3 - Communal Governance and Transnationalism: A Case Study of the Nigerien Forex Trading Community in Benin City
Corresponding Author(s) : Martha Sambe
Africa Development,
Vol. 48 No. 1 (2023): Africa Development
Abstract
Migrant community associations are well-structured and often engage in political transnationalism with their countries of origin. Nigerien migrants in Benin City, Edo State, occupy a dominant position in the unofficial foreign exchange market. Their communal governance structures reveal interesting parallels in the way the migrants govern themselves in relation to their status and the local nationals they work with. The politics within the migrant association suggest that, even in the absence of status, migrants are able to govern and protect their interests while contributing to the societies they find themselves in. This article looks at examples of Nigerien transnationalism in Nigeria at the micro level to reveal a complex network of communal governance. By studying the organisational lives of the Nigerien migrant community, we aim to understand how this group contributes to the maintenance f ties with Niger and enables their integration into their host community.
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- Bosiakoh A. T., 2012, Toward an Agenda for Placing Migrant Hometown Associations (HTAs) in Migration Policy-making Discourse in Ghana, International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 4, No. 9, pp. 249–256.
- Bosiakoh, T., 2012, The Role of Migrant Associations in Adjustment, Integration and Social Development: The Case of Nigerian Migrant Associations in Accra, Ghana, Ghana Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 64–83.
- Caglar, A., 2006, Hometown Associations, the Rescaling of State Spatiality and Migrant Grassroots Transnationalism, Global Networks, Vol. 6, pp. 1–22.
- Clavin, P., 2005, Defining Transnationalism, Contemporary European History, Theme Issue: Transnational Communities in European History, 1920–1970, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 421–439.
- Dahinden, J., 2010, The dynamics of migrants’ transnational formations: Between mobility and locality, in Bauböck, R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Djelic, M.-L., 2013, January 8, Transnational Communities and Economic Governance. ESSEC Business School, 8 January, https://web.archive.org/web/20200528141918/ http://knowledge.essec.edu/en/sustainability/transnational-communities-and-economic-governance.html, accessed 28 May 2020.
- Faist, T., 2010, Diaspora and transnationalism: What kind of dance partners? in Bauböck R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods. IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Itzigsohn, J., 2000, Immigration and the Boundaries of Citizenship: The Institutions of Immigrants’ Political Transnationalism, The International Migration Review, Vol. 34, No.4, pp. 1126–1154.
- Jessop, B., 1994, Post-Fordism and the State, in Amin, A., ed., Post-Fordism: A Reader, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 251–79.
- Jessop, B., 2000, Governance Failure, in Stoker, G., ed., The New Politics of British Local Governance, Basingstoke: Macmillan, pp. 11–32.
- Kassimir, R., 2001, Producing local politics: governance, representation, and non- state organizations in Africa, in Callaghy, T. M., Kassimir, R. and Latham, R., eds, Intervention and Transnationalism in Africa: Global-Local Networks of Power, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Lamba‐Nieves, D., 2013, Hometown associations, in Ness, I., ed., The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, New York: Wiley.
- Little, K.,1957, The Role of Voluntary Associations in West African Urbanization, American Anthropologist, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 579–596. DOI 10.1525/aa.1957.59.4.02a00020, accessed 1 May 2020.
- Mazzucato, V., and Kabki, M., 2009, Small is beautiful: The micro-politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home, Global Networks, Vol. 9, pp. 227–251.
- Morales, L., and Jorba, L., 2010, Transnational links and practices of migrants’ organisations in Spain, in Bauböck, R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Murdoch, J., and Abram, S., 1998, Defining the limits of community governance, Journal of Rural Studies, 14, No. 1, pp. 41–50.
- Orozco, M., and Garcia-Zanello, E., 2009, Hometown Associations: Transnationalism, Philanthropy, and Development, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 57–73.
- Ozo, A. O., 2009, Urban change and conflict in the traditional character of an African city: The example of Benin City, Nigeria, Planning Perspectives, Vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 485–507.
- Pierre, J., ed., 2000, Debating Governance: Authority, Steering and Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Portes, A., 2003, Conclusion: Theoretical Convergencies and Empirical Evidence in the Study of Immigrant Transnationalism, The International Migration Review, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 874–892.
- Rhodes, R. A. W., 1994, The Hollowing out of the State, Political Quarterly, Vol 65, pp. 138–51.
- Saul, M. and Pelican M., 2014, A new research perspective on contemporary African migration, Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, Vol. 43, No. 1/2/3, p. 2.
- Somerville, P., 2005, Community Governance and Democracy, Policy and Politics, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 117–144.
- Stoker, G., ed., 2000, The New Politics of British Local Governance, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
- Thorp, L., 2009, New Migrants, Citizenship and Local Governance: ‘Poles’ apart? in Durose, C., Greasley, S. and Richardson, L., eds, Changing Local Governance, Changing Citizens, Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 111–131.
- Totikidis, V., Armstrong, A. F. and Francis, R. D., 2005, The Concept of Community Governance: A Preliminary Review, GovNet Conference, January 2005.
- Twumasi-Ankrah, K., 1995, Rural-Urban Migration and Socioeconomic Development in Ghana: Some Discussions, Journal of Social Development in Africa, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 13–22, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e892/812febbea14fb3dae09808ff331885012559.pdf. accessed 1 May 2020. Vertovec, S., 2009, Transnationalism, Research Handbook on Climate Governance, New York: Cambridge Core.
References
Bosiakoh A. T., 2012, Toward an Agenda for Placing Migrant Hometown Associations (HTAs) in Migration Policy-making Discourse in Ghana, International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 4, No. 9, pp. 249–256.
Bosiakoh, T., 2012, The Role of Migrant Associations in Adjustment, Integration and Social Development: The Case of Nigerian Migrant Associations in Accra, Ghana, Ghana Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 64–83.
Caglar, A., 2006, Hometown Associations, the Rescaling of State Spatiality and Migrant Grassroots Transnationalism, Global Networks, Vol. 6, pp. 1–22.
Clavin, P., 2005, Defining Transnationalism, Contemporary European History, Theme Issue: Transnational Communities in European History, 1920–1970, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 421–439.
Dahinden, J., 2010, The dynamics of migrants’ transnational formations: Between mobility and locality, in Bauböck, R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Djelic, M.-L., 2013, January 8, Transnational Communities and Economic Governance. ESSEC Business School, 8 January, https://web.archive.org/web/20200528141918/ http://knowledge.essec.edu/en/sustainability/transnational-communities-and-economic-governance.html, accessed 28 May 2020.
Faist, T., 2010, Diaspora and transnationalism: What kind of dance partners? in Bauböck R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods. IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Itzigsohn, J., 2000, Immigration and the Boundaries of Citizenship: The Institutions of Immigrants’ Political Transnationalism, The International Migration Review, Vol. 34, No.4, pp. 1126–1154.
Jessop, B., 1994, Post-Fordism and the State, in Amin, A., ed., Post-Fordism: A Reader, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 251–79.
Jessop, B., 2000, Governance Failure, in Stoker, G., ed., The New Politics of British Local Governance, Basingstoke: Macmillan, pp. 11–32.
Kassimir, R., 2001, Producing local politics: governance, representation, and non- state organizations in Africa, in Callaghy, T. M., Kassimir, R. and Latham, R., eds, Intervention and Transnationalism in Africa: Global-Local Networks of Power, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Lamba‐Nieves, D., 2013, Hometown associations, in Ness, I., ed., The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, New York: Wiley.
Little, K.,1957, The Role of Voluntary Associations in West African Urbanization, American Anthropologist, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 579–596. DOI 10.1525/aa.1957.59.4.02a00020, accessed 1 May 2020.
Mazzucato, V., and Kabki, M., 2009, Small is beautiful: The micro-politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home, Global Networks, Vol. 9, pp. 227–251.
Morales, L., and Jorba, L., 2010, Transnational links and practices of migrants’ organisations in Spain, in Bauböck, R. and Faist, T., eds, Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, IMISCOE Research Series, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Murdoch, J., and Abram, S., 1998, Defining the limits of community governance, Journal of Rural Studies, 14, No. 1, pp. 41–50.
Orozco, M., and Garcia-Zanello, E., 2009, Hometown Associations: Transnationalism, Philanthropy, and Development, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 57–73.
Ozo, A. O., 2009, Urban change and conflict in the traditional character of an African city: The example of Benin City, Nigeria, Planning Perspectives, Vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 485–507.
Pierre, J., ed., 2000, Debating Governance: Authority, Steering and Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Portes, A., 2003, Conclusion: Theoretical Convergencies and Empirical Evidence in the Study of Immigrant Transnationalism, The International Migration Review, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 874–892.
Rhodes, R. A. W., 1994, The Hollowing out of the State, Political Quarterly, Vol 65, pp. 138–51.
Saul, M. and Pelican M., 2014, A new research perspective on contemporary African migration, Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, Vol. 43, No. 1/2/3, p. 2.
Somerville, P., 2005, Community Governance and Democracy, Policy and Politics, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 117–144.
Stoker, G., ed., 2000, The New Politics of British Local Governance, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Thorp, L., 2009, New Migrants, Citizenship and Local Governance: ‘Poles’ apart? in Durose, C., Greasley, S. and Richardson, L., eds, Changing Local Governance, Changing Citizens, Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 111–131.
Totikidis, V., Armstrong, A. F. and Francis, R. D., 2005, The Concept of Community Governance: A Preliminary Review, GovNet Conference, January 2005.
Twumasi-Ankrah, K., 1995, Rural-Urban Migration and Socioeconomic Development in Ghana: Some Discussions, Journal of Social Development in Africa, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 13–22, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e892/812febbea14fb3dae09808ff331885012559.pdf. accessed 1 May 2020. Vertovec, S., 2009, Transnationalism, Research Handbook on Climate Governance, New York: Cambridge Core.