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Nigeria Foreign Policy
Gowon reaffirmed the priorities in foreign policy
established
at independence. These included active participation in
the UN,
advocacy of pan-African solidarity through the
Organization of
African Unity (OAU), regional cooperation, support for
anticolonial and liberation movements--particularly those
in
southern Africa--and nonalignment in the East-West
conflict. The
role of Nigeria in world affairs, outside its African
concerns,
was insignificant, however.
Nigeria was admitted to the UN within a week of
independence
in 1960. It was represented on the committees of
specialized
agencies and took its turn as a nonpermanent member of the
Security Council. One of Nigeria's earliest and most
significant
contributions to the UN was to furnish troops for the
peacekeeping operation in Zaire in the early 1960s. By
1964
Nigerian army units, under Ironsi's command, formed the
backbone
of the UN force. The FMG was committed to eliminating
whiteminority rule in Africa, and it channeled financial and
military
aid to liberation movements through the OAU.
Although there was considerable African criticism of
Nigeria
during the civil war, the military government resisted
this
pressure as interference in the country's internal
affairs. An
OAU statement in 1967 backing the federal position on
national
unity assuaged Nigerian feelings to some extent, but Lagos
protested subsequent OAU efforts to bring about a
cease-fire.
When the war ended, Nigeria's participation in OAU
activities
returned to normal.
There were minor problems relating to border
demarcations
with neighboring countries, but these were resolved to the
satisfaction of the parties involved. Relations also were
mended
with African states that had recognized Biafra.
Particularly
close ties were developed with the military regime in
Ghana,
which gave full support to the federal government during
the
civil war. In 1975 Nigeria joined other West African
countries in
creating the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS),
whose mandate was the reduction of trade barriers among
countries
in the region. Sponsored by Gowon, the agreement was
indicative
of the government's concern with improving intraregional
economic
ties.
Nigeria played an active role in the Commonwealth,
which
linked Nigeria to developing countries outside Africa and
complemented regional ties through ECOWAS and the OAU.
Financial
and technical assistance was channeled to Nigeria through
the
Commonwealth. The aid came from Britain, Canada, and
Australia,
with which Nigeria had advantageous trade relations.
Nigeria's
interaction with Britain continued to be cooperative,
although
the renewal of arms sales to South Africa, permitted by
the
Conservative British government in the early 1970s, caused
some
strain in Nigeria. Relations cooled even more because of
Nigeria's apprehension over Britain's application for
entry into
the European Economic Community (EEC). Nigeria feared that
it
would suffer economically as a result of British
membership in
the EEC.
The FMG was committed to the principle of nonalignment,
a
policy initially established in the early years of
independence.
Acceptance of Western aid--including US$225 million from
the
United States in the early years of independence--tended
to
undermine this position. Nigeria had begun to move toward
a more
autonomous position in 1962, when the Anglo-Nigerian
Defense Pact
was abrogated. With this step, Nigeria affirmed its
independence
of British foreign policy to which it had adhered since
achieving
nationhood. The abrogation of the pact was a clear message
of
nonalignment. During the war, the federal government
accepted
assistance from both East and West. Aircraft and heavy
equipment
were purchased from the Soviet Union, for example, because
Britain and the United States refused to supply heavy
armaments.
Nigeria's relations with the United States were good,
largely
because the United States provided financial aid and
recognized
the FMG during the civil war. United States ties with
South
Africa and Portugal caused some friction on the official
level,
and there was considerable criticism in the Nigerian
press. The
Nigerian version of nonalignment had a slightly
pro-Western tilt.
Data as of June 1991
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