The foreign policy process of Nigeria

This study of the foreign policy process of Nigeria explains how the country's foreign policy is made and the environmental setting in which it is made. It argues that in spite of domestic political crises and major changes in government, the process of making foreign policy has settled into discernible patterns and exemplifies a stable body of principles. Nigeria has an active environment (domestic and external) for policy making, as illustrated by the array of sources and types of input into policy making on virtually every external issue. The actual making of foreign policy is done by the executive: - the Presidency - Federal Executive Council - Ministry of External Affairs - etc., and it passes through the process from initiation to consideration, decision, implementation and evaluation, involving a series of consultations with both governmental and non-governmental agencies. Case studies are used to illustrate the argument that foreign policy making in Nigeria is a collective responsibility in the sense of the participation of many organs of government in the process and the outcome depends on the policy makers' perception of both the given issue and the prevailing circumstances in the domestic and external environments of Nigeria. Contrary to the impression about political processes in developing countries, it argues that Nigeria's foreign policy process is not very different from that of developed countries. If there is a significant difference, it lies in the amount of information and resources put into policy making, which reflect in the content of policy while the process is basically the same. Unlike the capitalist and communist states, Nigeria's foreign policy is not necessarily based on pure calculation of advantages or how to exploit the weakness of friendly countries. It is rather a long term policy of mutual co-operation and assistance. Its practice, contrary to the views of its critics has been of a high profile and purposeful