The outgoing year 2023 witnessed tremendous activities on the foreign scene by the Nigerian government and it is even more expected that the foreign policy direction will perhaps take a different shape in 2024.
This optimism is predicated on the ambitious “4Ds” Foreign Policy objectives launched by the Federal Government on December 11, 2023, on the platform of ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who unveiled the policy on behalf of the federal government, said the 4Ds are Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora. These are premised on protecting Nigeria’s interest and enhancing its Afrocentric concept to strengthen international co-operation for the consolidation of universal peace and mutual respect among all nations.
The first “D” for Democracy challenges Nigeria to deepen the values of democracy. The second “D”, which is Development, affirmed the importance of working to enhance Nigerian and African development, in order to halt the circle of dependency. The Third D, which is Demography, challenges the Tinubu administration to use the country’s demographic advantage to harness its human capital resources for development. The Fourth D (Diaspora) entails harnessing the skill, expertise and investment of the Nigerians in the Diaspora to increase the nation’s remittances to at least $30 billion per annum.
Experts are of the view that the new foreign policy drive is far-reaching but advised that more needs to be done to attain such commanding objectives.
Former Nigerian High Commissioner to Singapore Ambassador Ogbole Ode told LEADERSHIP Sunday that for any foreign policy to be meaningful; Nigeria’s domestic policy will have to be strong, coordinated and purposeful towards addressing pressing issues in the country. This has become imperative as foreign policy, according to the expert, is a product of a country’s domestic policy.
Welcoming the 4Ds he said “it is a good thing that the current Minister is defining a new foreign policy doctrine.” He said further that “all these must form the kernel of our domestic policy because domestic policy is the bedrock of our foreign policy objectives.
“Nigeria must enhance democratic values within its national borders and must be seen to be doing so before it can project democratic values outside. And when all these are achieved all other things will be added on to it,” he added.
Another Nigerian expert in international relations, Dr. Austin Maho, said the new directive indicates the foreign policy thrust of the Tinubu administration even as he advised that it should go beyond mere slogans.
He said “In a nutshell the 4Ds encapsulates the promotion and projection of the administration’s vision of promoting democratic tenets, strengthening economic development, projecting power by using our demographic strength and youthful population and building synergy for development by leveraging our large diaspora population.
“Simplifying and encapsulating the vision into the concept of 4Ds however should go beyond mere sloganeering. The focus should be on how we are going to transform and translate this vision into reality. What are the steps to its actualization and timelines including financing?
“I believe these are the key challenges. Besides, what would be the role of the Presidency and the foreign ministry? Because we do know that often they overlap and sometimes result in power tussles between the ministry and the presidency?”
He stressed that no matter how beautiful the idea is, financing is very key, even as he inquired where the funding will come from.
“We do know that our foreign missions and embassies are badly funded. There are cases when diplomats do not get their allowances on time, sometimes stretching for months and years. It is a no brainer that for any foreign policy agenda to succeed it must be properly funded and those charged with it properly trained and motivated.
“As a nation we also have to decide if this is for the long term or short term. Is this the long term policy objectives of the country or is it that of the current administration. Was extensive consultation made to arrive at the 4Ds? Does it have the buy-in of all stakeholders to ensure sustainability beyond the current administration?
“These are also issues to be considered in the drive for Nigeria to have a sustainable and effective foreign policy agenda,” he added.
