ABSTRACT
The study offered a plausible critique of leadership pathology, weak economic and military base that has bedeviled Nigerian quest for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council-especially the disconnect between the development of it power resources and it aspirations, that is, Nigeria’s attempt or quest for a United Nation’s Security Council’s seat without a fundamental domestic capacity to sustain such quest. The objective of this study was to examine the challenges and prospects confronting Nigeria in its quest for a permanent membership seat of the United Nations Security Council. The theoretical model adopted in the study was Political Realism, the utility of the theory to the study is that it highlighted the economic, military and political leadership infrastructure (i.e power base) that Nigeria needs to put in place as a criteria for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. The research method was historical/descriptive approach. Data was obtained primarily from secondary sources. The study made use of normative orientation in data analysis, that is, using content analytical approach to interpret and evaluate the formulated hypotheses. Findings from the study revealed among other things that Nigeria does not have the economic, military and political leadership to aspire for a permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council. The study recommended among other things that Nigeria should put in place a political leadership that would enhance structural transformation by way of mobilizing tangible and intangible resources of the country to achieve its set goal and fulfill it worldview.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study:
The United Nations (UN) today represents one of the most sophisticated and arguably among the best-crafted machinery so far established for the promotion and maintenance of international peace and stability. Following its establishment in 1945 with 51 sovereign member-states, for the maintenance of global peace and stability, its membership and mandate have ever since continued to expand, presently it has 193 member-states. The end of the Cold War and the emergence of the New World order have also brought about an expansion in it agenda to include issues on democratization, environmental degradation and protection, promotion of human rights, gender equity and good governance.
Since the establishment of the UN in 1945, the core of it activities has been conducted by the Security Council. The Security Council consists of fifteen members of which five are permanent members vested with veto power while ten are non-permanent members. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France, The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America serve as the body’s five permanent members (also known as the Permanent Five, Big Five or P5). These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member-states or candidates for Secretary-General. The Security Council also has ten non-permanent members elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
Before this development was the demise of the League of Nations (L.N), the forerunner of the UN, an organization that came into being in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War with the specific objective “to promote international co-operation and to achieve peace and security.” It is of course now history that the League of Nations failed to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War. By 1945, delegates from fifty (50) countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Security and drew up the United Nations (UN) Charter and on the 26th June 1945, all the representatives of these countries signed the charter. Poland endorsed the charter later, though not represented at the conference to become one of the founding members. Sufficed therefore to state that on the 24th October 1945, the charter was ratified by France, Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom and United States and the UN officially came into existence and its Day is celebrated annually on 24th October.
The United Nations in the last few years has undergone serious reforms among which is the resolution to increase the membership of the permanent members of the Security Council in which the African continent has been allotted two slots without veto power. Currently, no African state is a permanent member of the Security Council and this is a major reason why Africa was allotted two slots in the permanent members of the Security Council, due to the fact that Africa is the second most populated continent in the world after Asia. Nigeria featured on top as a preferred candidate that would represent Africa.
The contributions of Nigeria in the promotion of international peace and security cannot be overemphasized. Since the attainment of sovereign independent status in 1960, Nigeria has been at the forefront collaborating with the UN and other global actors in the advancement of peace and stability for the development of mankind. Since her political independence in 1960 and subsequent admission as the 99th member of the United Nations, Nigeria had to represent Africa as a non-permanent member of the United Nations for unprecedented five times in 1966-’67, 1978-’79, 1994-’95, 2011-’12 and 2014-’15. Within Africa, Nigeria has incontrovertibly emerged as a regional heavyweight in the continent, thus being termed as the “giant of Africa”. Since its independence in 1960, Nigeria had declared it readiness and commitment to Africa’s cause by making Africa the centerpiece of it foreign policy. Informed by this position, it fought actively for the total liberalization and decolonization of Africa. Nigeria used its instrumental role in the formation of the OAU to form a common front for Africa. Successive Nigerian governments always gave practical, financial and diplomatic support to the OAU (now the AU).
Piate (2013) elaborately explained three major requirements which serve as a rational technique for pursuing a country’s foreign policy which also serves as criteria of Nigeria to be granted permanent seat at the UN Security council viz; adequate economic capabilities, military capabilities and political leadership.
By natural distribution of economic resources, Nigeria is fortunate in comparison to other countries, blessed with abundance of oil deposits, but the power of a country is not reflected only on the sheer deposits of it resources but on the extent of harnessing them for the overall development. In this regard, Nigeria does not score high because the economic resources have not blended substantially with other sectors of the economy.
Military capability or might of a country is also seen as a rational technique for pursuing foreign policy. According to Saliu (2009), the size of the military is very important in power calculation. If the size is large, the expectation is that the country should be powerful. The high figures gives the impression that no country with a fewer number of military men and women can contemplate an attack on such country. Although in size, the Nigerian armed forces have grown compared to other countries in the region, but it major deficiency is that it armed forces is ill-equipped.
The political structure of a state and the nature of the ruling elites determines to a great extent, the direction and realization of national policies and also influences the formulation of the foreign policy of a state. This element is very important because all other elements revolve around it. It is possible for all other elements to be positive for a country but once the quality of leadership is negative, the country cannot be powerful. Nigeria has been installing governments and engaging in politics, but no government has ever exhibited any manner of strategic governance (the capacity of the state to mobilize its tangible and intangible resources to achieve it set goals and fulfill it worldview) (Akpan, 2012). Rather the different governments have been exhibiting features of imperial administration (the dictatorial control of the people to fulfill the paternalistic instincts and foibles of the leadership).
It is within this context that the study examined the challenges and prospects confronting Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem:
It has been opined by experts of foreign policy that Nigeria deserves to represent the African continent in the United Nations Security Council but such issues as it economic status, insurgency, political instability, internal democracy and the issue of corruption persistently stand as an impediment. Though they are a plethora of existing literature on Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat at The United Nations Security Council among which include A. S Akpotor and P. E Agbeka in their book ‘Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat in the security council’ and Sokore Collins’ ‘Nigeria’s UN Seat Bid and the Tsunami Gyration Gang’ who in their work have presented both the advantages and the disadvantages which are inherent in Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. They clearly stated in their work that Nigeria’s attempts at assisting the United Nations in finding solutions to some of the numerous politico-security challenges that had happened in some regions of the international system, and her contribution to several of African countries, present her as about the best African candidate for a permanent seat at UNSC.
Going further, they opined that the groundswell of anomie within her confines and the grave ignominy in which she is held by some of her neighbors, which include the fraudulent activities of some of her citizens in diaspora and some of the elites that are bent on siphoning and laundering funds from the governmental coffers, seems capable of hurting her candidature. In spite of this intellectual enterprise, gap exists as the scholars failed to address the causal relationship between economic, military and political capabilities of Nigeria in her quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council
It is within this context that the study examined the challenges and prospects confronting Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
1.3 Research Questions:
1. To what extent can Nigeria’s economic capabilities enhance its quest for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council?
2. To what extent can Nigeria’s military capabilities enhance its quest for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council?
3. To what extent can political leadership in Nigeria enhance its quest for a permanent seat the United Nations Security Council?
1.4 Objectives of the Study:
The main objective of this study is to examine the challenges and prospects confronting Nigeria in her quest for a permanent seat at the United Nation’s Security Council.
Subsidiary Objectives:
1. To investigate those factors that enhances the chances of countries becoming a member of the Security Council.
2. To investigate whether or not Nigeria has what it takes to become a member of the Security Council.
3. To identify such measures if put in place would enhance Nigeria’s quest for the United Nations’ permanent seat.
1.5 Research Hypotheses:
1. The economic capability of Nigeria is likely to hinder her quest for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
2. The military capability of Nigeria is likely to hinder her persisting quest to be admitted as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
3. The political leadership of Nigeria is likely to hinder her bid for inclusion as a permanent member of United Nations Security Council.
1.6 Significance of the Study:
The study has both practical and theoretical significance. Empirically, it shall be of immense benefit to diplomats, public policy formulators, students of international relations, politicians and high level representatives at the international level saddled with the onus of devising appropriate institutional mechanisms for the smooth and foreign policy thrust that will enable their home government to adequately lobby and canvas for it (s)election to the UNSC. For the UNSC, it will also provide scholars the basis for further research into the United Nations Reforms and the expansion of the composition of the Security Council for both the permanent and non-permanent categories.
Theoretically, this study reaffirmed the thesis that a country’s desire for a permanent seat is contingent on its development of domestic capabilities such as military, economic and political leadership.
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study:
The scope of the study is to examine the challenges and prospects confronting Nigeria’s quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
The research work was limited by the following factors among which include;
1) Time Factor;
Limited time was a major constraint in carrying out a standard research work. The researcher was simultaneously engaged with other academic work such as mini-projects, assignments and preparing for examination. This consequently cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
2) Financial Constraint:
Financial constraint was also a major factor as regard to proper compellation of this work. Insufficient funds impeded the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, textbooks, journals and articles in the process of data collection (internet).
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