ABSTRACT
Nigeria’s economic policy under General Ibrahim Babangida
was one in which Nigeria played active role in the crises in West African
sub-region especially Liberia and Sierra-Leone.
Nigeria’s involvement in the internal affairs of other countries got
rekindled in 1988. First was to settle
the border conflict between Burkina Faso and Mali. In this instance, Nigeria brokered a peace
agreement acceptable to both sides but which was frustrated by France using
Code d’ivore.
Nigeria renewed interest in global
and African affairs throughout the period of General Babangida. Nigeria’s economic minister shuttled between
Tripoli and Abidjan each time there crises in Africa who are French speaking
people. Nigeria negotiated more with
former colonial powers than the country that crisis is emanating from. Our former colonial masters still exercise
much influence than the other African countries.
Today, Nigeria has responded to
virtually all the calls by the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS and other
bodies for peace and conflict resolution.
Also,
Nigeria has as well responded to the calls of distress by countries that are
undergoing one natural disaster or the other. nigeria recently demonstrated such
swift response by providing aids to earthquake ridden Chile and Haiti.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY’
Africa
as noted by Chaplan (1966:376), “is an important strategic arena in
contemporary world politics”. Osuntokun
(1999:19) argues further “being the most populous black country in the world,
Nigeria is being compelled to shoulder willingly and unwillingly the leadership
of the black world. This led to
Nigeria’s feeling that she had a responsibility far beyond her borders as noted
by Joe Nanven Garba…” In all our
dealings with international organisations we are guided not by selfish national
interests, but a high sense of responsibility and concern for countries
(particularly in Africa) whose needs in some respect are greater than ours”.
Ambassador
Jolaoso stated further that Africa has always been the centre-piece of
Nigeria’s economic policy, with West Africa being the most crucial sector of
this piece. He further stated that since
economic policy, represents the initiatives or responses by a country to issues
which directly affect the interest of the country to that extent, it is related
to the domestic as well as the international system.
Aghahowa
(2007:59) posits that “the nature of man compels interaction and mutual dependence. According to him, man cannot survive in
isolation, therefore, the associational tendencies of man manifest locally,
nationally and globally.
Nigeria’s
understanding of her leadership position in Africa compelled Prime Minister
Tafawa Balewa to declare while answering questions on Africa’s involvement in
the cold war:
“We
shall make every effort to bring them together so that having been made aware
of the danger we may find a way to unite our efforts and prevent Africa from
becoming an area of crises and world tension”.
Nigeria
in the African continent belongs to the global world of interdependence. Its relations externally can best be
illustrated thus:
“If
you drive a ford Escort, chances are that your transmission was made in Japan,
your wiring in Taiwan, your door lift assembly in Brazil, your steering gears
in Britain, and assorted other parts elsewhere?.
A
states economic policy is not operated in a vacuum.
How far has Nigeria been able to
carry out this rather uneasy responsibility and what have been the obstacles to
Nigeria’s proclaimed position as “the giant of Africa?”
It is the position of this research
paper, therefore, to examine Nigeria’s economic policy over the years and
General Ibrahim Babangida’s era vis-Ã -vis development in the International
system.
According to Mr. Kunle Adeyemi of
the Ministry of External Affairs, Nigeria as a result of her size, status and
economic potential has a number of corresponding responsibilities she cannot
shy away from. This responsibility is
more significant considering that one of every five African is a Nigerian while
one of every six black persons is a Nigerian.
This in fact is the basis of Nigeria’s historical responsibility to
Africa and the black diaspora.
The economic policy of Nigeria as a
merchant state was to consolidate traditional external market for Nigeria’s
cash crops, establishing favourable conditions for attracting economic
participation in the economy and then of course, adopting an international
image required to attract and sustain the good will of economic friends and
donors.
According to Vital (1968:100) “while
economic policy traditionally speak of a well planned action as that most economic
policy behaviour of states shift from the general to certain specifics, because
of the exigencies of time”. He further
stated that, the realities of states behaviour decisions and policies being
formulated in a disjointed fashion, largely in response to immediate pressures
and event in a number of separate structures and issue areas. The resume here is that, while long term
planning characterizes economic policy of developed nations, majority of the
developing countries like Nigeria deal with issues as they arise/approach.
While presenting a paper on
Nigeria’s economic policy at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic
Studies (NPSS) Kuru, Jos, Dr. A. Gana asserts that imperialism is the major
obstacle to the realisation of Nigeria’s economic policy practice negates her economic
policy principles because of her flirtation with imperialism and that, despite
Nigeria’s non-aligned economic policy posture, she is closely aligned to the
West.
The many facets of Nigeria’s economic
policy to a given extent is influenced by the nature of its population. In the old era, nation’s power was calculated
by its population. This was so because
it determined the strength of nations particularly its influence on the number
of mobilisable people for wars.
Nigeria’s large population of more than 140 million people is attractive
to the economic merchant class. A
commitment to non-alignment inspite of a pronounced pro-western streak as well
as strong Afro-centrism and was not merely on orientation, it was also seen
especially from the 1970’s as a national call for leadership of the Africa
continent.
To some extent, this was backed up
by certain notable economic policy achievement in the areas of liberation of
Africa from the shackles of colonialism, the anti apartheid struggle, the
formation of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union and the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and of course, Nigeria’s leadership role in various
areas of international economic relations as they affect the African
continent. One significant area where
Nigeria displayed decisive involvement in the fratricidal war in Liberia is the
initiative of Babangida that informed the ECOMOG operation in Liberia. This was of course a reflection of many
interests and values. Again, General
Babangida came up with Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986
1.2
STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
It
is evident that there is a general dissatisfaction with the conduct of
Nigeria’s economic policy. However, in
the conduct of Nigeria’s economic policy, there is an over emphasis on
subjective factors. In this light,
Nigeria’s economic policy under General Babangida became problematic because of
the level of Nigeria involvement in Regional issues. Many people viewed the ECOMOG operation as an
undue disobedience of the international law of non-interference in the internal
affairs of other countries by the mediation committee members of ECOWAS and
Nigeria in particular. This Babangida
initiative has been criticised by many Nigerians because of the scale of
involvement, particularly in a period of economic crisis, and more so when
“Economic Diplomacy” became the major stand of economic policy.
1.3 OBJECTIVE
OF THE STUDY
This research work is mainly seeking
to do the following:
1.
Examine the background of Nigeria economic
policy of the post independence era.
2.
Analysing the economic policy of
Babangida’s regime and the factors responsible for its style and orientation.
3.
Identify the political and economic
implications of Babangida’s economic policy for the country.
4.
Examine the relationship between
dictatorship and economic policy orientation.
5.
Suggest lasting solutions for purposeful
and result oriented economic policy formulation and implementation.
1.4 RESEARCH
PROPOSITIONS/HYPOTHESIS
for the purpose of this study, the
following propositions are generated:
1.
That the nation’s external image was an
attempt at asserting Nigeria’s presence and importance in the sub-region.
2.
That 5 members ECOWAS standing mediation
committees was sponsored by General Babangida through the Banjul Summit to deal
with the Liberian crisis.
3.
That Nigeria’s extra-continental
interference and interventions became an urgent necessity, and indeed a
responsibility.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE
OF STUDY
The major significance of this study
is that it will examine and highlight the reasons behind the economic policy of
General Babangida. It will also suggest
some ideas on how political leaders can manage crisis to avoid repeating
mistakes of the past. The research also
hopes to contribute to the academic literature on Nigeria’s economic policy
through a coverage of a turbulent period in Nigeria recent history.
1.6 SCOPE
AND DELIMITATION OF STUDY
While acknowledging the myriad of
problems posed by the spectacle of the economic policy of Nigeria towards other
countries, this research limits itself to the issue of the Nigeria’s economic
policy.
Thus, for a time frame, we locate
our research from 1983 to 1993 in order to achieve an objective, unbiased and
elaborate analysis of Nigeria'’ economic policy under General Babangida.
1.7 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The analysis of this study will be
based on historical analysis, using secondary data.
Historical analysis is necessarily
employed because we must look at the past in order to best appreciate and
analyze the present and where, if necessary, predict the future analysis of
secondary data will be useful in this regard.
REFERENCES
Adeyemi, K. (1984). “Keynote
Address on Nigeria’s economic policy”.
Summaries of Proceedings of a Seminar on Nigeria’s economic policy,
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Idakula Press.
Aghahowa, J.O. (2007). “International Relations and economic
policy”. Lagos: Chisanmo Publishing.
Aluko, O. (1981). “Essays in Nigerian
Policy. London: George Allen and Unwin
Publishers.
Chaplan, C. (1996). “African and the
International System. The Politics of
State Survival”. Cambridge: University
Press.
Gana, A. (1984). “Economic Policy Objectives of Nigeria” in
Tyoden S.G. (Ed). Summaries of
Proceedings of a Seminar on Nigeria’s economic policy, National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos:
Idakula Press.
Idang, G.J. (1973). “Nigeria,
International Politics and economic policy, 1960 – 1966”. Ibadan: University Press.
Jolaoso, (1984). “Nigeria African economic
policy” in Tyoden S.G. (Ed.) Summaries of proceedings of a seminar on Nigeria’s
economic policy, National Institute for Policy and strategic Studies, Kuru,
Jos. Idakula Press.
Offor, U. (2005). “Nigerian economic policy under General
Ibrahim Babangida”. Unpublished
Bachelor’s Thesis, University of Benin, Benin City.
Osuntokun, O.I. (1998). “Nigerian Economic
policy in Global Historical Perspective.
Lagos: Unilag Press.
Vital, D. (1968). The Making of British
Policy. London: Macmillan Press.
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