Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in a Democratic Setting: An Appraisal of the Fourth Republic

Abstract

Foreign policy deals with the pursuit of a nation’s national interest in its interactions with other nation. Nigeria attained independence in 1960 and since then has continued to play active roles in the area of foreign policy decision making. The military epochs in Nigeria’s foreign policy were replete with incessant challenges which culminated in the excommunicated of the nation from the common wealth of nations. The swearing in of Obasanjo was perceived as the dawn of a new era in Nigeria’s foreign policy, however democracy has presented new challenges for leaders since the inception of the fourth republic, the study therefore examines the challenges of Nigeria’s foreign policy in a democratic setting with a focus on Obasanjo’s administration in the fourth republic. The secondary data collection was employed in the study. The descriptive and explorative research design was used in the study. Findings revealed that there were incessant challenges; however, some of these challenges were surmounted. The study therefore recommends that the foreign affairs ministers should take more proactive decisions that will uplift the national integrity of the nation when making foreign policy decisions in Nigeria. Keywords: Foreign policy, Democratic era, Governance, decision making, international system, military regime, democratic administration.