Government · Lesson 15

Nigeria’s foreign policy

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Nigeria’s foreign policy: definition, purpose, factors, relations with major powers, developing countries and Africa (Africa as centrepiece, decolonisation, apartheid, ECOMOG, NEPAD, African unity), Nigeria and international organisations

WAEC: Foreign policy: meaning, determinants (factors), objectives; Nigeria’s foreign policy since independence: principles, Africa as centrepiece, relations with African states, major powers and international organisations; problems

NECO: Foreign policy: meaning, determinants (factors), objectives; Nigeria’s foreign policy since independence: principles, Africa as centrepiece, relations with African states, major powers and international organisations; problems

What you will learn

Define foreign policy and national interest.
Explain the determinants (factors) of foreign policy.
State the principles and objectives of Nigeria’s foreign policy since 1960.
Explain Africa as the centrepiece and Nigeria’s role in decolonisation, apartheid and regional peacekeeping.
Describe how Nigeria’s foreign policy changed under different governments.
Evaluate Nigeria’s relations with major powers and the problems of its foreign policy.

Key points

Foreign policy: principles and actions to promote national interest abroad; instruments: diplomacy, economic, military, cultural.
Determinants: national interest, geography, population, economy/oil, military, history, leadership, domestic opinion, international environment.
Balewa principles: sovereign equality, non-interference, peaceful settlement, non-alignment, African freedom and functional unity; s.19 objectives.
1960–66: UN (7 Oct 1960); Defence Pact abrogated Jan 1962; France relations broken 1961; Congo peacekeeping.
1966–75: civil war diplomacy; OPEC 1971; ECOWAS 1975.
1975–79: Africa as centrepiece; Angola; "Africa has come of age" (11 Jan 1976); BP nationalised July 1979.
1980s–90s: alien expulsions; concentric circles; TAC 1987; ECOMOG 1990; Commonwealth suspension 1995.
1999–: economic diplomacy and debt relief; NEPAD; citizen diplomacy (2007); MNJTF; 4-D doctrine (2023).
Problems: economic weakness, instability, corruption, inconsistency, underfunded missions.

Start here: Meaning of foreign policy and national interest

When Nigeria sends troops to keep the peace in a neighbouring country, votes at the United Nations, or negotiates a trade agreement, it is acting out its foreign policy.

Foreign policy is the set of principles, goals and actions that a state adopts in its relations with other states, international organisations and non-state actors, in order to protect and promote its national interest.

National interest refers to the goals a state regards as vital: survival and security, territorial integrity, economic prosperity, the welfare of its citizens, and its prestige and values.

Instruments of foreign policy

Diplomacy (embassies, negotiations, summits).
Economic tools (aid, trade, sanctions, loans).
Military means (alliances, peacekeeping, force).
Propaganda and cultural tools (media, education scholarships, culture).
Membership of international organisations.

In Nigeria, foreign policy is directed by the President, advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; foreign affairs is on the Exclusive Legislative List, and treaties must be domesticated by the National Assembly to have force of law (s.12).

Worked example 15.1

Classify each instrument: (a) Nigeria offers scholarships to students from a neighbouring country; (b) Nigeria closes its land borders to stop smuggling.

(a) A cultural/economic tool to build goodwill (soft power).
(b) An economic instrument (trade restriction).

Cultural/economic; economic

Try it yourself. Under which section must a treaty be enacted into law to apply in Nigeria?

Show solution

Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution.

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Practice questions

1. Foreign policy is

the set of principles and actions a state uses to pursue its national interest abroad
a country's internal laws
the budget
party manifestos

Show answer

A: the set of principles and actions a state uses to pursue its national interest abroad
Instruments include diplomacy.

2. Africa as the centrepiece of Nigeria's foreign policy means

Nigeria trades only with Africa
Nigeria rejects the UN
Nigeria rules Africa
Nigeria gives priority to African issues

Show answer

D: Nigeria gives priority to African issues
Since independence, especially from 1975.

3. Nigeria's foreign policy objectives are stated in section

24
12
19 of the 1999 Constitution
14

Show answer

C: 19 of the 1999 Constitution
Section 19.

4. Nigeria joined the United Nations on

1 October 1963
7 October 1960
1 October 1960
24 October 1945

Show answer

B: 7 October 1960
As the 99th member.

5. The Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact was abrogated in

January 1962
1960
1966
1975

Show answer

A: January 1962
After student protests.

Key words

Foreign policy: The principles and actions guiding a state’s relations with other states and international bodies.
National interest: The goals a state considers vital: security, prosperity, prestige, values.
Diplomacy: The conduct of relations between states through negotiation and representatives.
Non-alignment: Refusal to join either side of a power bloc, especially in the Cold War.
Afrocentrism: Placing Africa at the centre of foreign policy.
Apartheid: The policy of racial segregation and white-minority rule in South Africa (1948–1994).
Front-line states: Countries that actively supported liberation struggles in southern Africa; Nigeria was treated as one despite its distance.
ECOMOG: ECOWAS Monitoring Group, the regional peacekeeping force led mainly by Nigeria in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Economic diplomacy: Using foreign relations to attract investment, trade and debt relief.
Citizen diplomacy: A policy that puts the welfare and dignity of citizens at home and abroad at the centre of foreign relations.
Technical Aid Corps: Nigeria’s scheme (1987) sending skilled volunteers to other African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Sanctions: Penalties imposed on a state to change its behaviour.

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