JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

Individual countries of Africa have had policies that has overtime worked against the objectives of the various economic organisations in Africa, particularly that of the free movement protocol. This has so far discouraged labour migration and economic cooperation of African countries. Using narrative and descriptive research methods, the study portrays how African countries have over the years out rightly worked against economic integration and sustainable development of Africa, resulting into very ugly behaviours against human mobility exhibited in the forms of migrant expulsions, xenophobic attacks, discriminations and molestations of many kinds. The study adopts David Ricardo’s Comparative Advantage theory to analyse the essence of labour migration, which is an offshoot of the policy of free movement of goods and peoples in the process of economic integration and economic development of African countries. Through the use of data from secondary sources such as books, and journal articles, the study however observes that labour migrants who usually fall victim of economic failures of countries is found to be of greater benefit to the growth of host countries and as such should rather be positively utilized for economic development. Again, the continental and regional organisation policies are not binding on individual African countries, which leads to disrespect and nonchalance of countries when it comes to policy implementation; hence the incessant challenges faced by African migrants in African regions. The study concludes that economic integration of Africa cannot be realised without absolute acceptance of legal labour migrants in accordance with the free movement policy of the AU and other African Organisations; as it is one of the primary steps towards proper economic integration and economic development of nations.