Personality factor and the evolution of foreign policy: Nigeria in perspective

• Main Authors: Maichiki, Manasseh Paul, Chat, Lot Kogi, Adakole, John
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: JZ International relations
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/28009/1/INSORPAD%20144%20158.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/28009/

The common saying that “No nation is an island” emphasizes the importance of international relations where nations-states interact with each other through some complex relationships. These relations may be conflictual, symbiotic, harmonious or peaceful as the case may be. This is evident in the relationships between Nigeria with other nations-states through the formulations of her foreign policies. As such, the evolution of Nigeria’s foreign policy should be the expression of her domestic milieu, anchored on her supposedly national interest and guided by her foreign policy orientation in the pursuance her objectives. However, the origin of Nigeria’s foreign policy with root in colonialism is shape by the circumstance of Nigeria’s pre-independence political parties and ethnicity, the nature of her independence, and leadership among other factors. Nevertheless, it is arguable, that Nigeria’s foreign policy was ill formulated to reflect her domestic environment. Rather, it was overshadowed by Afrocentric interest and proWestern posture. Therefore, the personality model of foreign policy is employed to justify the position of this paper, while the problematique is addressed by analysing secondary information from textbooks, reports, journal articles and newspapers. The paper, thus acknowledges the contradictions that surrounded the evolution of Nigeria’s foreign policy, it however contends that domestic circumstances and Nigeria’s leadership inability to charismatically fashioned foreign policies to reflect Nigeria’s national interest has been a bane of projecting the country’s influence beyond the African region despite evolving post independent foreign policies.