ABSTRACT
Nigeria’s foreign policy behaviour under the Abacha regime was shaped by the global tilt towards liberal democracy, and the international community’s stiff opposition to the palace coup, which ousted Ernest Shonekan’s interim national government. From championing decolonisation struggles in Africa to supporting liberation movements in Southern Africa and beyond, Nigeria has been unequivocal of its desire and resolve to provide a leadership role in West Africa and on the African continent. The challenger personalities of both the Murtala and Obasanjo’s regime were brought to bear on Nigeria’s foreign policy and its intervention behaviour in Africa. Nigeria’s suspension of bilateral relations with France over the nuclear tests it conducted in the Sahara and with Israel and its strong support for the anti-apartheid movements in Southern Africa demonstrate Gowon’s radical foreign policy activism. To be sure, this commitment to an Afro-centric foreign policy orientation is well enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution.
