National Interest in Foreign Policy Making in the Fourth Republic: Nigeria as a Focal Point

The paper examines national interest in foreign policy making in the fourth republic: Nigeria as a focal point. The essence of interactions among government functionaries and policy makers in Nigeria as well as other advanced nations of the world is largely to promote their respective national interest through a well-defined foreign policy objectives. However, the definition of national interest differs from one nation to another, political leaders invoke the word to justify their actions as a means of promoting their national interest, but in most cases, this is not true, they tend to promote personal interest rather than national interest. Moreover, there is no explicit definition of the concept of national interest by world leaders and policy makers, but the importance of national interest cannot be underestimated especially when considering foreign policy making in Nigeria. This paper therefore examines national interest in foreign policy decision making in Nigeria, with a focus on the fourth republic. The research design adopted is chronological and explorative. The secondary source of data collection were employed in the study. Findings from the study revealed that although the concept of national interest is equivocal, scholars of international relations agreed to a large extent that national interest refers to the interests that are paramount to states and are encapsulated in economic, political, and socio-cultural as well as security of lives and properties of the citizens. The study therefore recommended that the government of Nigeria should promote her national interest especially in the area of foreign policy.