An Analysis Of The Dynamic Of Nigeria's Foreign Policy During The Fourth Republic(1999-2018)

Nigeria's foreign policy remains profoundly entrenched in Africa affairs,through its prominent strategies in improving its political engagement and economic cooperation,using peaceful means in addressing Africa's problems,in addition to the vital interaction in international matters.From pointed analysis of view,it demonstrates the role of its leaders in four “concentric circles" of protecting nationwide awareness,the head of the administration has summarized the main goals of state's foreign policy in his speeches during,before,and after the country's independence.Legally speaking,the structure of the central state of Nigeria has articulated the important aims and instruction principle,in general,Nigeria's growing outline in her worldwide relations reflects the circumstance that,the country has restored her important role as one of the leading powers in international politics and diplomacy.In this regard,the presidency period of Olusegun Obasanjo(1999-2007)was the most successful time for Nigeria's foreign policy especially in promoting the image and the reputation of the state and furthering its global engagement.All the four leaders of the fourth republic did their best to make the foreign policy of Nigeria successful.It is in line with the aforementioned that,this study was conducted solely to prove the argument and establish the reasons 'Why is the foreign policy of the Fourth Republic more dynamic than that of the First Three Republic?'This study tries to find out the obstacles that the previous government faces in implementing the foreign policy in Nigerian;and how did Nigerian foreign policy attain success in the fourth republic?The influence of Nigeria's foreign policy during the fourth republic may be explained by the determination of the four successive Heads of state who have ruled Nigeria since 1999 as well as their administrations,given the numerous obstacles(internal factors)which tarnished the image of Nigeria on the international chessboard and therefore paralyzed the normal conduct of its foreign policy sphere during the previous republics.Indeed,endogenous factors such as military dictatorship,andNigeria civil war(the Biafra war)have harmed the effectiveness and operation of the policy during the previous three republics.The determination of the Heads of state who ruled during the fourth republic led to the economic growth and influence of Nigeria on the continental scene as well as on the international sphere.The major obstacles that the previous government faces while implementing the foreign policy in Nigerian are Military dictatorship(instability of governance),and Nigerian civil war(ethnic and religious diversity),as well as lack of political will to take proactive decision and policies.Bearing in mind these obstacles faced by the previous government,steps geared towards reducing and in some cases alleviating most of the obstacles mentioned is what led to success.Moving the administration in the direction of fostering the Nigerian well being,protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity,looking for welcoming relations with other nations that will help in achieving booming economic relations,the need to improve the feeble infrastructure projects by investing and directing more domestic capitals and foreign assets are what is required for the country to be more influential within the international environment.This calls for the continue proactive action by President Muhammad Buhari to appoint career diplomats and experts in international relations as Nigeria's ambassadors to market and restore the confidence of the world community on Nigeria and its governance.Wholly,this study was organized under five(5)interconnected sections.Section one contains the general introductory part of the work,explaining the history of Nigerian foreign policy from the freedom in 1960.This chapter also narrates the research questions of the study;the main argument put forward in this education,the meaning of conducting this education;the methods used to compile the information of the study which comprises the use of multiple needed materials,such as: publications,papers,achieves resources,newspapers and magazines,academic papers,relevant books,governmental reports and any other related source.Still,Chapter One,the chapter further contains reviews of studies that have remained previously carried out by many scholars in Nigeria foreign policy since her freedom.The chapter contains the analysis of Nigerian foreign policy in the fourth republic;the foreign policy done by some military rulers in Nigeria;the Challenges of Nigeria's foreign policy in the fourth republic;and the relationship among Nigerianforeign policy and economic development.The gap of the literature of the study,lastly,they also introduce the structure of the thesis.Chapter two explains the obstacles made by the previous government in implementing their foreign policy,in Nigerian are Military dictatorship(instability of governance),Nigerian civil war(ethnic and religious diversity),as well as lack of political will to take proactive decision and policies.Like military dictatorship,the army always troubles the civilian government just to find some mistake in them to overthrow their government.Bearing in mind these obstacles,the Nigerian foreign policy attains success in the fourth republic.Section three explains the phases and overview of Nigeria's foreign policy in the fourth republic(1999-2018).In these section,the study shows explains the Aims and objectives of foreign policy and principles and national interest,Under this section two,the study established that from the history perspective speaking,Nigeria's foreign policy was influenced through individual players,such as decision makers,the president who is also the chief of the state's army,from legal point of view,the president is the spin around of the country's foreign policy,in spite,the preserving of the constitutional principle of(checks and balance)in order to bound and prevent power abuse.The chapter also emphases that the important thing to comprehend in Nigerian foreign policy,is by means of realizing the weak hold-up between a leader as a specific ordinary person and his official position as the country's head of state.Section four explains how Nigerian foreign policy attains success in the fourth republic,these shows key economic factors influencing the success,the achievement,and contribution of each leader.The section explains the conduct of foreign policy under the fourth republic by the following: Olusegun Obasanjo administration,Umar Musa Yar'adua administration,Good luck Jonathan administration,and Muhammad Buhari administration 1stterm in office.The Reason why the foreign policy will success in the fourth republic.Chapter five which is the final one concludes and gives comparisons study of Nigerian foreign policy in the fourth republic and the previous republics as well as conclusion and appropriate references created on the results explored in the learning.These references explain some recommendations and actions to be taken by affected stakeholders more especially the Nigerian government towards strengtheninginternational relations with international communities through good foreign relations policies and processes.