Nigeria And The Re-invigoration Of Foreign Policy And International Diplomacy
Chapter One
Background
Foreign Policy is a set of precisely articulated pretensions and objects which nation- countries seek to realize and appear in the conduct of their connections with other countries. It’s also a series of responses which a nation- state offers to the demands which other countries put before it. Foreign policy could also be defined as a set of continuously readdressed stations and dispositions which a state brings to the external terrain in which it has to operate in the conduct of foreign policy. For the purpose of clarity, it must be stated that anything „ foreign ‟ is commodity that’s external or coming in from a country that isn’t one ‟ s own, while a „ policy on the other hand, is a plan or a course of action agreed or chosen by an association or government to pursue with the stopgap of attaining certain anticipated results earnings.
Right from independence, Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy has been determined by several factors. One of the most significant factors is that it’s the most vibrant black nation on earth and this has impelled her to shoulder the leadership of the black world assuming liabilities far beyond her borders. Some might say beyond her means. Indeed though Nigeria moved in a measured pace, there was no mistrustfulness that the political leadership of the first democracy realized that the country had a licit claim to leadership and also that black people in Africa and the diasporas looked up to Nigeria. Although, in practice, the Republic of Ghana underDr. Kwame Nkrumah( 1909- 1972) painted Nigeria as an inactive mammoth with bases of complexion, yet Nigeria wasn’t set up wanting when it came to defending the interests of Africans still under social domination or in defying France when they were determined to continue with the deadly pernicious policy of testing nuclear losers in the Sah2ara against the wishes of the African people.
The foreign policy of any country at any given time is intricately related to its domestic politics. It, thus, follows that a country ‟ s public power has direct applicability to its foreign policy. The country is big and fairly vibrant having about a quarter of Africa ‟ s population. This population although backward because of the position of ignorance, constitutes a big request for foreign investment. The size of the country and its population has given it a strategic advantage that can not be fluently overrun.
Its position in the middle Atlantic astride major trade routes means that fellowship with Nigeria was desirable. Nigeria ‟ s agrarian and mineral eventuality was great, enjoying minerals similar as oil painting, iron, columbite, petroleum, Uranium and gas. The educated middle class on whom a popular governance could be erected was vastly sizeable. The only draw tails were lack of political direction and cohesion. The country also had a abecedarian excrescence since it suffered from fissiparous ethnical pulls in different directions. This essential weakness was latterly to manifest to manifest in the fratricidal civil war between 1967 and 1970. There have been colorful attempts made through indigenous device to attack the ethnical fission apparent in the country but, there has been further of acting than action with the result that the situation has continued to deteriorate, therefore, casting a shadow on the future of the country itself.
The Murtala Mohammed/ Olusegun Obasanjo governance carried forward the policy of decolonization by its support for the MPLA governance in Angola and the provision of arms and accoutrements for the intensification of the war of emancipation in Southern Africa. The use of Nigeria ‟ s profitable power as influence against British interests in the case of nationalization by Obasanjo of British Petroleum over the disagreement on Rhodesia showed that Nigeria had come of age. There was no mistrustfulness that the trouble of farther action in the profitable area was no longer to be taken for granted. This eased the coming to power of blacks in Zimbabwe. Since that time Nigeria ‟ s voice has been heeded to precisely in the process of decolonization and junking of intolerance in South Africa.
The continuum of events being in race leading from the history to the present and indeed into the future of Nigerian foreign policy since 1960 has constantly been changing, though the principles guiding her foreign relations remain the same. Nigerian leaders are largely responsible for these unstable external relations.
Since Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy is deeply embedded in Africa with strategic emphasis on political and profitable operation, peaceful disagreement resolution, and globalnon-alignment, Nigerian leaders also have their attention concentrated on successful perpetration of these principles. still, the influence of personality on Nigeria ‟ s relations with other countries can not be ignored as different leaders borrow different styles in conducting external relations.
Examining the complexity of all the attributes, behavioral, temperamental, emotional and internal that characterizes the leader both at the theoretical and practical situations is thus important in understanding Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy. In this exploration still, the foreign policy and transnational tactfulness of Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo ‟ s administration( 1999- 2007) shall be anatomized. Analysis of Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy shows that utmost if not all leaders operate within four concentric situations of public interest. The inmost circle represents Nigeria ‟ s own security, independence and substance and is centered on its immediate neighbors- Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, the alternate circle revolves around Nigeria ‟ s relations with its west African neighbors, the third circle focuses on international African issues of peace, development and democratization; and the fourth circle involves Nigeria ‟ s relations with associations, institutions and countries outside Africa. With this in mind, each Nigerian Head of State or President works to insure that no single part is affected in pursuing the country ‟ s foreign policy.
The supposition of power by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo served as a catalyst in the history of transnational relations as far as Nigeria was concerned. His government fitted new inventions and energy into the Nations foreign policy affairs. Nigeria came a indigenous power and center of influence, particularly in Africa. As at induction in May, 1999, Obasanjo inherited a nation with a bombarded image and without credibility externally. This study examines Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy under President Olusegun Obasanjo ‟ s administration and his determination to recapture Nigeria ‟ s misplaced glory andre-integration into the transnational arena. It provides a detailed background on the impact of Obasanjo ‟ s transnational tactfulness in rebuilding Nigeria ‟ s image as well as conducting vigour into Nigeria ‟ s transnational politics. Study shows that President Olusegun Obasanjo engaged in a shuttle tactfulness across the major centrals of the globe.
The nation has achieved significant earnings through the governance ‟ s shuttle tactfulness. piecemeal from the cerebral relief following itsre-integration and accommodation into world affairs, Nigeria assumed the leadership of several transnational associations specially the ECOWAS, AU, and G- 77. It also hosted veritably important transnational summits including those of the Commonwealth Heads of State and government and the AU in 2004, the New Partnership for African Development( NEPAD) in 2005, and severally the ECOWAS since 1999. The study analyses the domestic programs of the Obasanjo ‟ s administration and how it shaped the country ‟ s policy of cooperation. It can be said thus that the period between 1999 and 2007 Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy took a new turn in restoring the image of the country through a global shuttle tactfulness of President Olusegun Obasanjo. thus, the focus of this study is to examine the part played by President Olusegun Obasanjo in restoring the image of the country, dissect his foreign policy posture and give an appraisal of the successes and failures in terms of domestic and transnational displacing.
Basically, tactfulness is an established system of converse or the art of managing transnational relations primarily by concession or conduct of sanctioned relations among countries. The fact that the Nigerian foreign policy and International Diplomacy in the Obasanjo times werere-invigorated can not beover-emphasized. Obasanjo ‟ s administration created a kind of spark when it came to relations with other countries. And due to the fact that he was largely admired when dealing with other heads of state, Nigeria was largely admired as well in the transnational system and that enhanced the pursuit of our foreign policy. The Nigerian foreign policy has the general purpose to insure security, Autonomy, Welfare, and Status.
Statement Of The Problem
The blowing Nigerian foreign policy of moment is as result of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo ‟ s administration. Relations between Nigerian and other state andnon-state actors in transnational politics from 1999 onward were grounded on popular principles. The tit- for- tat tactfulness of lateGen. Sani Abacha, de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998 had greatly damaged the image of Nigeria. The government was indicted of mortal rights abuses and was constantly condemned by theU.S State Department. There were breaks in connections with numerous countries with pitfalls of profitable warrants from others. piecemeal from this and most importantly, the government was characterized by an inconsistent foreign policy which was surely not good for Nigeria and thus made Nigeria a despisement in the harmony of nations. The coming of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the colorful reforms which he embarked upon actually brought Nigeria out of her messy and opprobrious situation that late Gen Sani Abacha put the country into.
The main thrust of this exploration is to take an objective view regarding the foreign policy of Nigeria during the Obasanjo times and how these programs were executed, and also to compare it to the former ways that Nigerian foreign programs were made and executed. It has been escaped by voices in the Nigerian system that Obasanjo ‟ s administration kind of “ brought back to live ” the Nigerian foreign policy and transnational tactfulness.
Objects Of The Exploration
The exploration work focuses on the following objects
To examine Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy enterprise under Obasanjo;
ii. To identify factors that backed there-invigoration of Nigeria ‟ s foreign policy and transnational tactfulness during the Obasanjo times; and
iii. To estimate the impact of Obasanjo ‟ s administration on the prosecution of Nigerian foreign policy and transnational tactfulness.
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