WTO MOCK SUMMIT GROUPSTUDENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

C/O M.M. YUSIF

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is responsible for monitoring and regulating international trade between countries. It operates through a series of agreements which specify how member countries are not only to trade in the global market but also how to operate their macro economic environments. These agreements have disastrous consequences on the economies of developing countries, including the failure of agriculture, collapse of Manufacturing, decline of public health etc.

In Nigeria, there is little awareness about the WTO and these agreements, even though we are feeling their impact. It is in the effort to generate critical awareness about the WTO that I have introduced among my students the WTO mock summit. The mock summit is playing the ministerial conference of the organization, the highest decision-making meeting, bringing trade representatives of all member countries. The mock summit brings out the real and true positions of the countries relationships with WTO, as the real summit.

The mock summit started in 2004/2005 academic session and since then it holds every academic year. In November, 2011, we staged the seventh performance.

The mock performance of the WTO, in Bayero University, Kano is now moving from campus educational programme to that of national importance. We have already formed WTO Mock Summit Alumni with many conceived programmes we wish to execute.

Thus, the objectives of the mock summit are broadened as:

1. To expose the activities of the WTO and the way it impacts on the economies of the developing countries in general and Nigeria in particular, we have National Trade Monitor Group and some campuses are sending requests to join us.
   
2. To educate Nigerian students and spread the concept of WTO and its impact, especially on the daily lives of marginalized people of society.
   
3. Unaware by most Nigerians, the WTO policies are the greatest agents of poverty among, especially rural farmers. Therefore, an objective of the mock summit is also to campaign on these problems and the solutions.
   
4. To promote ideas and alternative development policies for free and fair trade.
   
5. To publish the proceedings of the mock summits for learning and research.
   
6. The mock summit played in the last seven years has become a reality through research on trade policies of WTO member countries, and so whether still in the university or not, we will remain a research group to encourage research and documentation in issue concerning trade and development.
   
7. To open a resource centre on trade issues and Nigeria's development.
   
8. To open a website to access resources of the mock summit internationally.
   

In the long run we wish to go beyond mock summit to link up with similar global trade policy issues fora and take part in theiractivities as well as to organized lectures, debates, workshops, seminars and conferences.

We wish for your cooperation towards achieving these objectives.

M.M. Yusif

Director WTO Mock Summit

Bayero University, Kano

January, 2012