Diplomatic Shuttles as An Economic Revival Architecture: An Interrogation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

States are propelled by certain interests in their external relations, thus shaping their patterns of behavior in the international system. Those interests, also known as national interests, are encoded in their foreign policy. Therefore, as interest varies among states, so also are the approaches adopted by individual state leaders in the pursuit and realization of such interest. This reality has been noted in Nigeria’s foreign policy under President Buhari since 2015. A major feature of his foreign policy is the penchant for foreign trips (diplomatic shuttles), as a tool for promoting bilateral and multilateral bargaining in interstate relations. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the nature, contents, and, viability of Nigeria’s external relations under President Buhari in the context of its many diplomatic shuttles. The paper adopts neo-classical realism as its theoretical framework. Data were collected through secondary sources such as journals, magazines, and reports. The paper observes amongst others that the diplomatic shuttles rekindled international business engagements in Nigeria by attracting an inflow of Foreign Direct Investments, infrastructural development, and, promoting trade and bilateral relations. However, there is more to be done in addressing some of the domestic challenges that government aims to address. This paper, therefore, recommends redirection of the country’s priority towards addressing the critical issue of infrastructure as an internal dynamic that can substantially strengthen the country’s foreign policy architecture and emplace the country in a vantage position for more robust international engagements