Domestic Politics And Foreign Policy Dynamics In Nigeria: An Appraisal Of Obasanjo’s Administration, 1999 – 2003

ABSTRACT

Nation-States are embedded in a complex international system, and there is always an

interaction between one state and another for the accomplishment of certain objectives which

are most of the time necessitated by the domestic demands of an individual state. This

implies that the relationship between one state and another in the international system, is often

influenced by internal and external factors. The extent of the relationship between domestic

politics and foreign policy in Nigeria by 1999 form, therefore, the nexus of this study. Thus,

it sets out to investigate the demands of the Nigerian government in 1999 based on the

prevailing realities that confronted the Obasanjo’s administration on its emergence. Among

the issues were the quest for political stability vis-a-viz the protection of the nascent civilian

rule from military Coup d’etat and industrialization of the country with a view to arresting the

depressed economy. On this premise, the study was guided by the broad question: Is there

any direct linkage between domestic politics of protecting the new civilian government and

industrialization of the state, and the foreign policy strands of military alliance and economic

liberalisation in Nigeria from 1999 to 2003? The exploration of this question led to the

generation of three specific question (1) Is there any significant positive relationship between

Nigeria’s military professionalisation policy for political stability and the foreign policy

dimension of military alliance from 1999 to 2003? (2) Does Nigeria’s quest for

industrialisation have any direct link with the foreign policy posture of trade liberalisation

from 1999 to 2003? (3) Did the liberalisation of foreign direct investment impact positively

on reduction of unemployment in Nigeria within the period (1999 to 2003)? The execution

of this study engaged the separate sample pretest-posttest research design of the notation

system. Through the design, the population of the study and its sampling technique are

shown. The data for the study were generated through primary and secondary sources. The

primary source was based on the use of interview technique. The secondary sources on the

other hand, centred on published materials like books, journals, periodicals and internet

materials and the examination of records. Our findings indicate that the foreign policy

dimension of military alliance with the United States impacted positively on military

professionalisation in Nigeria. This is because, the Nigeria military came to know more that

the consolidation of civil rule was one of the demands of the contemporary globalised

capitalist production process. Thus, there was neither Coup d’etat nor attempted one against

the flickering Nigerian civilian rule from 1999 – 2003, and even beyond it. Trade

liberalization did not favour the Nigeria’s textile industry in the areas of employment creation

and expansion of textile firms. The liberalisation of foreign direct investment in the

telecommunication sector brought about a profound employment generation in Nigeria. In

conclusion, we demonstrated that a functional relationship exists between domestic politics

and foreign policy. This inference is drawn because, while the Nigeria’s search for political

stability necessitated the military professionalisation policy and the foreign policy dimension

of military alliance, that of industrialization led to the foreign policy posture of the

liberalization of trade and foreign direct investment so as to address the domestic depressed

economy inherited by the administration in 1999.