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Globalisation refers to the process of the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries.

It is principally aimed at the transcendental homogenization of political and socio-economic theory across the globe. It is equally aimed at making global being present worldwide at the world stage or global arena. It deals with the increasing breakdown of trade barriers and the increasing integration of World market (Fafowora, 1998:5). In other words, as Ohuabunwa, (1999: 20) once opined: Globalisation can be seen as an evolution which is systematically restructuring interactive phases among nations by breaking down barriers in the areas of culture, commerce, communication and several other fields of endeavour. This is evident from its push of free-market economics, liberal democracy, good governance, gender equality and environmental sustainability among other holistic values for the people of the member states. The process of globalisation is impelled by the series of cumulative and conjunctural crises in the international division of labour and the global distribution of economic and political power; in global finance, in the functioning of national states and in the decline of the Keynesian welfare state and the established social contact between labour and government. In fact, its hallmark of free-market capitalism has been aided among other factors by the sudden though expected changes within the physiology of global political community in recent times. Within the parameters of the foregoing, globalisation could be correctly defined from the institutional perspective as the spread of capitalism (MacEwan, 1990). However, it is germane to elaborate that the collapse of the Eastern bloc in the late 80s and early 90s led to the emergence and ascendancy of a global economy that is primarily structured and governed by the interests of
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Western behemoth countries, thus, facilitating the integration of most economies into the global capitalist economy. With the demise of the Eastern Europe in the early 90s, capitalism as an economic system now dominates the globe more than it had been at any time in its history. Even, China, by far the largest non-capitalist economy, has undergone dramatic changes in its international economic policy orientation, and, is today the recipient of almost one-half of all foreign direct investments that go into developing nations - this is a country that essentially blocked all foreign investments until the 1980s (United Nations, 1995). Beyond this simplistic analysis of globalisation in terms of capital inflows and trade investment, it is important to state that it has been of disastrous consequences to the governments and people of the African continent. According to Ninsin (2006), globalisation is multi-dimensional and has different unique features which includes unprecedented global financial flows; deterritorialisation and privatisation of production; increasing integration of discrete economies of the rest of the world into the global capitalist economy in accordance with the logic of the new international division of labour; revolutionary change in communication and information systems, and the spread of liberal democracy worldwide. In theory, globalisation leads to a rise in incomes through increased specialisation and trade conditioned by the size of the markets in question, which in turn depends on geography, transportation cost and communication networks, and the institutions that underpin markets (Scott, 2001, p. 162). The richest nations demonstrated how this theory of free market works by appropriate institutions and by the mobility of labour and capital. According to World Development Reports as cited in Scott (2001), real per capita incomes for the richest one-third of countries rose by an annual 1.9 percent between 1970 and 1995, where as the middle third went
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up by only 0.7 percent and the bottom third showed no increase at all. The rich countries account for about 60 percent of the world GDP but only 15 percent of the world population. As for the Asian tigers, their strong growth is largely due to their high saving rate. For example, Singapore stands out because it has enjoyed great deal of foreign investment, but it also achieved one of the highest domestic-savings rates in the world, and yet again its government played a leading role in the use of the funds for development (Scott, 2001, p. 164). Ninsin (2006), again recognises that the rich and powerful nations that rule world have developed two strategies to secure undisputed hegemony. Firstly, they employed economic and ideological tools to undermine the material base of their nation-states. This was done indirectly through the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Secondly, they used open military power to destroy existing state and reconstitute it under their control. In this instance the exploited existence of threats pose by states under terrorist forces to unleash military attacks to destroy the existing state and replace it with ideologies consistent with that of capitalism and liberal democracy. While some Arab nations like Afghanistan and Iraq have suffered from the second strategy, the first has been employed against Africa to (i) weaken the already fragile economies of the continent, and (ii) transform the existing state into an agent of global capital, rather than instrument of sustainable development and the provider of well-being and security of its citizens. Even though traditional economic thought suggests that globalisation will lead to a wide spread of improvement in average income, bringing unprecedented economic growth and opulence of the world, in Africa the effect has been largely negative (Scott, 2001, p. 160; Ninsin, 2006). Ninsin (2006), analysed the negative effect of globalisation on the African economy by argued that Africa economies have been drained of its material and human resources, leaving it

hopeless with just enough material means to provide basic subsistence to is people. These negative effects of globalisation on Africas economy occurred through the following: History has made it known that capitalism has expanded all over the world in its bid to control the accumulation process in other nations and subject their social goals to its own purposes (Polyani, 1944, cited in Leys, 1996, cited in Ninsin, 2006 ). According to Ninsin (2006), Africas relations with capitalist nations have been marked by the latters attempt to control both the internal accumulation process and the continents attempts to reverse such global expansion and control. This relationship intensified in the 1970s leading to devastating effects on Africas economies. For example, while global financial flows and trade have grown at a phenomenal rate from the beginning of the 1980s (Castells, 2000 cited in Ninsin, 2006), Africas share was infinitesimal with net external flows felling from US$27.3 billion in 1999 to US$26.3 billion in 2000 according to an UNCTAD study in 2000. These flows again benefited only a handful of countries and mainly concentrated in mining and communications sectors. To compound the problem of capital shortage, capital transfers from Africa increased from US$5.4 billion to US$8.3 billion which resulted in huge consequences Africa countries, which depends on external borrowing for development

(http://www.jubileeresearch.org/analysis/reports/G8final.pdf.). Africas development is at great risk from the debt overhang. The devastating social impact of Africas external debt was described as a new form of slavery as vicious as the slave trade (Africa Policy Information Centre, 1999 cited in Ninsin, 2006). In 2005 Africas debt service per annum was about US$13 billion and this is the heaviest in per capita terms and in terms of the capacity to service them as compared to all developing countries (Ninsin, 2006). When debt repayment to Northern financial institutions and governments take precedence over
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the social responsibilities of African government towards their citizens, the result is social crisis which affects the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating poverty by 2015 (Ninsin, 2006). One key reason for poor countries falling behind is that most rich countries have largely excluded the international flow of labour especially low-skilled labour into their markets since the interwar period (Scott, 2001, p. 163). Millions of poor African people could improve the standard of living by migrating to rich countries. But in 1997, the United States allowed only 737,000 immigrants from developing countries, while European countries admitted about 665,000. Together these flows are only 0.04 percent of all potential immigrants (Scott, 2001, p. 163). This is to say that the rich nations who laud liberalism are rejecting these say principles by restricting freedom of movement. The restrictions on the free movement of labour by rich countries have also been applied to agricultural imports. United State, Europe and Japan all have high trade barriers to in agriculture, with the U.S leading as protectionist (Scott, 2001, p. 163). Although Africa has been drained of it materials and human resource, the market-based policies as set out by the Washington Consensus demand the assurance of the following economic principles: fiscal discipline leading to a reduction in budget deficit, tax reform, financial liberalisation single exchange rate, trade liberalisation, privatisation of public enterprises, encouragement of foreign direct investment, deregulation and secure property rights (Comeliau, 2000, cited in Ninsin, 2006). The policies of privatisation, liberalisation of trade and foreign direct investment gradually forced the state to give up its role as an economic agent; it also dismantled the control controls it had mounted over various facets of the economic activities to safeguard and promote national economic interest and growth. For example, even though it is not in the interest of their citizens and development in the long-term, African governments are
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obliged to enact laws privatising the provision of strategic social services such as water, electricity, transport, telephone, banking and insurance, and a number of industries. In conclusion, Africa has not fulfilled the hopes of millions of its citizens in the 21st Century. Due to globalisation, development ideology is no longer about improving the quality of life of Africans but about GDP growth and macroeconomic stability. Africa has been integrated into the global economy on terms dictated by powerful external forces. The policies from these external forces like the IMF and the World Bank constitute the new state that Kwame Nkrumah called neo-colonialism, in terms of the relationship Africa has with the developed world. Africa can successfully respond to the negative effects of globalisation to its development and identity through political union, driven by new generation of political and economic elites and a network of Pan African social movements (Ninsin, 2006).

REFERENCES Africa Policy Information Centre (1999). Newsbrief. Washington DC. March Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society. (2nd Ed.) Vol. 1. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Comeliau, C. (2000). The timeless growth assumption, International Social Science Journal, 166:457. Fafowora, O.O. (1998). Management Imperatives of Globalisation, Management in Nigeria: Journal of Nigerian Institute of Management Vol. 34, Nos. 2-4 April -December, pp. 5-9. http://www.jubileeresearch.org/analysis/reports/G8final.pdf. Last accessed March 1, 2012.
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Leys, C. (1996). The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Oxford: James Curry. MacEwan, A. (1990): Whats new about the New International Economy, mimeo, University of Massachussets, Boston. Ninsin, K. A., (2006). Left in the Ditch: Africa and the Dialectics of Globalisation. In Panford, K. & Konadu Agyemang (Eds). 21st Century Africa Development Crises and Challenges: An overview, Pages 49-64. Ohuabunwa, Mazi S.I. (1999): the Challenges of Globalisation to the Nigerian Industrial Sector Nigerian Tribune December 14, PP. 20 - 21. Polyani, K. (1944). The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon Press. Scott, B., R. (2001). The Great Divide in the Global Village,Foreign Affairs, Page 160-164. UNCTAD (1998). Trade and Development Report. New York: UNO. 1998 United Nations, (1995). World Investment Report. Geneva; UNCTAD. World Bank (1997). World Development Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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