The resounding affirmation of British people to pull out of the European Union (EU) represents a people’s never dying will to preserve cherished values among other implications, writes Correspondent, SAM NWOKORO
Britain has confirmed to the whole world that she is still the mother of modern democracy. Just shortly after allowing a part of her, Scotland, to hold a referendum on whether it should continue staying in the Great Britain, authorities at Downing Street again allowed Britons to decide freely whether to continue relating to the world on the platform of the European Union (EU).
EU is the continental economic and political power bloc founded shortly after World War II to guard against future wars in the European soil.
After months of intense pros or cons campaigning, the British held a referendum about the wisdom of their continued membership of the EU. The vote tally showed at the end of the day that Britons are fed up with subjecting their ways of life to the anonymity of EU, formerly Organisation of European Community Development (OECD).
Those who voted for continued membership were 48 per cent of the voters, while 52 per cent voted for exit. The referendum was adjudged successful by participation, as 71.8 per cent of the about 30 million people of voting age made the decision. And it was the highest turn-out in United Kingdom-wide vote since the 1992 general election.
Further, voters’ spread showed that region by region, England voted to leave by 53 per cent to 47 per cent, Wales by 52.5:47.5, while Scotland voted to remain by 62:38 and Northern Ireland also opted to stay by a slight margin of 55.8:44.2.
Emotion and passion
The British referendum presented one of those tricky moments for Britons, who are known for their fanatical nationalism and fondness for their peculiar ways of life.
Months ahead the June 23 date, the international and local media were abuzz with the consequence of the outcome of the referendum. The referendum held against a background of series of frustrations Britons, both leaders and citizens, have been going through since the dawn of the 21st century as new challenges emerge in the world. This tasks British leadership, one of the world’s powerful pillars and stabilising agents that wield authority in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Notwithstanding that modern day diplomatic conducts have come to rely more on partnerships, consensus and collaboration among states and regional blocs, it is equally undeniable that some, especially the five permanent members of the UNSC (Britain, U.S.A., France, Russia, and China), would prefer that the myth of their invincibility as the major victors of the first and second world wars is not diluted or seen by lesser powers to have evaporated, having been subsumed in the implied anonymity of regional blocs like the EU. Never mind that the EU itself is more of a collection of the most industrialised nations of the world.
Such could not be farther from the truth as it concerns Britain and her membership in the EU whose members’ economic might and geo-political influences around the world today is more at an advanced profile than what obtains some 10 or 20 years ago.
The EU and Britain under various Prime Ministers, from the time of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Gordon Brown, down to the tenure of David Cameron, have had a surfeit of it since the EU made the move to harmonise currency and introduce the Euro in 1997 following the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty.
It is not only on the issue of common currency, migration and consumer standards that the EU and Britons have always had running verbal brawls. It reaches the very ideal of what extreme British called “surrendering our values to EU” or loss of national identity.
But at each stage and at the instance of every occupant at Downing Street, a middle ground is often reached. Until the referendum, it could just be said that Downing Street, for the expediency of contemporary security challenges round the world, had adopted a kind of stealthy, hide-and-seek approach in its relations with the EU – not wanting to send an equivocal no, in order not to endanger strategic alliances and coalitions against common enemies such as terrorists. But it actually would wish it had the guts to tell Brussels, without mincing words, that it no longer wishes to be in the bloc. Thus it was safe to organise a referendum to provide Brussels a clean excuse that the decision was entirely a product of sovereign Britons.
It was no surprise that weeks before the referendum, opinion polls had equally been for and against, with the Prime Minister shifting his earlier position from BREXIT (leave) to stay on the later days, obviously after calculating the implication of British partnerships with EU on numerous flash points. One of them is containing terrorism afflicting the European continent and domestic concerns over migration which has increased in recent years since the admission of Turkey as observer member of EU. Turkey has always been the most porous route for migrants into Europe fuelling the refuge crisis in the region.
One poll conducted by Britain’s most respected domestic opinion company, NATCEN Social Research, in the week preceding the poll had it that 69 per cent of Britons said they were unsure of the impact of BREXIT, 57 per cent thought that migration would be lower if Britons left the EU, four per cent thought that the British economy would be worse off if they leave the EU, while 44 per cent believed BREXIT would make little difference in Britain’s influence in the world.
Cherished history
An economic and political partnership involving about 28 European countries, the EU began after World War II to foster economic co-operation, with the idea that countries which trade together are more likely to avoid going to war with each other. EU was Initially dominated by the famous 12 founding countries famously called the ‘Concentric Circle’: France, Germany, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Luxemboug, The Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. These countries essentially midwifed the Maastricht Treaty that expanded the scope of European political and economic co-operation after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991.
Later other countries joined the bloc. They are: Portugal (1986), Austria, Finland, Sweden (1995), Croatia (2013), Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania (2007). To date, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia Macedonia and Turkey are still on consideration list, while Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo, which emerged after the Balkan wars of the 1990s, are potential candidates, as they have applied. The preponderance of these new nations and their rickety cultures and economy is, according to international observers, dampening Britain’s enthusiasm in later years not to want to subject her proud pounds sterling to euro’s monetary systems.
Nigeria and Britain outside EU
Ordinarily, there ought not be much to worry about in Nigeria regarding Britain’s exit from the EU club, except that Britain has largely influenced EU’s attitude towards Nigeria as much as in other Commonwealth nations. The EU usually looks up to Britain to fire the first salvo in the affairs of Nigeria. She remains Nigeria’s major trading partner in the EU, accounting for more than 60 per cent of trade volumes between Nigeria and Europe, both at governmental and private levels.
Most Nigerians connect to other parts of Europe from London. Perhaps it may affect the rate Nigerians migrate to Europe, since most Britons are scared of too much immigrants on its shores in these days of terrorism and global economic crisis. Thus according to analysts, immigration into Britain may get tighter in the days ahead.
Britain remains the arrowhead of the EU-African Economic Partnership Agreements (EU-APA) which has since been in effect since 2005. A reduced migration of Nigerian businessmen to Britain and European countries might affect the volume of trade, though the extent depends on if EU will still allow Britain in the common markets and maintain free movement rights, allowing UK citizens in EU and vice-versa after the referendum. Most Nigerians hold British passports. With the exit of Britain, it is sure the coast has been cleared for Turkey whose final ratification as EU member has been stalled by London. Turkey is a major illegal transit point of many Africans, including Nigerians, into Britain.
On how the BREXIT affects Nigeria, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, immediate past Director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), said: “Some of them (Britons) blame migrants for unemployment. When a British Lawmaker Jo Cox was murdered by a nationalist recently, his killer shouted ‘death to the traitors, freedom to freedom’ in court implying that those who advocated for leaving the EU would be very strict and hostile to migrants in the foreseeable future. The mere fact that migrants are responsible for a lot of problems and the fact that many Nigerians would like to make Britain their second home is a sign that they must prepare for harder days to come.”
Britain contributes up to 15 per cent of aids to Nigeria and gingers EU on a wide range of interventions in Nigeria.
Akinterinwa said “this will also affect Nigeria because EU countries are the first direction of our trade. If the Union is suffering from whatever virus, Nigeria will also have its own share.”
Professor Pat Utomi of Centre For Leadership Values opines: “The referendum might ginger similar self-determination spirit in other parts of the world.
“We have arrived at the age of self-determination. Making people stay in a union that they don’t like is now the equivalent of slavery in the modern age. It may get to the stage that many of the concocted states of West Africa that came out of the Berlin Conference will begin to unravel.”
But for President of Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce, Adedapo Adelegan, the exit of Britain from EU will not have any major impact in Nigeria’s economy. He said the existence of different trade agreements between Nigeria and EU countries that trade directly with Nigeria would prevent a short term impact of the BREXIT on the economy. “We sell directly to the countries and they also buy from us. I don’t see any immediate impact of the exit on Nigeria’s economy.”
There is popular view in some sections of the country pushing for restructuring of the country that the British exit from EU is a sure bet that they would enjoy British support whenever they want to formally pull out of Nigeria.
