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Challenges facing Nigerian foreign policy

• Redemption of the country’s image: The first challenge facing Nigerian’s foreign policy in the fourth republic is how to redeem the country’s image that has been bastardized by the previous military regimes especially the Sani Abacha era when Nigeria was seen as international outcast as a result of the head of state and his foreign affairs minister’s policy methods which was referred to as called “area boys diplomacy”.

In its effort to return Nigeria to the path of global reckoning Obasanjo’s administration opted for “political diplomacy”. According to Babalola, in this regard the president was reported to have undertaken a total of 113 trips within 1999 to 2003. As a result of image redemption the countries treasury became at stake. The quest to regain this image still continues and that was why one of the foreign policy objective prescribed in the vision 20:2020 is the articulation of better image for Nigeria internationally by 2020.

• Conservative concentric circle nature of Nigerians: Another problem was posed by the conservative concentric circle nature of Nigerian as a result of what Tafawa Balewa referred to as Africa centerpiece of Nigerian foreign policy, this has made the immediate neighbours first problem that Nigerians faced. For instance the Ezulwini (Swaziland) consensus could be seen as a clog in the wheel of Nigeria to act independently of the AU in her bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. – 718 – Ebenezer Ejalonibu Lawal and Opeyemi Idowu Aluko.
• Unfriendly nature of South Africa and the Nigerians neighbor: the Nigerian Foreign Policy during the Fourth Republic the neighbouring countries which Nigeria has helped generously through her African policy became her first enemies, it is not fetched nowadays that the Nigerian citizens are facing xenophobia by the south Africans of which during the apartheid in south Nigerian government fought with their last drop of blood to help them regain their freedom of which came to past. Today the reverse is the case very many nigerians in south are facing hell in that area. Another one was the case in 2009 during the election of Nigeria as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years where Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo instead of supporting nigeria voted for themselves even though they were neither candidates nor listed for election contest as the case may be.
• In appropriate quick decision by the leaders: A cursory look at the Nigerian foreign policy under different regimes since the inception of the fourth republic has clearly shown that there is no procedural formulation and implementation of foreign policy because the leaders do take some decisions without consulting the appropriate institutions or foreign policy personnel. According to Fawole (2003:18): Professor Gambari did not enjoy considerable latitude on the job. He was sidelined in the major decisions and was often left to do the necessary damage control after government had taken and implemented bad decisions.
• Denial of decision making by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The ministry of Foreign Affairs was a mere on-looker in the decisions to close the nation’s borders against its neighbours, expel illegal aliens in 1995 and engage the united Kingdom in a game of diplomatic tit-for-tat over the attempted abduction of Umaru Dikko from London, but the Iron will of General Buhari prevailed on all issues and thus denied the country’s foreign policy the expertise and finesses that a scholar like Gambari the then foreign minister could have brought into country.

Also cover these area:

 Objectives of Nigerian Foreign Policy, challenges facing Nigerian Foreign Policy

Nigerian Foreign Policy at different periods, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and the adoption of Africa as the Centerpiece of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy