NIGERIA’S FOREIGN
POLICY AND THE CHALLENGES AHEAD
By Rebecca Mu’azu
Like most nations of the world, Nigeria’s Foreign Policy has
evolved into the new Citizen Diplomacy, a policy which places
the welfare of its citizens abroad above all other
considerations.
This transformation is the culmination of a strategic campaign
by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which it strongly
emphasized the need to place the most emphasis on the country’s
human resource, whether they reside at home or in the Diaspora.
Indeed, because of Nigeria’s presumed role as the proverbial big
brother for the rest of Africa, the citizen diplomacy policy is
being advocated for not only Nigerian citizens but also for all
Africans, irrespective of their nationality. This is in tandem
with Nigeria’s age-long afro-centric stance which emphasises
Africa as the centrepiece of its foreign policy.
It is noteworthy that the Nigerian government, despite being a
crusader of Citizen Diplomacy, maintains a zero-tolerance
posture on any form of illegality, no matter who the perpetrator
is.
On numerous occasions, Nigeria has reiterated that it does not
and would not condone or defend acts that constitute illegal
engagements by any of its citizen no matter where such acts are
perpetrated. Drawing from this position, Nigeria has repeatedly
stressed that it will continue to encourage and engender the
rights of its citizens abroad to the principles of fair
treatment and hearing, due process and the rule of law.
To buttress this position, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, called on the international
community to always give objective considerations to the
contributions of Nigerians to the global community, especially
because there were more honest and respectable Nigerians who are
making significant contributions to the economies of their host
countries. It is for this group of people that Nigeria continues
to champion the positive aspects of migration.
The position of the government is that the roles, status and
contributions of such enviable Nigerians should form the basis
for assessing the country and its citizens rather than the
conduct of a few bad eggs.
The Nigerian government’s position is premised on the simple
logic that if the so-called illegal migrants from Africa
continue to positively contribute to the development of a
country’s economy, it was simply fair and just for such African
migrants to be given a grace period, within which to seek and
acquire the relevant documents necessary to legalise their stay
in the host countries.
This is an understandably reasonable posture, especially when it
is considered that the overall objective of most people wanting
to migrate is to seek gainful employment.
The government’s argument has significant merit since it is an
irrefutable fact that migrants who are gainfully employed
contribute, in no small measure, to development, first for the
host nation, before it trickles down to their countries of
origin.
For the Nigerian government, the challenge remains to educate
its citizens on acceptable international behaviour and
regulations, especially when they travel, work or live abroad.
More importantly, Nigeria must find a way to get its citizens
who continue to languish in prisons around the world
repatriated.
What remains undeniable is the fact that greater cooperation and
collaboration between countries of the world, especially on
migration issues will be enhanced when citizens of all countries
of the world are treated equally as human beings.
Nigeria’s adoption of Citizen Diplomacy policy ultimately seeks
to ensure that Nigerians and Africans are treated like human
beings, so that while conducting their legitimate businesses
abroad, they can proudly hold their heads high as Nigerians and
indeed, Africans.
