Nigeria’s Foreign Policy, 1960-2015

An Appraisal

Abstract

The study appraised thematically Nigeria’s foreign policy engagements in the past five and half decades. The justification for adopting this approach is that instead of reviewing how each Nigerian government undertook the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy, the performance of all the government since independence till 2015 would be collectively set in row against the common issues and shared views so that it would be possible to judge the practical realities against the presumptions. For this purpose, the study is concern with high point of Nigeria’s foreign policy from independence till 2015 and how it has translated to economic security and prosperity of the Nigerian state. The central proposition of the study is that for Nigeria’s foreign policy to be perceived as legitimate, its implementation must be seen by Nigerians to advance the domestic national development. The theoretical explication of the discourse is political realism. The utility of the theory to the study is that states in international relations are always possessed by the national interest which nations attain only by improving upon the elements of their national power relative to other states. That is it emphasize the interconnection between the domestic economy of any country and its foreign policy. Findings from the study revealed, that Nigeria allowed the system goals to take precedence over actors goals that would have reverberate in greater economic opportunity and prosperity for the people. The study recommended, among other things, that Nigeria’s foreign policy should be more inward-focused, aimed at adding value to the nation’s development.