Crafting a Nigerian Foreign Policy based on National Interest and Reciprocity

Crafting a Nigerian Foreign Policy based on National Interest and Reciprocity

In 2010, I was privileged to be part of a study group consisting of twelve very bright Nigerians from the Diplomatic Corps, Armed Forces, Federal Civil Service and the Organised Private Sector that carried out a review of Nigeria’s foreign policy since independence and made policy recommendations on areas for improvement. In the light of Donald Trump’s victory in the American presidential election, it brought to the fore the role national interest play in determining the outcome of key national events. Vladimir Putin’s rise to power in Russia was linked to the way he appealed to the dominant nationalist touch points of the Russians.  To win, leaders must tenaciously hold on to national interests and protect them with ruthless courage. For example, the United States observes reciprocity in her relations with Russia, China, Japan, Germany, Britain and France for obvious reasons in terms of military, strategic, economic and diplomatic interests. However, it is also obvious that USA’s interests in other countries particularly in Africa, including Nigeria, do not constitute as much a priority as the countries in Europe and Asia. The USA strictly responds to the logic of national interest and the role of power, and not sentiments. It is noteworthy that India, Brazil, Egypt and South Africa are gradually but steadily working towards the practice of reciprocity in the conduct of foreign policy.  

 At the early stage of our review, we observed that right from independence, Nigeria has demonstrated deep concern for Africa, African peoples and their challenges, and has made great sacrifices in defence of their interests than any other country. Our leaders subscribed to the notion of the country’s destiny to be the leading State of Africa. It was on this note that Honourable Jaja Wachuku, Nigeria’s first Minister of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, while contributing to a parliamentary motion asking for independence, insisted that Nigeria’s demand for independence was to allow the country bear the burden of responsibility for African and Black peoples all over the world. According to him, “the whole Black Continent is looking up to Nigeria to liberate it from thralldom. The whole Negroid race is looking to Nigeria to be free from slavery.”    

 Nigeria committed significant human and material resources in the pursuit of emancipation of Africa and the entire Black race. However, Nigeria does not appear to be optimally benefiting from these noble endeavours. It must be noted that many of the African countries given assistance by Nigeria over the years do not seem to reciprocate or even show appreciation for the sacrifice made by Nigeria and Nigerians.  My group made a case that Nigeria’s national interest should be the key principle in the relationship with other countries. Why did we come up with this recommendation?  With about half the population of West Africa being Nigerians, Nigeria at independence, recognised its demographic superiority in the sub-region. Thus, then Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa boldly stated Nigeria’s readiness to abide by the following foreign policy principles:

a.     Respect for the legal equality, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States.

b.     Respect for the doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of all other states.

c.      Non-alignment, i.e. that Nigeria would not as a matter of routine policy align with any of the then existing ideological blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. (This claim, however, came up for sharp criticism by analysts who contend that Nigeria was actually strongly economically aligned to the West whilst it made only rhetorical commitment of being politically non-aligned).

d.     Join international organizations that are functionally relevant to its needs.

e.     Africa would be treated as the Centre-piece of its foreign policy.

 Nigeria’s foreign policy, since independence, has been guided by four concentric circles of national interests, (Gambari, 1989). The innermost circle represents Nigeria’s own security, independence and prosperity. The Second circle revolves around Nigeria’s relations with its West African neighbours; the third focuses on Continental African issues of peace, development and democratization. The fourth circle involves Nigeria’s relation with organizations, institutions and States outside Africa. Section 19 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, provides the objectives of Nigeria’s foreign policy as follows:

a.     promotion and protection of the national interests;

b.     promotion of African integration and support for African unity;

c.      promotion of international cooperation for the consolidation of universal peace and mutual respect among all nations and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations;

d.     respect for international law and treaty obligations as well as the seeking the settlement of international disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration and adjudication; and

e.     Promotion of a just world economic order.

 Reciprocity is a strategy which nations use to respond in kind and other means to the goodwill gestures of other states. The principle states that favours, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of another, should be returned in kind. Reciprocity has been used in reducing tariffs, granting copyrights to foreign authors, and relaxing travel restrictions and visa requirements.

 The review team discovered that upon gaining independence, Nigeria committed itself to the liberation struggles going on in the Southern Africa sub-region. She invested morally, financially, materially and in human resources.  Nigeria strongly pushed for South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth in 1961. Without Nigeria’s steady support for the forces of liberation, the entire southern African region including South Africa – might have spent longer time battling the forces of colonialism and racist oppression. Nigeria invested over US$1 billion towards the decolonization and the anti-apartheid struggle. Though Nigeria never sent an expeditionary force to the region, it took a committed tough line with regard to the racist regime and their incursions in southern Africa with its support for the African National Congress (ANC).  Nigeria provided ANC with financial support, supplied weaponry, trained and accommodated Black South Africans, many of whom rose to the leadership of that country upon democratisation in 1994. She also championed the global cause for the dismantling of apartheid, rallying other African and global players in this regard. Nigeria’s efforts ensured the isolation of apartheid South Africa globally. 

In 1975, war broke out in Angola after the country gained independence from Portugal.  Nigeria, mobilized its diplomatic influence in Africa in support of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola's (MPLA). Under General Murtala Mohammed, it tipped the balance in MPLA’s favour and led to the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) recognition of the MPLA over the United States and apartheid South Africa backed UNITA.

In 1977, then General Olusegun Obasanjo's military regime made a donation of US$20 million to the Zimbabwean liberation movement. The Nigerian government provided assistance to Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian (renamed Zimbabwe in 1979) Bush War of independence against white minority rule of Prime Minister Ian Smith which was armed and financed by the apartheid regime in South Africa. It is instructive, however, that when South Africa became independent in 1994, Nigeria’s active contributions to the dismantling of apartheid were hardly acknowledged. Nigeria’s Head of State, General Sani Abacha was indeed slighted at the occasion of President Nelson Mandela’s inauguration ceremony.

We reported that Nigeria played a major role in the Zimbabwe Lancaster House Accords. She took the extreme measure, which put her relationship with Britain to test, when she nationalised BP assets in Nigeria in 1979 for supplying crude oil to South Africa. This however paved way for negotiations, which led to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, under the leadership of Comrade Robert Mugabe. In support of Mugabe’s government, Nigeria invested US$10 million to purchase the Herald Newspaper in Harare to propagate the vision of the new government. Nigeria also invested another US$10 million in a fertilizer company in that country that was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari. In 1995, when Nigeria was faced with international pressure over the execution of the Ogoni 8, Zimbabwe, for whom Nigeria had invested heavily, championed the cause of her expulsion from the Commonwealth. Interestingly, when Zimbabwe had issues with the European Union over land reforms in early 2000, and faced global sanctions, Nigeria rallied to her support unequivocally.  Hmmmmm…

Nigeria’s support to Namibia not just during the struggle but also in post-apartheid reconstruction in which it contributed about US$20 million in assistance to the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in the 1989 elections, as well as financial and military support to other liberation movements in Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were notable planks in the commitment to a free and united Africa. Nigeria extended diplomatic support to Sam Nujoma's SWAPO movement in Namibia to stall the apartheid South African installed puppet government. Nigeria also sent military equipment to Mozambique to help the new independent country suppress the South African backed RENAMO guerrillas and later invested in a Sugar Factory to help that country develop and stabilise its economy. 

To demonstrate her seriousness against multinational companies in Nigeria that violated the economic/trade embargo on the racist South African regime, the local operations of Barclays Bank was nationalized after that bank ignored the strong protests by Nigeria urging it not to buy South African government bond.  In 1982, the Shehu Shagari government urged the visiting Pontiff Pope John Paul II to grant audience to the leaders of Southern Africa guerrilla organizations Oliver Tambo of the ANC and Sam Nujoma of SWAPO. Surprisingly in December 1983, Major General Muhammadu Buhari regime announced that Nigeria could no longer afford an activist anti-colonial role in Africa.

We noted that the history of Nigeria’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations dates back to 1960 in the Congo just few days after her independence, wherein she not only contributed troops, but also commanded the United Nations Operations in Congo (UNOC) operation. Since then, Nigeria has been involved in many UN peacekeeping operations in many parts of the world such as Bosnia Herzegovina, Iraq, Kuwait, Western Sahara, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Mozambique, Cambodia, Lebanon, Angola, Beirut, India, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Pakistan. The first major peacekeeping role however was that of Chad which Nigeria undertook under the auspices of the OAU. That operation cost Nigeria about US$82 million and had to be written off. Nigeria’s role in peacekeeping have led to the suggestion that in a democratized UN system, Nigeria would be a worthy and legitimate representative of the African continent as a permanent member on an expanded UN Security Council.  Nigeria has rendered various forms of aid, technical assistance, and civil and military training to various African countries.  The provision of scholarships/grants/fellowships, training facilities, medical supplies, as well as equipment also count as part of the general commitment to these objectives. These forms of assistance culminated in the establishment of the Technical Aid Corps Scheme in 1987 under which Nigerian professionals enlist to serve in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific countries that need their services.

Nigeria has played a leading role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In the efforts to restore peace and political stability to Liberia between 1990 and 1998, Nigeria expended over US$8 Billion and suffered heavy tolls in human life. Nigeria suffered the same fate in Sierra Leone in 1997 – 1998. In the post-conflict reconstruction efforts in that country, Nigeria could not even participate while the Americans and Chinese exploited economic opportunities in the lucrative rubber industries and infrastructural development sectors of Liberia. It is also on record that Liberians developed xenophobia against Nigerians. Just like in Liberia, after Nigeria and ECOWAS effort to restore peace in the war torn countries, their former colonial masters took over all the business opportunities. In the case of Sierra Leone, the Britons are there reaping the fruits of stability established partly by the sweat and blood of Nigerians.   In 2004, based on a request from the USA, Nigeria granted political asylum to Charles Taylor to ease the political tension in Liberia.

Our review revealed that Nigeria’s act of benevolent diplomacy is replicated all through West Africa. She invested in a Cement Factory in Benin Republic, intervened in the Chadian War of 1992, supplied electricity to Niger Republic amongst other financial assistance and adopted a pacific-constructionist approach to resolution of its border dispute with Cameroon in the Bakassi peninsula. Nigeria supplied crude oil to Ghana at concessionary rate and even advanced huge loans to assist that country. At the time, Ghana owed Nigeria about US$150 million for crude oil supplies and depended on Nigeria for about 90 percent of its petroleum needs.  In contrast, Nigeria’s business community in Ghana came under threat of annihilation over newly introduced laws that appeared to be designed to frustrate Nigerians business interests.

Except for two occasions (1) when Ghanaians were deported and (2) when her borders with Benin Republic were shut over incessant car robbery, a review of Nigeria’s foreign policy seems to suggest that Nigeria has not actively embraced the norms of strategic diplomacy in its relations with her neighbours and other nations.  In keeping with the principle of reciprocity in diplomacy, a nation must try to seek a balance between her “enlightened self-interest or national core interest” and her international commitments. In order words, it is a hallmark of poor statesmanship for a State to abrogate its interest to meet the needs of others, or engage in external commitment over and above a domestic capabilities.

We discovered that several factors are responsible for the perceived non-reciprocity to the Nigerian gestures by African State. Nigeria has failed to appreciate the fact that international politics is not altruistic. Every player in the global arena seeks advantage in the projection of national interest based on well-articulated goals and resources required to attain them. For example, even as rich as the USA and Russia are, they do not even provide grants and aids without strings attached. Nigeria provides assistance to others without strings attached. Technological handicap and declining human capacity is a major impediment to the projection of Nigeria’s interest in these countries. For example, even if Nigeria so desire, she would not have the capacity to manage the Liberian lucrative rubber industry. In the support of the liberation struggle, Nigeria had purchased arms and other goods from some third party countries. According to Nigeria’s foreign minister under General Murtala Mohammed, late Major General Joe Garba, we imported Argentine beef for delivery to Angola. Why did we not consider our locally-bred cattle?  We donated C-130 aircraft to the Frontline states as well.   What about rice and other equipment which came mainly from Asia? After their independence/wars, these countries had no need to make recourse to Nigeria to acquire these goods. Joe Garba's book Diplomatic Soldiering provides detailed insight into the conduct of Nigeria's vibrant foreign policy from 1975 to 1979. I recommend it.     

Some people have argued that against all odds, and in spite of non-reciprocal gestures from other nations, Nigeria cannot but maintain her benevolent gesture, especially towards its immediate neighbours. Akpuru-Aja (2000), notes that “given the vast size, natural, economic and human resources, large market drive, Nigeria perceives itself as having an historic mission to exercise hegemonic influence in the West African sub-region, and indeed the Black World.”

In the game of international politics, nations seek to build upon national interests, and prestige to exert influence from position of strength rather than weakness. It is therefore important for Nigeria to project benevolent power, which does not sacrifice national interest indices. My group concluded that Nigeria needs to take a critical look at the relevance and currency of the principles established in 1960s for the realities and demands of the 21st century, as well as the processes and procedures of its external engagement. We concluded that Good neighbourliness for “neighbourliness sake” can no longer be charity-driven without any beneficial returns to Nigeria.  Nigeria’s foreign policy would require serious fine-tuning to re-align its gestures with clearly identified national interests beyond the more obvious search for vain glory/prestige.  What the Nigerian leadership needs to do most urgently is to put its domestic setting in order economically and socially before playing Santa Claus. That is the same message Donald Trump is spreading today. The difference is that America has the technical know-how to deliver on these objectives.    


Olajumoke Akinpelumi

Human Resources & Admin. Manager at KSB Pumps and Valves Nigeria Limited

6y

I can't agree less. This is so profound and informative. Thank you Mr. Banjo

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Serena O. Mordi

Senior Consultant | Board Governance Professional | ESG & Sustainability Enthusiast | Corporate Governance Advisory Expert

8y

Very well said @Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis!!! Key point - Nigeria's foreign policy should focus more on domestic interest & Security!

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