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Domestic Politics And Nigerian Foreign Policy
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Indeed, there was recourse to the old order of passive and reactionary
posture in Nigerian Foreign Policy as manifested in the country’s policy
on the Chadian Crisis, OAU and ECOWAS. It was abysmal lack of focus and
inability of the regime to respond to the various domestic demands that
precipitated the collapse of the 2nd Republic with the overthrow of the
government by the Buhari led military Junta in December, 1983. The
coming to power of this administration was very much welcomed by the
Nigerian public. This was largely due to the total disaster of the
Shagari administration. The new government was well received more so as
it claimed to have been the offshoot of Murtala administration. The
administration came with the purpose of restructuring and bringing the
economy back to sound footing. It also vigorously sought to
institutionalize a new ethic of National leadership based on discipline,
public accountability and integrity.
There was also more commitment
to the polisaro and recognition of the Saharawi Arab Democratic
Republic. Other policy issues, particularly the expulsion of aliens and
the closure of Nigerian borders were received with mixed feelings by the
neighboring countries.
However, Buhari’s anti – West Posture was
remarkable, as it demonstrated its autonomy and status in decision
making. Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with such powers as United States
and United Kingdom became ruptured. In all these instances, Nigeria
demonstrated to the rest of the World that she was not ready to take
insults or directive from any country big or small, The regime at the
end suffered “Support Erosion†with its human right abuses, a situation
which made it easy for it to be overthrown.
The Babangida government
that succeeded the Buhari regime was described as a Liberal/benevolent
military regime especially at its infancy. The administration like its
predecessor was committed to economic restructuring which informed its
choice of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The programme had
adverse effects on the life of Nigerians, and as expected had serious
implications on the country’s external relations. The regime’s handling
of the bombing of Libya by the USA was heavily criticized so also was
the regime’s OIC policy which almost precipitated serious internal
upheaval. It was apparent that the government under the guise of
economic diplomacy succeeded in playing into the hands of the
Western
powers as its economic programme could be said to be anything but
humane. The failure of Babangida to respect the peoples mandate with the
annulment of the June 12 Presidential elections result, after endless
political transition led to the demise of the regime.
Following the
annulment of June 12 presidential election in 1993, the interim
government which was put in place by General Babangida on 26th, August,
1993 did not enjoy the support of a wide range of Nigerians. General
Sani Abacha’s intervention on 17th November, 1993 was therefore very
timely and inevitable given Nigeria’s drift towards anarchy and
disintegration.
During the Abacha regime, development between China
and Nigeria was one of the most prominent aspects of the shift in
Nigeria’s foreign policy. At this time Nigeria and China entered into
different agreements, which allowed China to become involved in oil
production, refurbishment of the long – neglected Nigeria Railway
Corporation, the dredging of Seaports at Calabar and Warri and the
development of Mass – housing projects. Abacha’s foreign policy thrust
shifted to Asia, failing to realize that in a globalized world, aligning
Nigeria with Asia alone is inadequate. The political heat from both
home and abroad continued until Abacha died on 8th June, 1998.
Following
the death of Abacha, General Abubakar Abdulsalam (rtd) took over as the
Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He succeeded in
conducting a peaceful, free and fair election that finally brought
Olusegun Obasanjo as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Nigerian Armed Forces on May 29, 1999.
Goodluck Jonathan foreign
policy under democratic rule has been underlined by Nigeria’s return to a
place of prestige in the International Community. Particularly of
interest in this research is the influence of domestic politics on
Nigeria’s foreign policy under Goodluck Jonathan Civilian administration
(2010 – 2015)
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