NIGERIA’S FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE COLD WAR: DOMESTIC, REGIONAL AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCE

NIGERIA’S FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE COLD WAR: DOMESTIC, REGIONAL AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the Study

Nigeria is often described as the “Giant of Africa.” Its foreign policy is best understood and assessed in the context of its regional and continental ambitions which have been demonstrated over the course of the country’s 43-year history. Nigeria’s leaders of all political persuasions have come to see their country as the “natural leader” of the African continent. This aspiration to continental leadership, manifest since the country’s independence in 1960, is central to understanding some of the principal features of Nigeria’s foreign policy. It is clear from a historical examination of Nigeria’s foreign relations that its hegemonic ambitions have not, however, necessarily led to relevant, coherent and effective policies. Examining both the theoretical and practical aspects of Nigeria’s foreign policy is therefore key to understanding the country’s foreign policy. The theory of Nigeria’s foreign policy has often been explained by Nigerian diplomats and scholars in terms of four “concentric circles” of national interest. The innermost circle represents Nigeria’s own security, independence and prosperity and is centered on its immediate neighbours - Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger; the second circle revolves around Nigeria’s relations with its West African neighbors; the third circle focuses on continental African issues of peace, development and democratization; and the fourth circle involves Nigeria’s relations with organizations, institutions and states outside Africa.1 This concept still guides Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities. Participants at the Oxford conference examined these four “concentric circles,” starting with domestic security issues, focusing on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African sub-region, assessing key bilateral relations with South Africa and Cameroon, and finally, analyzing Nigeria’s relations with key bilateral (France, Britain, the US and Japan) and multilateral actors and organizations outside Africa (the UN, the European Union [EU] and the Commonwealth).

In practical terms, examining the interplay of domestic forces and the external environment in the formulation of foreign policy in Nigeria is essential to understanding the intertwined factors that have influenced the country’s foreign policy in the postCold War era. Domestically, the importance of issues such as human security was felt by many participants to be an important dimension in the study of the domestic influences on Nigeria’s foreign policy. Other internal considerations such as the impact of a reputation for corruption on Nigeria’s foreign relations, was also seen as a key issue affecting Nigeria’s foreign policy. Indeed on this issue, a strong recommendation emerging from the conference was