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By Chekwube Nzomiwu
The foreign policy of a country guides its dealings with other countries and international organisations. It sets goals and maps out strategies for its realisation. Shortly after assumption of office, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, announced that the foreign policy of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be guided by “Four Ds initiative.” This initiative is anchored on four goals, “Development, Democracy, Demography and Diaspora.”
The first goal, Development, seeks to deploy diplomacy to achieve double digit growth for Nigeria by combining agriculture, infrastructure and industrialisation. Goal two, Democracy, is seen as a pathway to peace and stability in Africa and the world.
The target of Goal three, Demography, is to use Nigeria’s very large youth population and deployment of technology to generate income and growth, and speedy development. Finally, Goal 4, Diaspora, aims at mobilizing the Nigerian population abroad to contribute to the country’s development and global standing.
The announcement of the foreign relations agenda of the Tinubu government was not as controversial as his very bitter economic reforms, like the subsidy removal and floating of the Naira, which jointly inflicted unprecedented hardship on Nigerians. At least, Ambassador Tuggar told Nigerians the foreign policy direction of the Tinubu government, unlike his predecessor, Mr. Geofery Onyeama, who appeared ignorant of the direction of his principal (Buhari), throughout the eight years he presided over the Foreign Ministry.
At the twilight of the last administration, the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, gave Nigerians a clue of Buhari’s foreign policy course. Gambari spoke at an event he organised in honour of two presidential aides, the State Chief of Protocol (SCOP), Lawal Kazaure and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Household and Domestic Affairs, Sarkin Ada, who were both conferred with the highest honour in Niger by then President, Mohammed Bazoum.
The mindset of the Buhari government, according to Gambari, was to focus on Nigeria, then her immediate neighbours, before paying attention to other West African countries, then Africa and the rest of the world. He described the borders between Nigeria and the West African countries as artificial, since they share same interests and cultural affinities.
Besides, the recognition of the top Nigerian government officials, Bazoum named a boulevard after Buhari in Niger Republic. These gestures might not be unconnected with financial donations that Niger received from Nigeria during the last administration. In August 2022, Buhari approved N1.2 billion for the purchase of vehicles for Niger’s high ranking government officials. A year earlier, Buhari, against public outcry, flagged off two billion dollars ($2b) railway project from Kano to Maradi town in Niger Republic.
But for the obvious extravagance of the Buhari administration, it did not deviate from the foreign policy path of Nigeria from the time she gained Independence from Britain in 1960. Successive Nigerian governments had maintained the policy of adopting Africa as the centerpiece of the country’s foreign policy.
Being one of the most fortunate countries in Africa, due to her size, population and natural endowments, the impact of Nigeria was felt immensely at the continental level, where she championed the decolonisation of African, supporting massively the liberation struggles in Southern Africa. She was also instrumental to the formation of Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 and its transformation to African Union (AU) in July 2002.
Nigeria has remained unwavering in her commitment to the welfare of her close neighbours in the West African sub-region. It was not a coincidence that the treaty for the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was signed in Lagos, the then Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria in 1975. Nigeria hosts the headquarters of ECOWAS and contributes financially, more than any other member country. Through the ECOMOG, she assisted militarily in the restoration of peace to troubled West African countries, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
Notwithstanding the several transitions from civilian to military government and vice versa, there was no significant change in the country’s foreign policy over the years. Currently, Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives are encapsulated in the 1999 (as amended). They include the promotion and protection of national interest, promotion of African integration and support for African unity, promotion of international co-operation for the consolidation of universal peace and mutual respect among all nations and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations. The rest are respect for international law and treaty obligations as well as seeking of settlement of international disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation and adjudication and finally, promotion of just world economic order.
However, looking at the goals of Tinubu government’s Four Ds agenda, from both its face value and what it represents, they appear inconsistent with the foreign policy objectives of Nigeria, as enshrined in the 1999 constitution. The emphasis has shifted from African integration and unity, to “Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora.”
The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger military juntas from ECOWAS calls for serious interrogation of the new foreign policy. Why did I say so? First, I do not think it is in our national interest to be at daggers drawn with our closest neighbours, just because we see democracy as a pathway to peace and stability in Africa and the world. The United States is seen as the bastion of democracy in the world. Yet, the United States maintains very close ties with Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive regimes in the Middle East region.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support autocratic government or any form of unconstitutional change of government. But, Nigeria and by extension, ECOWAS, led by President Tinubu as Chairman, could pursue the restoration of democracy in Niger and other countries in the ‘coup belt’, not by confrontation, but through negotiation.
Besides, foreign policy ought to be generated from within. The three revolting countries under the aegis of Alliance of Sahel States, accused the community of betraying its founding principles under external influence. With our big brother role in the West African sub-region, we should lead by example. Technology has made the world a global village. People in Niger Republic know that elections in Nigeria are anything but transparent, free and fair. They know that courts and not the people, decide who holds elective political office in Nigeria. They are aware that grassroots democracy does not exist in Nigeria, with governors refusing to conduct local government elections.
Regarding development, before the initiative of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), successive Nigerian governments and their counterparts in West Africa have collaboratively committed enormous resources to their economic, social and cultural wellbeing. For instance, Nigeria and Niger Republic share electricity generated from Kainji Dam in Niger State.
Today, the regional economic communities are the building blocks for the implementation of the free trade agreement. If the impasse in ECOWAS is not quickly resolved through dialogue, it will threaten trade liberalisation in West Africa and consequently, retard the development of Nigeria and other member states.
On demography, if we want to take advantage of Nigerians youth population to generate income and growth, we should not lose sight of the fact that over 300,000 Nigerian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are seeking refuge in Niger Republic from bandits and terrorists who sacked them from their homes in Nigeria. Thousands of Nigeriens are also taking economic refuge in Nigeria. So, we should all be our brother’s keeper.
Finally, when we talk about Diaspora engagement for development, the emphasis should not be on Nigerians living in Europe and America. Nigerians living in neighbouring West African countries and other parts of the continent should also be mobilised for development of their homeland and their host countries for the betterment of the West African sub-region and Agrica in general.
• Nzomiwu, a development communicator and political scientist, wrote from Awka, Anambra State
