International Relations as a Field of Study in Nigeria

Introduction

Africa's place in international relations is a topic of increasing importance and academic interest. Despite the fact that Nigeria only gained its independence in 1960, the Balewa government as early as 1956 introduced a sessional paper to the pre-independent parliament on the training of future Nigerian diplomats. The training was subsequently carried out in overseas institutions such as the London School of Economics, the School of Diplomacy at The Hague and Oxford University, this is because institutions for such training were not readily available in Nigeria in the late 1950s ^[25]. There was a provision of the impetus for the study of International Relations by the Nigerian government as soon as there was the establishment of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in 1961. The Nigerian government had a strong believe that Nigeria was destined in playing an active leadership role in Africa, and to take a vigorous initiative in the international arena due to its sheer size, population (it covers about 25 percent of the whole of Africa), as well as vast and gifted in several natural and mineral resources. According to Worldometers, Nigeria population as of 4^th of March 2019 is 199,288,020 million ^[27].

Dr. Wm Cyrus Reed, who is Director of the Office of African Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo, argues that international actors based in civil society play a critical, and largely unexamined^[3], role in African international relations. Over the years, there have been a series of crisis that caused a breach to the domestic and international peace^[12] of the African states. Therefore there is a need for a country such as Nigeria to fasten her seatbelt and bring limelight to the continent through its activities in the International arena which should be extended to its study in International relations.

To that note, the realization that created International Relations as an aspect of the Nigerian educational curriculum had sought to induce a more professionally inclined and globally competitive generation that would indeed take its pride of place in the scheme of things.

Currently, in Nigeria, there are about 129 Universities which are registered by the Nigerian University Commission (NUC). 40 of which is owned by the federal government of Nigeria, 39 owned by the state governments and the remaining 50 are privately owned. Only 31 Nigerian universities^[16] out of 129 offer international relations and related studies.

Teaching, Research and The Growth of the Study

According to the Millennium: Journal of International Studies, in comparison with the pre-civil war days, we can ascertain that there is an advancement which has been made in the teaching and research of international relations in Nigeria since early 1970. There are two major factors that contributed to this development and they are: Firstly, the intervention of many foreign powers in the Nigerian civil war, as this made the Nigerian leaders and students of international relations realize that Nigeria’s security and territorial integrity could in no time be gravely endangered by external forces.

Secondly, the Nigerian economy became very strong in 1970 as the oil price hiked. From the revenue which was generated by the oil boom, the Nigerian government was able to make funds available to universities in order to intensify the study of international relations^[14] and also in order to establish some other non-university-based institutions for international relations and research. L. J. Lewis stated in his book titled Society, Schools, and Progress that Nigeria makes a good field of study for several reasons ^[13]. Nigerians are closely scrutinized by neighbors throughout the huge continent, yet Nigeria maintains its position on the continent in the international community.

The study of international relations in Nigerian higher institutions only started a few years after Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. The then University College of Ibadan (now known as University of Ibadan) ^[21] was the only university in the country as at the time of independence and there were no courses in international relations offered until after 1970.

The Universities of Nigeria, University of Nsukka and University of Ife took the lead in a matter of study international relations. In 1965, the University of Nsukka started to offer some related courses such as comparative government, the foreign policies of the Great Powers, and some African nations of which Nigeria was among^[15].

In 1966, there was a signed agreement between the University of Ife and the Nigerian government in training external affairs officers. However, due to the political crisis that befell the country from late 1966 until January 1970, it was very difficult for the agreement to be implemented. Subsequently, the University of Ife made great progress as it did the following;

In 1971, it established postgraduate courses in international relations;

In 1976, there was an establishment of the first Department of International Relations in Nigeria;

In 1977, it founded the first Chair in International Relations in Nigeria, and in the whole of black Africa;

In 1982, it started an undergraduate programme in international relations.

The Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1980 made an introduction of a separate undergraduate programme in international studies which was within the Department of Political Science. We know that the other universities are yet to go far as the University of Ife and Zaria in the aspect of owning separate departments, as well as undergraduate and graduate programmes in international relations, however, we ascertain that almost all of them have a number of running courses which are within their various Departments of Political Science. Furthermore, there are few of other institutions that offer courses in international relations since late 1970, and they include the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, the Foreign Service Academy of the Ministry of External Affairs, Lagos and the Command and Staff College in Jaji.

Presently, there are 31 Nigerian universities that offer international relations and related studies and the majority of them are privately owned. To meet up with the rest of the world, the Nigerian government ascertains that the following courses are offered by the Universities in Nigeria under their department of International relations, department of diplomacy and department of social science: International Relations study, Politics and International Relations, International Conflict Management, Diplomacy, International Studies, Political science – International studies, Arts and Social science –International studies.

Below are top 10 Universities in Nigeria ^[15] that offer international relations as a field of study and research to both locals and foreigners in order to advance the input of Nigeria and Africa in issues pertaining to International relations and world politics.

1. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State (1961);
2. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1962)
3. Oduduwa University, Ipetumode (2009);
4. Caleb University, Lagos (2008);
5. Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State (2006);
6. Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State (2002);
7. University of Ibadan (1948);
8. Lead City University, Ibadan (2005);
9. Obong University, Obong Ntak, Akwa Ibom State (1997);
10. Landmark University, Omu-Aran Kwara State (2011);

The aims of the Department of International Relations (IR) in the aforementioned universities include but not limited to the following: To accelerate capacity building in International Relations in the effort to meet the needs of a democratic Nigeria; To develop undergraduates and postgraduates with a full range of training, as well as research opportunities; To make sure that the international relations curriculum meet with the dynamic changing and development needs of Nigeria; To contribute to the conceptual of International relations theory and the international community at large; To develop cooperation and networks of scholarly exchange with IR universities and research institutes across West Africa, Africa and globally.

Akeem Ayofe Akinwale of African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Development suggests the need for relevant and effective strategies which include but not limited to self-discovery, self-help, innovative behavior, as well as government-university-institute^[4] interaction for the utmost development of students and researchers in Nigeria and beyond.

Ngunu Edet posits that in order to study International Relations as a course in most of the high universities in Nigeria ^[10], one is expected to meet some specific academic requirements. International Relation graduates are able to develop general, as well as technical skills which are applicable to a wide range of careers. For instance, cross-cultural proficiency might be equally essential whether working as a foreign-service officer, as a manager of an international branch of an organization or corporation, or even as a journalist.

In Nigeria, International Relations students are exposed to political, as well as economic and social interactions within Governments. Also, the course cuts across some topics in Political Science; In some of the universities between 100 and 200 level^[19], both International Relations and Political Science students are offered the same subjects. Graduates of international relations^[7] and related courses in Nigeria generally can take up careers in these three major areas; Public Sector (Government), Private Sector and Non-Profit/NGO.

Scientific studies of international relations in Nigeria and Approach to the Study

The formation of Nigeria was preceded by a long period when the idea of uniting the British colonial possessions in Nigeria was consistently formed and created by long-term plans. At the same time, several powers competed for economic penetration into Nigeria, being a self-proclaim giant of Africa. It is a popular notion to come across what is referred to as 'traditional, western IR theory', being an indication of problematic when taken to the African continent. International Relations theory either misrepresents or misunderstands African reality, at its worst, it participates in an exercise of neo-colonial theoretical hegemony.

According to the book by Amitav Acharya and Barry Buzan titled "Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives on and beyond Asia Review^[6], The major Western theories that are being used for the study and approach of International Relations are the following: Marxism, Realism, Constructivism and Liberalism, Critical theory and Alternative Approaches. Nigerian Scholars largely agree that the international behavior of states can be accounted for by examining the effects of the international system. Since according to neorealism, weakness makes survival more difficult for the less powerful states than for great powers, as their foreign policy can be better explained by taking the international system as the preferred level of analysis.

In Nigeria, the scientific studies of International relations vary from one university to the other, as some universities are much more research-intensive than others and usually this entails a broader spectrum of International relations sphere. Nigeria emerges at exercising a “benign hegemonic leadership” in the region to counterbalance the extra-statal pressures of the globalized environment.

The study of international relations in Nigeria can be termed as being guerilla warfare between the traditional writers, in such that between Hedley Buli and Kaplan Morton in 1960, Nigerian academics differed in their approach to the subject as majority of the researchers who have contributed significantly to the understanding of international relations in Nigeria follow the traditional, realist approach. Although, a very small group of Nigerian Marxist writers such as Segun Osoba of the University of Ife, Ikenna Nzimiro and O.C Eze of the Imo State University preferred the political economy approach ^[8]. There is a condemnation from them on the overwhelming majority of other scholars who were termed as being super-structural and state-centric and mistook the states in the developing world for autonomous actors.
We are of the opinion that while these writers might have some specific points, their writings are questionable because as long as we live in an anarchical society, foreign policy will obviously continue to have a focus on the nation-state. In a lot of developing nations in Africa and Asia, it’s of essence that the question of national unity is not taken for granted as both ethnic and religious differences have weakened the already minimal commitment to national cohesion. So, in that regard, in such places as Africa and Asia it is imperative that the study of international relations is being more of state-centric, in order for it to serve a purpose of not only uniting the nation but as well as rendering assistance to such countries to be able to play a more realistic role in the world.

Funding for research and research centers

A large part of the research funding is carried out by the Nigerian government and the International organizations either directly or indirectly. The main partners of research institutes are the World Bank, UNDP - United Nations Development Programme, AFDB – African Development Bank. The Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)^[1], whose primary objective is working to provide a holistic approach towards capacity building in Africa continent.

The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) ^[18] happens to be Nigeria’s foremost think-tank on foreign affairs and related issues. The institute was established in 1961 as a center of excellence mainly for the scientific study of international relations. The major idea of the institute as conceived by the founders was the ability ‘to provide a garden of ideas on what path in international affairs Nigeria should take’, also in order ‘to provide a common ground for people of all nations and plant a rich soil for the cross-fertilization of their minds’. All of these are being accomplished through unlimited painstaking research, roundtable discussions, seminars, conferences, workshop, as well as public lectures on vital issues in world affairs.

The West African Politics Group, whose objectives include not just the encouragement, but also funding of original primary research on different aspects of West Africa regional and International politics. The research on West African politics which are done in the region is considered as the most authentic with a high level of credibility. Mechanisms in achieving this objective are explored and used such as joint research projects and publications. The overall aim is to enhance and develop the status and prominence of political scientists who are focused on West African politics at large.

According to Premium Odeola, the Nigerian Association of Political Studies^[26] is known to be the official body of the disciplines of Political Science and International Relations in Nigeria. The main International affiliations are the African Association of Political Science (AAPS), the International Political Science Association (IPSA), and the World International Studies Committee (WISC). Convened at the National Conference with a mind blowing discussion of the possibility of avenues for involvement, the IR and Diplomacy Caucus remains in the formative stages.

Also, scientific research of International Relations at the top universities benefits from a dynamic partnership with the West African Institute which is the region's leading producer of policy-relevant conferences, seminars and research papers on regional and world issues.

Some of the notable professors and scholars from Nigeria who are in the field of IR and political science are:

Professor Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi^[17], majored in political science and was Nigeria's External Affairs Minister^[22] from 1985 to late 1987. He is the chairman of the National Think Tank. He happened to be a Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

Toyin Omoyeni Falola - a Nigerian historian and professor of African Studies. He is currently the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin. Falola earned his B.A. and Ph.D. in History at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria and of the Nigerian Academy of Letters. He is an author, as well as editor of more than one hundred books, and he is the general editor of the Cambria African Studies Series.

O. Igho Natufe – a Nigerian-born Sovietologist^[11] and a specialist in International Relations and Soviet/ Russian Foreign Policy. Dr. Natufe is an alumnus of the People's Friendship University, a former university professor of Political Science (University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, 1978—1980, and the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, 1980—1989) and senior advisor to the Government of Canada (1970 - 1978, 1989 - 2011).

Professor Claude Ake - Nigerian international relations and political scientist. He gained a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1966. He held various academic positions at institutions around the world, including Yale University, University of Nairobi, University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Port Harcourt. His work includes studies of development and democracy, his overriding concern being West Africa, as well as Africa at large.

The objectives of the above Nigerian scholars and professors along with their affiliations in the field of 1R include: Encouraging and facilitating the understanding of international affairs of the country; Promoting the study of international questions through the means of conferences, seminars, lectures, as well as by means of preparing and publishing reports, books, records; Providing and maintaining several means of information upon international questions in order to develop a body of informed opinion on world affairs; Establishing contacts with various organizations with the same goal.

Cooperation of Nigerian scientists with foreign journals on international relations

There are several social and political science journals that are published from Nigeria in the effort to encourage a transnational and global study of Nigerian Politics and International relations. The Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs examines the application of power in public affairs and encompasses research on national philosophies, comparative politics, international relations and, a diverse array of systems of governance.

The African Journal of International Affairs (AJIA) which is a bi-annual publication of Codesria, Dakar, Senegal offers a platform in analyzing contemporary issues in African International Affairs in relation to global developments as they affect the Africa continent. AJIA welcomes contributions in English and in French from both African scholars, as well as scholars who are working in any part of Africa.

Attention is to be given to Journal of African Foreign Affairs which is a bi-annual, as well as peer-reviewed academic journal whose aim is to contribute to research and deepens critical thinking across disciplines which are related to African politics, foreign policy, international relations, and diplomacy. The journal has a special interest in Africa's fortunes in the fast-changing world order.

As illustrated by the African Journals OnLine (AJOL), historically, scholarly information has flowed from North to South and from West to East, however, it has also been difficult for African researchers to gain access to the work of other African academics^[5] and in spite of this, in partnership with hundreds of journals from all over the continent, AJOL's objective is to work to change this conception, so that African-origin research output is readily available to Africans and to the rest of the world.

Nigerian scholars and researchers are recommended to work with Vestnik RUDN International Relations, which is regarded as a leading Russian bilingual (English /Russian) IR journal, which is published by RUDN-University since 2001. The main focus is on pressing global issues and the history of international relations, foreign policy, and diplomacy. Thematic scope of the Vestnik RUDN. International Relations is reflected in the following section titles: History of International Relations, Applied Analysis, International Economic Cooperation, International Academic Cooperation, Bilateral Cooperation and Scientific schools.

Nota bene, a publishing house in Russia which was founded in 1998 as a private enterprise LLC “Publishing Nota Bene” is an essential tool for Nigerian researchers to realise their goals in reaching out to as many audience as possible. Initially, Nota bene publishing house specialized in publishing books. However, from 2004, the publishing house has been changing its business strategy and is beginning to reduce the production of books, while increasing the production and opening of new scientific journals. And one of the prominent journals is Международные Отношения (meaning International Relations’).

The last but not the least is Asia and Africa today Journal, a monthly academic socially and politically oriented magazine and the only periodical in Russia is fully devoted to the current matters of the Asian and African countries. The Journal displays series of research papers, correspondence, interviews and other materials which are in the field of international relations, political, economical and social processes in aforementioned continents, and just as the journal’s name implies.

The problem facing the International Relations in Nigeria (Nigerian Experts’ opinion)

On the quality of the implementation of programs on international relations in Nigeria, gathering the view of the following Nigerian experts; Dr. Lawrence Apalara Fabunmi, an historian whose Ph.D thesis is from University of London on the Anglo-Egyptian condominium in the Sudan, Dr. Olasupo Aremu Ojedokun, an expert from University of Lagos and one of the first International Relations doctorates from Nigeria who wrote the seminal work, ‘The Changing Pattern of Nigeria's International Economic Relations, Dr Abiodun Alao of King's College, London as a Nigerian expert on Anglo–Nigerian relations ^[23], Professor Bolaji Akinyemi and Professor Ibrahim Gambari there are two major problems which confront the study of international relations in Nigeria: finance; and access to raw data

According to the Africa Growth Initiative, crude oil accounted for 95 per cent of Nigerian foreign exchange earnings, and about 85 per cent of the government’s revenue ^[2]. Due to the collapse of the oil market occasionally, the question of funding the research of international relations becomes a big problem. It has been quite difficult for the government to release enough money for employment of teaching and research staff in international relations for the acquisition of essential materials, books, journals, as well as other vital documents on international relations. This financial problem has also led to significant reductions in the number of international conferences on international affairs held in Nigeria and in addition, the number of Nigeria scholars who travel abroad for similar conferences have massively reduced.

Nigerian experts ascertain that the access to raw data by Nigerian students of international relations has been very much constrained, and this is so because The Secrets Oaths Act of Nigeria imposes a moratorium of 30years on all classified government papers. Moreso, there are very few memoirs or biographies of former leaders and ambassadors from which Nigerian students of international relations access information.

Conclusion

Without mincing words, the future of the science of International relations in Nigeria is not bad as various universities, institutes and research centers have been taking a bold steps to upgrade the scientific study of International relations. Due to its key geo-strategic position, Nigeria is becoming one of the most important communication links in the regional and interregional community.

It’s worthy to note that at the initial stage of founding the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), there was very minimal research which was carried out of the institute during its first five years and that was because the government as at then was weighed down by a dauntingly complex of internal political crisis which certainly diverted the government’s attention away from external issues, this was extended to the institute. Also, during the immediate years of independence, Nigeria lacked the sufficient number of academic specialists in International relations. However, from 1970, the institute became more of a center which aims at finding practical solutions to actual political crises, conflict and international relations. A new life has indeed been brought to the institute’s research activities.

Apart from the provision of draft memoranda to the government, there has been unlimited research on international relations carried out. Equally, the Nigerian Journal of International Affairs, which carries scientific articles on various aspects of international relations ranges from area studies as well as the foreign policies of individual nations, through political and economic matters.

It's of an essence to note that International Relations as a discipline has consistently marginalized both Africa and the problem of global poverty. To the extent that IR has regarded Africa as been majorly in terms of the particular form of statehood of African states and their implications for international society, rather than the international causes of social conditions within African states.

One of the problems facing the study of international relations in Nigeria is the lack of mutual trust among the top federal civil servants and academics. One could say that the type of periodical interchange of staff between them which is found in the United States seldom takes place in Nigeria and this is fueled by the action of top federal civil servants resisting the ‘invasion’ of their special preserve.

The current emergence of critical IR offers some hope in this regard despite the fact that the relationship between African Studies and International Relations has not always been standardly integrated, I would give a thumbs up to the Nigerian research centers who have been aiming tirelessly at connecting both domestic and International scholars who are working on questions of theory and practise which are within the diverse disciplines such as International Relations theory, Diplomacy, Regional studies, International political economy, Foreign policy analysis, Security studies, and comparative governance.

Another assurance for a bright future of the science of International relations in Nigeria can be traced to the fact that the scientific study of International Relations in Nigeria is now well committed to developing the foreign affairs expertise in Nigeria which requires dealing with the complex interaction of both external and domestic political, economic and social forces that are constantly transforming Nigeria, West Africa, Africa continent and the world at large.