Foreign Policy and Nigeria’s Economic Development: A Case Study of Nigeria-China Relations 2015-2018

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue X, October 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Foreign Policy and Nigeria’s Economic Development: A Case Study of Nigeria-China Relations 2015-2018

Emene, Chidera Patricia, Nnaji, Ejike Sylvester
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Godfrey Okoye University, Thinkers Corner, Enugu State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT
Foreign policy is an important instrument which guides nations in their relations with other nations of the world for survival. Since independence, Nigeria’s relations with the outside world have taken both bilateral and multilateral dimensions. These relations cut across political, socio-cultural cum economic relations. More recently, there has been an increased economic relation between Nigeria and China which has raised a lot of concerns as to whether the relationship is symbiotic or parasitic like that of the Western countries. The study therefore sets out to examine if Nigeria-China relations enhanced economic development in Nigeria. The study adopted ex-post facto research design as it made use of documentary method of data collection and content analysis. Theory of complex interdependence was used as a framework of analysis. The findings reveals that the relationship between Nigeria and China politically have been reciprocal and to an extent the bilateral relations had enhanced economic development but theexcessive trade imbalance in favor of China has been the nature of the China –Nigeria relations. It also reveals that the imbalance in trade has entrenched dependency on the part of Nigeria’s economy. Thus, the study recommends among other things that, Nigeriashould be more pragmatic in protecting its local producers by regulating the inflow of Chinese goods into the Nigerian market and by placing an embargo on certain products so as to enable such to be produced locally by local manufacturers. The researcher also recommends that Nigeria should not be carried away by their desire for immediate gain but should develop a long term plan of developing and expanding her economy just like their Chinese counterpart has done.

Keywords: Nigeria, China, foreign policy, relations, economic development, bilateral, imbalance of trade

Introduction

Nigeria-China relations have come a long way, dating back to more than four decades backwards. The relation between these two giants of their respective continents (Africa and Asia) covers a spectrum of interactions such as political, economic and also the socio-cultural aspects. These interactions are governed by various bilateral and regional agreements that exist between the two nations (Oyerantiet al, 2010). It is however imperative to note that both countries were driven into this relationship by their economic interests as every other aspect of their interactions (political and socio-cultural relations) are measures geared towards the promotion and protection of economic interests of both countries. To this extent, Gubak and Samuel (2015) revealed that China’s primary interest with Nigeria from the 1990s was in line with her immediate motive of securing access to Nigeria’s natural resources to enhance her expanding economy.

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