Bilateral relations and foreign policy under Nigeria’s Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, 2010-2021

Abstract

Based on the assumption that the world has become a global society and that no entity can exist in isolation, Nigeria has continued to engage with other nations. Nigeria, being a sovereign entity, has established the goals it wishes to achieve through its dealings with other nations. This goal (s) has centered on the nation's domestic demands, often known as its national interest, which includes national security, economic prosperity, and the welfare of its population, but it appears these laudable goals are yet to be adequately realized due to her domestic challenges. The paper was therefore tasked with a critical appraisal of Nigeria’s foreign policy and the evaluation of her bilateral relations under President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari’s administrations (2010–2021) in accordance with the nation’s national interest. The work utilized secondary sources of data collection such as diplomatic reports, academic journals, newspapers, magazines, books and internet sources. The study concluded that the relevance of a nation's external ties should be the primary emphasis of its foreign policy. Hence, it recommended that one of the ways to strengthen Nigeria's foreign policy is to develop a robust internal security posture in order to attract more external friends. In other words, Nigeria needs to strengthen its bilateral and multilateral ties. This is necessary for Nigeria to seek assistance in times of needs and to encourage economic growth by attracting FDI.