Follow Us on Google
The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), yesterday, tasked President Bola Tinubu to adopt sound economic policy as a fundamental pre-requisite for conducting effective foreign policy.
Director-General of NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, said the economy was fundamental and central to foreign policy because citizens’ satisfaction had domestic and external dimensions.
Osaghae spoke at a roundtable organised by NIIA with the theme “Charting the way forward: Nigeria’s foreign policy under President Bola Tinubu.”
He said there had to be a strong nexus between the domestic environment and demands on policies, and the external environment and the demands on policies.
Osaghae said the home base and capacities need to be strengthened in order to have an effective showing in the international arena.
“Economic diplomacy cannot be anything if the citizens’ well-being is not at the focus. In essence, we need economic drive and economic development to ensure the country doesn’t just prosper but all her citizens prosper and their material well being improves.”
Osaghae said citizens needed to be healthy, literate, employed, sheltered, and have enough infrastructure, all of which depended on the strength of the economy.
“The obligations of the government to the citizens of the country is a the core of all we’re asking for. We need to build productive capacities within and in today’s globalised world, you cannot do that in isolation from the rest of the world. We need investments, greater entrepreneurship and all hands in deck. This is not the time to be a passerby or consumer but a time to put on your productive vest,” Osaghae said.
In his presentation, Senior Research Fellow in NIIA, Dr Joshua Bolarinwa, said it was imperative that Nigeria’s foreign policy be urgently reviewed and repackaged.
He said this was necessary in the light of the new challenges of the globalised world order, so as to make it more efficient and result oriented.
Bolarinwa’s paper examined Nigeria’s foreign policy with the view to assess and discuss its mixed and many challenges.
Bolarinwa called for the democratisation of the foreign policy making process, allowing citizen participation and input.
