Évolution du commerce clandestin entre le Dahomey et le Nigeria depuis la guerre du «Biafra

The aim of this paper is to show the impact and sequels of the war of Biafra on unregistered trade between Dahomey and Nigeria from 1966 to 1974. The study is presented in three parts. The first part shows the causes of unregistered transactions across the borders. Among the causes, we can list colonial partition, the change of commercial circuits imposed by colonization, economic disparity between neighbouring countries of different colonization. The second part analyzes the organization of smuggling activities at four levels: - itineraries (trails created and controlled by smugglers, waterways, official roads); - means of transportation of unregistered goods (lorries, cycles, headloads, use of canoes); - rôle of middlemen, i.e. liaison agents between smugglers on either sides of the border; - network of distribution of smuggled goods. Finally, the third part analyzes the fraudulent traffic and the nature of goods. Way out from Dahomey the goods feeding that trade include products to be re-exported: spirits, tobacco, cigarettes, cloths and second hand clothes. Coming into the country goods to be re-exported can be listes such as enamelled wares, cycles and spare parts, agricultural products such as cocoa, areca-nuts, as well as fuels. Originally advantageous to Nigeria, that illicit trade has become beneficial to Dahomey since the war of Biafra as a relay market to Nigeria.