FOREIGN POLICY

ARTICLE: NIGERIAN FOREING POLICY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS FOREIGN POLICY? A country's foreign policy, also called foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve goals within its international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries. The study of such strategies is called foreign policy analysis. In recent times, due to the deepening level of globalization and transnational activities, the states will also have to interact with non-state actors. The aforementioned interaction is evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. Since the national interests are paramount, foreign policies are designed by the government through high-level decision making processes. National interests accomplishment can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through exploitation. Usually, creating foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature also has considerable effects. Foreign policies of countries have varying rates of change and scopes of intent, which can be affected by factors that change the perceived national interests or even affect the stability of the country itself. The foreign policy of one country can have a profound and lasting impact on many other countries and on the course of international relations as a whole, such as the Monroe Doctrine conflicting with the mercantilist policies of 19th century European countries and the goals of independence of newly formed Central American and South American countries.

According to Business Dictionary.com, foreign policy is plan of action adopted by one nation in regards to its diplomatic dealings with other countries. Foreign policy is established as a systemic way to deal with issues that may arise with other countries.

Need for a general theory of foreign policy

McGowan and Shapiro, in their work on comparative study of foreign policy of different countries, felt that the lack of a basic theory of foreign policy was particularly disabling, and pointed out the harmful effect of the absence of a general theory of foreign policy on the foreign policy literature.

The most fundamental question that arises here is: why do we lack theories of foreign policy? Or why do we need general theory of foreign policy?

The absence of a general theory in this field leads to some serious consequences. Without theory:

• We cannot explain the relationships we discover; we can make predictions only about the foreign policy behavior.

• We will have to depend on luck and educative guesses to come up with worthwhile research hypothesis.

• Research will become an ad-hoc or unplanned research, with no justification provided for the selection of cases—no system and no consistency.

• A field without theory is hardly an area of disciplined scientific inquiry.

• A diplomat will be likely to have a more complex estimate or knowledge of other governments. His or her estimate, however, will certainly be simplistic and heavily influenced by his or her own perceptual blinders, leading to faulty (or biased) policy judgments.

A theoretical framework of foreign policy is needed to analyze the day-to-day interactions in international relations and to compare individual foreign policies. The focus is primarily on the policies of state actors with defined territories and jurisdictional boundaries, and less so on non-state actors, except in the context of how they impact national government decisions and policies. The formal field of study of international relations is itself fairly^{[clarification needed]} recent and a specific subset of international relations such as foreign policy analysis does not receive wide attention as a field of scientific study, as opposed to the widespread use of terms like 'foreign policy' and 'foreign policy expert' in news media and general discussions about government when such experts may have more extensive backgrounds in fields other than foreign policy analysis. Government officials involved in making foreign policy often perceive risk in giving away information to about their policy making processes and do not discuss the subject, as control of information is itself often a part of foreign policy.

The vast record of empirical data and research is given academic attention to fit it into the framework of a general theory of foreign policy.

The second group of writers has made contributions in its development in many ways:

• Collation of systematic empirical studies with a view to articulating general pro-positions pertaining to state behavior.

• Analysis of foreign policy making with an emphasis on the process itself and the determinants that influence foreign policy.

• Development of a scientific approach to and model for foreign policy analysis such as the rational actor model, domestic-public model, etc.

• Studies undertaken to prepare world order models.

foreign policy, General objectives that guide the activities and relationships of one state in its interactions with other states. The development of foreign policy is influenced by domestic considerations, the policies or behaviour of other states, or plans to advance specific geopolitical designs. Leopold von Ranke emphasized the primacy of geography and external threats in shaping foreign policy, but later writers emphasized domestic factors. Diplomacy is the tool of foreign policy, and war, alliances, and international trade may all be manifestations of it.

Consolidation of Democracy in Nigeria and Africa

Nigeria's support for the promotion and consolidation of democracy, good governance and human rights in Africa is not in doubt. In partnership with the AU, Nigeria is making strenuous efforts to lead the process of entrenching democracy in Africa. In furtherance of this hallowed principle, Nigeria has provided material and other forms of support to the democratic electoral processes in Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Niger and other countries in Africa.

It was Nigeria’s strong voice to uphold democracy and support the winner of the presidential election, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, that prevented a bloodbath in Cote d’Ivoire.  It was our strong and unwavering support for democracy that made the EU, UN and the US to follow Nigeria’s lead, while the AU had no choice but to come on board and support Nigeria’s position for the winner of the elections. 

In line with the AU and ECOWAS policy of zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government, Nigeria condemned the recent undemocratic changes of government in Guinea Bissau and Mali.  The same scenario as in Cote d’ivoire played out in Guinea Bissau. It was President Goodluck Jonathan that negotiated a peaceful resolution of the crisis and prevented the coup leaders in those countries from executing their detained erstwhile presidents and prime ministers. 

When there was a major crisis and civil war in Libya in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprising, the leadership in Africa and the AU were in total disarray, with no clear path to follow.  It was Nigeria’s timely intervention in announcing the recognition of the then Transitional National Council (TNC) in Libya that showed the way for other African countries to follow.  Within a few days of Nigeria’s announcement, majority of member states of the AU, hitherto sitting on the fence, followed Nigeria’s lead.

Nigeria’s International Image

Nigeria has continued to receive official delegations and visitors from all countries seeking to engage with us, to invest in Nigeria’s economy.  As a testimony to Nigeria’s strategic importance in the comity of nations, President Jonathan has undertaken several trips to many countries abroad, where he was received very warmly by his hosts and the resident Nigerian community in those countries. One of the major challenges facing Nigeria’s foreign policy is the plight of Nigerians abroad. As at now, there are about 9,945 Nigerians in various prisons all over the world. The highest number of Nigerian inmates is in the UK with a total of 752 Nigerians, while the lowest of one (1) inmate is recorded in a few places such as Cuba, Burundi, New Zealand and Uganda.  Most of them are concentrated in the Asia-Pacific with many of them on death row. Given these alarming numbers and the imperative need to find creative solutions to the plight of these Nigerians, while re-examining our strategies for attracting FDI, we convened regional seminars of Nigerian Heads of Missions in six centres. At the end of theseminar, the heads of mission made far-reaching recommendations, including the need to raise awareness in Nigeria on the dangers and perils of irregular migration as well as involvement in transnational crimes, especially drug trafficking.       

Nigeria and New Global Challenges

It is also remarkable that with the emergence of new global challenges, Nigeria has been in the forefront of addressing such issues as international terrorism, climate change, irregular migration, human and drug trafficking and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Some of these complex issues that constitute security challenges have invariably posed serious threats to peace and security in Africa, particularly in our sub-region.  Terrorism is an international phenomenon, gravely threatening national, regional and international peace and stability. The armed forces are also tackling the issue of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and

The ministry remains committed to protecting the interests of Nigerians by constructively engaging the diplomatic and consular missions in Nigeria, especially on visa matters. As we demonstrated in our swift and effective response to the deportation of Nigerians from South Africa over the issue of yellow fever cards and our various demarches to the diplomatic community in Nigeria over the issuance of visas to Nigerians, we have made it clear that Nigeria would not tolerate the maltreatment of its citizens at home and abroad. The ministry also collaborated with other MDAs to evacuate Nigerians trapped in conflict zones in various parts of the world (Libya, Syria). In Gabon where some Nigerians were to be ejected from the two Islands they had occupied for years by the host government, the ministry proactively engaged and successfully collaborated with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to evacuate them back home. We have also successfully resolved the dispute over trading activities by Nigerians living in Ghana.

Challenges

In planning for continued effective implementation of Nigeria foreign policy, we have identified the following themes and challenges that will continue to face our foreign policy in the immediate and long term. These include the need to sustaining the unity, territorial integrity, peace and stability of Nigeria; engaging international partners and friends to tackling the menace of security and other domestic challenges, including transnational crimes and proliferation of small arms and light weapons; terrorism and piracy, the preservation of Nigeria’s leadership role and visibility in Africa; promoting regional peace and security, including the consolidation of democracy and good governance in Africa; maintaining a positive image of Nigeria abroad; the challenge of funding; and ensuring constructive engagements with major actors in the international scene such as the EU, the G8, WTO, World Bank/IMF, the UN and its specialised agencies. Other challenges include the promotion of South-South Cooperation with emphasis on financing for development and technology, including enhanced relations with China, India, Brazil, especially the African-South American Cooperative Forum (ASACOF) etc; climate change and energy security.

Nigeria Foreign Policy, 1960-2011: Fifty One Years of Conceptual Confusion
Since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, there have been a plethora of conceptual ideological transitions in the Nigeria foreign policy machinery. Essentially, they all strive towards an epistemological construction and definition of the thrust of Nigeria's foreign policy. These conceptualizations are often regime specific and borne out of a psychological hunger to carve a regime identity that will create and leave lasting impressions on the minds of Nigerians. They are not necessarily products of deep and profound philosophical reflections. This crisis of myownism (regime identity) is one of the major causative agencies of project abandonment and public policy failure in Nigeria.
The concepts that have bestraddle foreign policy thought in Nigeria, in both official and non-official parlance are: national consensus in foreign policy, dynamic foreign policy, Africa as the centre piece of Nigeria's foreign policy, concentric cycles, concert of medium powers, economic diplomacy, and citizen diplomacy among many others. These conceptual mutations in Nigerian foreign policy engineering, we contend, lack any ideological consistency, operationally barren, philosophically vague, and such, an exercise in conceptual confusion and groping in the dark. We will assess some of these concepts one after the other in what follows.

THE SOLUTIONS

In a bid to encourage and promote the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, Nigeria has signed bilateral agreements with several countries in the areas of trade, technological cooperation, ICT, education, culture/tourism, etc.   The Bi-National Commission with the US, Germany, Canada and South Africa continue to deepen the gains which the current administration has made in trade and investment, energy, security, agriculture, good governance, health and education sectors. Our relations with other emerging markets and huge economies such as China have also been robust. Apart from the involvement of China in the development of infrastructure and construction, the country has granted a soft loan of $500 million for the construction of a light rail in and around Abuja. A 50-bed capacity hospital, donated by China is currently under construction in Abuja. Thus, according to UN World Investment report for 2012, the FDI inflows into Nigeria reached about $8.9 billion, far higher than in previous years.

A prominent component of the country’s economic diplomacy is the involvement of the organised private sector.

Nigeria’s Contributions to the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

Since its membership of the UN, Nigeria has consistently made significant contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security. Beginning with the UN peacekeeping operation in the Congo in 1960, immediately upon the attainment of its independence, Nigeria has and continues to serve meritoriously in UN peacekeeping operations around the world, as well as providing several commanders for a good number of UN and regional peacekeeping operations.  At the last count, Nigeria had over 6,020 troops serving in various UN peacekeeping operations.

The NIPSS should strengthen and intensify their own in-house revenue drive for financial assistance. Additionally, government should appreciate the need to increase the allocation to the institutes. This is necessary because how well Nigeria can assert herself in the sub region, Africa and in the World depends in part on how major stakeholders like NIIA and NIPSS are positioned.

REFERENCES

O. Aluko, Essays in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy (London George Akllen and Unwi,                  (1981).

U.J. Ogwu, the role of Research As an instrument of Foreign Policy Formation.          The NIIA-International Conference on Nigeria in the World the new                         Century, Dec. 5-6 (2000).

R. A. Akindele, An Approach to Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Formulation and           implementation: A study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NIIA   International Conference on Nigeria in the World after 40 years, Policy               perspective in New Century. Lagos December 5th and 6th 2000.

O. Obasanjo, Role of NIPSS A publication of Ministry of information, Lagos   (1999).

G.O. Olusanya, The challenges of the Nigeria Foreign Policy in Olusanya and   Akindele, R.A. (eds) (2001).

G.Idang, Nigeria Internal politics and Foreign Policy (1960-1966) (Ibadan: Ibadan           University Press) (1973).

E. Okpokpo, The challenges facing Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in the next   millennium 3 (2) 4 (1999) online Retrieved 30 August 2011.

A.O. Banjo, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs: The story so far (Lagos:                   NIIA Monograph Series No.12, 1986).