Foreign Policy and Afrocentricism: An Appraisal of Nigeria’s Role

Abstract

Nigerian foreign policy is a tool use by the country to achieve its national interest. The country’s external policy has been tailored to be Afrocentric since its independence in 1960 which shows the commitment of Nigeria towards Africa’s stability and development. The principles of Nigeria’s foreign policy and its Afrocentricism has consistently operated by the government of the country irrespective of whether it is civilian or military administration. The notion of four concentric circle of Nigerian foreign policy where the country considers its national interest and the interest of its neighbouring States first, the West African sub-region, Africa’s interest and the interest of the world, have accrued numerous benefits to the country. The benefit of Nigeria’s Afrocentric policy has enormously assisted the country’s image internationally. This has invariably promoted Nigeria’s influence during global decision making. The study makes use of systems theory that viewed an individual or group as an ecosystem with moving parts that affect each other. Meaning that, if any part of human body is suffering from pain or any deficiency, the entire body will be feeling pain which can make the whole human body to malfunction. Likewise Nigeria, if any African country is in a crisis, all countries in Africa should look for a way-out to rescue the situation. The study therefore is qualitative in nature that employs the use of both primary and secondary data source. Twelve respondents were interviewed from various higher institutions and government agencies, and the data was analyzed thematically through Nvivo 10.