Nigeria’s Interventions in West African Conflicts and Regional Security

Abstract

The achievement of regional security has been a cardinal foreign policy objective of Nigeria since her independence from Britain in 1960. Through the instrumentality of the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria has made an immense contribution towards the achievement of this regional objective of promoting and maintaining regional security. Nigeria’s contribution to regional security in Africa, especially the West African sub-region through mediation and interventions in conflicts has never been in doubt. In her effort to promote and maintain regional security, the country has been able to provide logistics and funding at very crucial moments in the history of ECOWAS. Through constant interventions in conflicts in the West African sub-region, there is no doubt that Nigeria has been able to play a defining role in regional security in the sub-region. This paper discussed the position of Nigeria in West Africa, and her interventions in the sub-region. The paper also examined Nigeria’s contribution to regional security and critically analyse her national interest and interventions in West Africa. Finally, the paper concludes that Nigeria has made immense contributions towards the promotion and maintenance of regional security, and has intervened in almost all the conflicts in West Africa without corresponding positive reward.