AWAAL GATA takes a look at Nigeria’s foreign policy since the country’s independence in 1960
Since independence, with Jaja Wachuku as the fi rst Minister of Foreign Aff airs and Commonwealth Relations, later called External Aff airs, Nigerian foreign policy has been guided by certain principles and objectives which include: Protection of the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity as a state; promotion of the country’s and social wellbeing; enhancement of the country’s image and status in the whole world; and the promotion of unity as well as total political, social, economic and cultural liberation of Nigeria and Africa at large. Other factors are: Promotion of the rights of the black people and others under colonialism; promotion of international cooperation conducive to the consolidation of world peace and security, mutual respect and friendship among all peoples and States; redressing the imbalance in the international power structures which has tended to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the developing countries; and the promotion of world peace based on the principle of freedom mutual respect and the equality of the world. Africa as the ‘Centre Piece’ of Nigeria’s foreign policy Th e idea of a Africa as the centre piece of Nigeria foreign policy is premised on the understanding that Nigeria’s engagement in the international system will be looked at through the binoculars of Africa. Wachukwu averred in 1960 on the imperative an Afrocentric policy, ‘charity begins at home and therefore any Nigerian foreign policy that does not take into consideration the peculiar position of Africa is unrealistic’. Th is enunciation is the philosophical origins of Afrocentrism in Nigeria’s foreign policy thought; it was however, the Adedeji Report that coined the concept: ‘Africa as centre-piece’. Th e issues that gave practical expression to this African-centeredness were the remnants of colonialism on the continent, apartheid in South Africa, liberation wars, ideological and proxy confl icts among others. Outside these politically pressing factors, the issue of a shared racial universe, of cultural neighbourhood, of AWAAL GATA takes a look at Nigeria’s foreign policy since the country’s independence in 1960. Diplomatique iplomatique Moushira Khattab President Buhari Like us on: facebook: blueprint.ng twitter: @blueprintngr instagram: @blueprintNigeria shared historical experiences and the ideals of pan-Africanism further lubricated the wheels of this foreign policy conceptualization. Indeed, in pursuing an Africa-centered foreign policy premised on racial and socio-cultural affi nity of Africans, Nigeria was carrying out an exercise in anthropological diplomacy. Under the framework of an Africa-centered foreign policy, Nigeria got involved deeply in the decolonization struggles in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa and in the process earning for itself the appellation a ‘frontline nation’, even though the country was geographically far removed from the theatre of the struggles which was in the Southern African region. Nigeria is central to the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has contained the breakdown of social order in Liberia, Sierra Leone, etc, through its world acknowledged peacekeeping expertise, and has provided economic life wire to less economically resourceful countries. In terms of proactive engagement with major socio-political and economic issues of continental importance in the last fi fty-seven years, Nigeria tower far above any other African country. Economic diplomacy Th e concept of economic diplomacy as a foreign policy plank was introduced in Nigeria foreign policy during the Ibrahim Babangida administration. Th e government conceptualised economic diplomacy policy as, ‘the promotion of export trade, investment and increased fi nancial assistance from friendly countries’. Building on this, the then Foreign Aff airs Minister, Ike Nwachukwu in his June 1988 speech entitled: Th e Dynamics of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy, provided the policy direction when he stated that, “it is the responsibility of our foreign policy apparatus to advance the course of our national economic recovery”. Th e imperative of an economic diplomacy foreign policy framework was inspired by the economic pressures that were exerted on the Nigerian economy as a result of the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Th e focus was on export promotion, encouragement of direct foreign investment, debt rescheduling, embracing of neo-liberal economic measures and deep involvement in the interplay of the capitalist international political economy. Th e political wing of economic diplomacy agenda was that Nigeria will ingratiate itself and cultivate the goodwill and friendship of the leading countries of Europe, North America and Japan. Citizen diplomacy Citizen Diplomacy Citizen diplomacy is the foreign policy thrust that has been embarked upon since the advent of democratic governance in 1999. It was spearheaded by the Olusegun Obasanjo and has been in place since then through the administrations of Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan Goodluck. Basically, citizen diplomacy contends that the citizens, that is, Nigerians are the centre piece of Nigeria’s foreign policy. Commenting on what the concept is all about, Ozoemenam Mbachu, posits that, ‘the basic thrust revolve around concern for the basic needs, human rights and socio-economic welfare of Nigerian citizens in conducting bilateral and multilateral engagements with other countries’. Th rough the instrumentality of the citizen diplomacy, it is envisaged that Nigeria will harness the resources and potentials of her diaspora, mainstream the doctrine of reciprocity, and create an enabling environment for her citizens to prosper and engage in broad issues of human importance at both the national and international levels. In the event too, it will enhance Nigeria’s export portfolio and attract foreign direct investments. According to Mbachu again, critical issues that have been left unanswered by the citizen diplomacy policy thrust and for which if clear answers are not provided could endanger it are: What are the objectives of Nigeria’s bilateral and multilateral economic and political cooperation based on the framework of citizen diplomacy? What should be the benefi ts of citizen diplomacy as a functional framework for bilateral and multilateral cooperation? Who would aggregate the inputs of Nigerians in the diaspora? How would the success or failure of citizen diplomacy be measured and by whom? Buhari’s foreign policy Under the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the country’s foreign policy has been receiving a mixed review. Obviously designed by the Minister of Foreign Aff airs, Geoff rey Onyeama, doctrinally, Buhari’s foreign policy trajectory is plausible for its solvency. And solvency can be defi ned as return on investment or those tradeoff s that enhance the nation’s economic, political and military wherewithal. Still several national imperatives serve as variables for measuring the solvency of Buhari’s foreign policy. Hardly was there an administration in the country since 1966 with as much foreign policy solvency as the present one.
