Established in April 1980 during a pivotal conference in Lagos, Nigeria, the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA) emerged as a response to the continent’s economic crisis in the 1980s, exacerbated by Structural Adjustment Programs from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which increased susceptibility to global economic shocks like the 1973 oil crisis. The LPA represented a unified effort to reduce dependence on Western economies and promote collective self-sufficiency by utilizing local resources, countering the neoliberal ideologies of the time, particularly those outlined in the World Bank’s Berg Report of 1981, which unfairly placed blame on African leadership while neglecting necessary structural reforms. The plan provided a framework to foster collective self-reliance in key sectors such as agriculture, industry, and natural resource management, and continued to influence initiatives addressing development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. These include the Abuja Treaty in 1991, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development in 2001, and the African Continental Free Trade Area in 2019. Despite its bold vision, the LPA faced major challenges, including the lack of political commitment, continued economic dependency on Western loans and aid, and weak regional integration.
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