An Assessment of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Under Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2019)

Abstract

Undoubtedly, a country’s foreign policy is generally influenced by both the internal and external environment. It goes to say that fundamentally, the conduct of Nigeria’s external relations has never been free from the domestic circumstances. The many but varied constituents of economy, pressure group, political system, public opinion among others exert pressure on foreign policy decision making. The Nigerian internal environment has been fraught with series of challenges which have had consequences on the conduct of her external relations and her image to the rest of the world. Based on this premise, this study, through analytical method, assessed Nigeria’s foreign policy from 2015 to 2019. The study found out that in the fight against graft, the Buhari’s administration solicited for the supports of some big powers and successfully prosecuted a number of public office holders. It however contends that the economic policies introduced yielded little dividends whilst the signals coming from internal security are still in the negative as maiming, killings and destruction of public property are still the order of the day. It recommends that government should address the comatose economy.