Interrogating Nigeria’s New Foreign Policy Objectives

On December 11, 2023, President Bola Tinubu launched Nigeria’s new Foreign Policy objectives to drive his “Renewed Hope” agenda for Nigeria in contemporary times and put Nigeria on a line of vision to actualize its objectives and benefit from its foreign policy engagements.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who unveiled the policy on behalf of the federal government, said the objectives were based on “4D Foreign Policy, which are Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora.

Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives have remained immovable and geared towards promoting and protecting Nigeria’s national interest and to promote African integration and support African unity.  The Afrocentric concept of Nigeria’s foreign policy has indeed endeared the country to the hearts of most people and the 4Ds could strengthen international co-operation for the consolidation of universal peace and mutual respect among all nations.

Nigeria has enjoyed a long -stretch of democratic rule since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999 and today, such that the country is the largest democracy in Africa and this must be the emphasis of the 4Ds. This is fundamental to the political development of Africa especially now that the continent is experiencing rising cases of coups and coup attempts.

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 which is against the interest of Africa. In this regard Nigeria might exploit the opportunities presented by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area to facilitate the exchange of goods and services and boost trade and investment through economic cooperation.

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. For instance, the youth population of this country is making significant impacts in fintech, music, arts, and sports among others. Therefore the foreign policy and diplomatic engagement should be used to showcase the vibrant young talent and skills that our young population possesses for national development.

On the Fourth D (Diaspora) it is an established fact that the Diaspora community plays a major role in the development of Nigeria. Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora had reached about 25 $billion and has become a significant contributor to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.  The foreign policy thrust based on the Conceptual Framework of a 4Ds can boost Nigeria’s Diaspora Remittances to over USD $30 billion dollars per annum in recent years if properly harnessed.

The far-reaching objectives of this new foreign policy engagement notwithstanding, the Tinubu government must take strategic steps to reposition the Nigerian economy to lift Nigerians out of the increasing poverty in the country. This has become imperative as foreign policy according to experts is a product of a country’s domestic policy.   

According to an international affairs expert, who does not want his name in print, “Nigeria’s poverty rate of 41% is alarming and the increasing hardship in the country must jolt the Tinubu government into action. Nigeria has a youth bulge but unemployment rate is increasing especially among the youth. Inflation is over 27% in Nigeria. These are very ugly statistics and they are driving many people into more frustration.”

He also noted that fundamental action must be taken to address the issue of insecurity in the country if the country must attract the much coveted foreign investment, adding that the country must boost its exports which are at the lowest ebb at the moment.