Africa the Centre-Piece of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy To What End?

Abstract

Nigeria since independence, has engaged in relations with other countries. These relations have been guided by a carefully crafted philosophy as encapsulated in its foreign policy. The philosophy upon which Nigeria’s foreign policy is anchored is that of Africa as its centerpiece. This philosophy was developed and maintained for the most part of the countries existence as a sovereign entity since 1960. It is against this background that the country has remained forthcoming in coming to the aid of other African Countries faced with challenges of colonial domination, civil wars, financial dilemma and even technical deficiencies. Apart from the Country’s contribution in the form of funds mostly to Southern African Countries fighting Colonial Domination, Nigeria has through its peace keeping activities promoted peace and security in the West African Sub-region and other parts of Africa. The technical aid corps initiated by Nigeria has also assisted some African countries with key technical services. This has cost Nigeria billions of dollars. It has also claimed lives of many of its citizens engaged in peace keeping operations. Unfortunately, the Country has no gain to show for its unwavering commitment to African countries. This is why the paper advocates for a rethink of the Africa centerpiece postulation of Nigeria’s foreign policy. As an alternative its foreign policy philosophy should be revised to accommodate mainly the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.