Nigeria’s Foreign Policy and the Response of the International Community to Insurgency in Nigeria

This paper examined Nigeria’s foreign policy and the nature of the international response to the insurgency situation under the administrations of President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. Linkage theory is put forward as the theoretical framework. Data were gathered from secondary sources such as books, journals, newspapers, and internet sources, among others. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the Jonathan administration’s refusal to sign the same-sex marriage bill changed the attitude of the West in terms of support for the fight against insecurity, especially the refusal of the US to sell arms to his government. This was not the case for Buhari as countries like the US, UK, France, and Colombia, among others, showed commitment to tackle the insurgency despite the administration’s apparent lack of seriousness to end the menace. Thus, the study recommended that Nigeria should accept self-help or self-sufficiency as an attainable option. By this approach, a state depends only on its own human and material resources to manage national security. The Nigerian government should embrace this strategy and view the issue of insecurity as one that she alone must resolve, rather than relying on the assistance of powerful countries. A state that is dependent on other nations in all aspects of its existence faces fundamental challenges in conducting its foreign relations.