modest Bilateral Volumes Amid Larger Ambitions
Despite the warm political rhetoric, bilateral trade remains modest relative to the size of the two economies. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Nigeria exported about $139 million to Ghana in 2024 (mainly cocoa beans, rolled tobacco, and sauces/seasonings), while Ghana exported roughly $52.8 million to Nigeria (chocolate, petroleum gas, and palm oil). Over five years, Nigerian exports to Ghana rose at an annualized 4.4 percent, while Ghanaian exports to Nigeria declined sharply. These figures illustrate both complementarity—Ghana’s cocoa processing strengths versus Nigeria’s agricultural and industrial potential—and underperformance.
Broader trends offer more optimism. Nigeria’s overall trade with the rest of Africa rose about 21 percent in 2025 to $9.02 billion, according to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report 2026, helped by refined petroleum exports (including to Ghana, Cameroon, and Togo) as the Dangote refinery ramped up. Intra-African trade as a whole reached roughly $213.8 billion. Yet small and medium-sized enterprises, which dominate both economies, capture only a fraction of these flows. Non-tariff barriers, border delays, inconsistent enforcement of investment rules, and occasional trader disputes have repeatedly tested the corridor.
Recent diplomatic signals show governments are aware of the gap. In July 2026, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Nigeria’s High Commissioner-designate to Ghana, Shehu Ilu Barde, reaffirmed commitments to remove barriers, raise bilateral volumes, and support the proposed ECOWAS single currency (the ECO) to cut transaction costs. Ghana has also launched a “Ghana in Nigeria” initiative emphasizing trade and investment, noting Nigeria ranked among its top sources of foreign investment. Customs authorities on both sides have discussed intelligence sharing and harmonized procedures under AfCFTA frameworks.
AfCFTA as the Critical Backdrop—and a Test of Implementation
The AfCFTA, with its secretariat in Accra, provides the institutional architecture for the ambitions voiced in Ilorin. It aims to create a single continental market of more than 1.3 billion people. Nigeria has gazetted tariff concessions, submitted services commitments, and ratified the Digital Trade Protocol. Ghana, as host of the secretariat, has positioned itself as a gateway. Yet implementation remains uneven: awareness among SMEs is low, preferential certificates are underused, infrastructure corridors lag, and protectionist instincts occasionally surface.
Governor AbdulRazaq’s intervention is notable because it comes from a state level rather than solely federal diplomacy. Kwara, with agricultural potential and proximity to major trade routes, stands to gain from smoother cross-border flows in cocoa, food processing, and light manufacturing. As Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRazaq also brings a sub-national voice to regional integration debates that are often dominated by Abuja and Accra. The emphasis on jobs and manufacturing aligns with pressures facing both countries’ large youth populations.
Unique challenges persist. Historical friction over retail and investment rules in Ghana has periodically strained Nigerian trading communities. Security concerns in parts of Nigeria and logistical bottlenecks at borders continue to raise costs. A common currency remains aspirational. Without practical steps—joint border posts, mutual recognition of standards, trade finance for SMEs, and reliable transport corridors—the political goodwill risks remaining aspirational.
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From Courtesy Calls to Commercial Corridors
The Ilorin meeting and Offa convocation illustrate how personal history, educational diplomacy, and economic necessity can reinforce one another.
Mahama’s longstanding affinity for Offa gave the visit authenticity; AbdulRazaq’s focus on cocoa processing and border facilitation grounded it in specific opportunities; the AfCFTA framework supplied continental legitimacy.
For the relationship to deliver measurable value, the next steps must move beyond statements. Targeted bilateral protocols on priority sectors, accelerated use of AfCFTA preferential rates, investment promotion missions linking Kwara and Ghanaian agribusiness, and clearer rules protecting cross-border investors would convert rhetoric into results.
Both countries have demonstrated the capacity for pragmatic cooperation when interests align—customs collaboration and recent high-level economic dialogues are evidence.
In a region where intra-African trade still lags far behind potential, Nigeria and Ghana’s ability to lead by example will matter. Governor AbdulRazaq’s call in Ilorin was not merely a diplomatic courtesy; it was a timely reminder that political friendship is necessary but insufficient. The real test lies in whether goods, services, capital, and people can move more freely—and whether the resulting growth reaches the young graduates who heard the message in Offa that their market is Africa itself.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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