CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The interest in peacekeeping has been the subject of several studies and continues to dominate
the minds of many on the international scene. Basically, peacekeeping relates to the preservation
of peace, especially the supervision by international forces. It has been a subject of vast
academic and professional inquiry, primarily because of its importance as a strategy for
maintaining and preserving peace, stability, and order in conflict-ridden parts of the world
(American English Dictionary, 2000). Enormous resources and efforts are invested continuously
in peacekeeping by international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), by world
powers such as the United States, and by regional powers such as Nigeria in the case of West
Africa.

Nigeria continues to play vital roles in support of countries challenged by political instability.
This Big brother role gives credit to the statement that Nigeria is a significant Actor in
peacekeeping particularly within West Africa. Nigeria‘s peace keeping mission began in1960
when she joined the United Nations. Between 1960 and 2014, Nigeria has been efficiently
involved in various ways in the fight against the crumble of the African continent. This made her
to promote the establishment of the non-alignment movement, the organization of African unity
which is now African union (2001), the Economic community of west Africa states
(ECOWAS).Nigeria also helped in the creation of, Economic Community of West African States
Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), she (Nigeria) provided resources, troops and financial backing
that made the creation of ECOMOG possible (Net Resources International accessed 2014).

Nigeria has also led the diplomatic and military engagements to restore and maintain peace in
Congo, Somalia, Liberia, Sudan, Sierra Leone and a host of other countries. In particular
Nigeria‘s reputation as a regional stabilizer, conciliator and peace building efforts in the West
Africa sub-region remains unmatched. Nigeria has played a prominent role in the peace building
and integrative efforts within the West African region. At the regional level she has contributed
to various peace building and peacemaking efforts on the African continent. To date Nigeria has
contributed armed military contingents, unarmed military observers, military staff officers,

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formed police units and police advisors as well as civilian experts to more than 30 A.U,
ECOWAS and UN missions (Omotorere, 2011).

Generally, some of the peace initiatives that Nigeria have been involved in includes: Congo
(ONUC) 1960-1964, Battalion operations; New Guinea (UNSF) 1962-1963, Military Observers;
Tanzania (Bilateral agreement) 1964, Battalion operations; India-Pakistan (UNIPOM) 1965-
1966, Military Observers; Lebanon (UNIFIL) 1978-1983, Battalion operations and Staff
Officers; Chad (HARMONY I, bilateral agreement) 1981-1982, Battalion operations and Staff
Officers; Chad (HARMONY II, OAU) 1982-1983, Brigade operations; Iran-Iraq (UNIIMOG)
1988-1991, Military Observers; Liberia (ECOMOG) 1990- Division (-) operations; Iraq-Kuwait
(UNIKOM) 1991, Military Observers; Angola (UNAVEM II) 1991-1992, Military Observers;
Sierra Leone (NATAG) 1991, Training Team; Angola (UNAVEM III) 1992-1995, Detachment;
Namibia (UNTAG) 1989-1990, Military Observers; Western Sahara (MINURSO) 1991, Military
Observers; Cambodia (UNTAC) 1992- 1993, Military Observers; Somalia (UNOSOM) 1992-
1994, Battalion operations and Staff Officers; Former Republic of Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR)
1992, Battalion operations and Staff Officers; Mozambique (ONUMOZ) 1992 Military
Observers; Rwanda (UNAMIR) 1993, Battalion operations; Gambia (NATAG) 1993, Training
Team; Aouzo Strip (UNASOG) 1994, Military Observers; Israel (UNTSO) 1995, Military
Observers; Liberia – ECOMOG; Sierra Leone – UNMIL; and Dafur peace initiative(Omotere
tope, 2011).

However, while the country is been applauded by the United Nations mission across the globe
,many Nigerians hold reservations regarding the huge resources expended on peacekeeping
operations around the world at the cost of the country‘s needs. It should be notable that the
financial, material and human losses Nigeria has incurred in these involvements have been
significant. According to Ahmed (2011) Nigeria has not taken full advantage of its active
participation in numerous peacekeeping operations around the world by not getting proportional
economic, military, and political compensation for its participation. For example countries like
Ghana which also participate in numerous United Nations peacekeeping operations, generate
funds through this process to defray the costs of sustaining its military while Nigeria on the other
hand has largely deprived itself of such benefits .Nigeria has grown to be widely recognized in
the international community as an unrelenting advocate of global peace. The objectives and

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principles of Nigerian foreign policy since independence made it mandatory for the country to be
an active participant in African regional peace support operations. Furthermore, as a non-aligned
country during the cold war years, Nigeria maintained a neutral position, which made her a
dependable mediator and courted participant in the forces rose to restore and maintain peace in
conflict zones (Ahmed, 2013). While most of the peacekeeping operations in which Nigeria has
participated were united nations mandate and led, a few actually came under the mandate of the
African union but more recently most of the peace keeping operations have been authorized and
carried out under economic community of west African states (ECOWAS) mandates and often,
Nigeria took a leading role at the operational level. This will review the enormous contribution
that Nigeria has made towards security African peace and security through its past participation
in peacekeeping operations. This study attempts to understand the reasons behind, and the extent
of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles, identify past problems and current ―issues‖ in Nigeria‘s
participation in peacekeeping organizations, and to also contribute to the broad knowledge that
already exists in the peacekeeping operation field and hopefully encourage further research.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Peacekeeping is the action of a third party between warring forces, enforcing a cease fire or other
truce, usually in support of political moves towards a lasting peace settlement. The majority of
peacekeeping during the Cold War period was limited to separating national armies in ending
hostilities between belligerent states. Since then, the roles of peacekeepers have been diverse
with rise of demand for new functions of international military forces in response to hostilities
among ethnic groups. It is not by accident that the West African region experienced an explosion
of conflicts in the 1990s. Many of the states in the region became independent between 1957 and
1962; a period popularly referred to as ―annus mirabilis‖ meaning years of wonder.

When many of these African states attained political independence from their European
colonizers, they lacked the necessary infrastructure and structured institutions to facilitate
adequate economic, political and social functions. Like other regions in Africa, the end of the
Cold War diminished competition for allies by both the former Union of Soviet Socialist
Republic (USSR) and the West (Europe and United States of America). Writing in this vein,
Gros states that, ―. . . the demise of the East-West rivalry did not result in greater attention by the
West to Africa‘s problems.‖ Nor did the broader international community, such as the UN, care

3
enough to play any active role in the reduction of many African intra-state or inter-state conflicts.
This necessitated sub-regional organizations, such as Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) with Nigeria as its major participant, to respond and help resolve some of
these conflicts. Regulation of conflict in the West African region became imperative with the
Liberian crisis, which corresponded to the end of the Cold War (WaIter Rodney, 1982).

Adhering to this urgency, the initiative for ECOWAS stemmed from a desire by some of the
member states, particularly Nigeria, for an economically and/or politically stable and developing
region. In addition to championing the ECOWAS initiative, Nigeria has continued to commit to
its existence and operation and by extension, ECOMOG. Against this background of overt
commitment by Nigeria, Aluko contends that: The main ideas behind Nigeria‘s initiative are
political, security, and economic considerations. For political reasons Nigeria wants an
arrangement that will put an end to colonial divisions in West Africa. Furthermore, she believes
that such a step will put an end to border disputes and will be an important contribution to
African unity. Aluko‘s assertion implies that Nigeria believes, that through economic unity, the
West African region will get closer to political unity, and that economic and political stability
enhances greater regional security. The successive inter-state and intra-state conflicts in the West
African region since the end of the Cold War, have added extra burden to Nigeria‘s roles in West
Africa. From the time of her independence in 1960, Nigeria has participated in almost every
peacekeeping effort in West Africa and beyond. While there have been write-ups on Nigeria‘s
participation in the region, some of the discussions concentrate on whether Nigeria‘s overall
interest in West Africa has a bearing on her need to emerge as a regional hegemony, as Aluko
(1981) contends, Nigeria remains suspect in many West African capitals. Nigeria is seen in many
of these countries as working for the eventual domination of her smaller neighbors. While efforts
have been made by some scholars to document Nigerian peacekeeping missions, much is yet to
be covered on the challenges facing Nigeria as a country in her involvements in peacekeeping.
That is why this research is set to examine Nigeria peacekeeping mission and the certain
challenges she has faced while undergoing peacekeeping operations and provide solutions where
needed.

1.3 THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

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The general objective of this study is to study the impact of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping role in West
Africa.
The specific objectives of this study are to:
 Examine the foreign policy objectives of Nigeria in relation to her peacekeeping mission
in Liberia and sierra Leone
 State the achievements made by Nigerian peacekeeping mission in Liberia and sierra
Leone
 Review the major challenges facing Nigeria peacekeeping mission.
 To suggest possible solutions to the major challenges facing Nigeria peace keeping
missions in West Africa.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

 How effective is Nigeria‘s participation in peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sierra
Leone?
 What are the positive and negative implications of Nigeria‘s participation in
peacekeeping operations in West Africa?
 What are the specific achievements of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles in West Africa?
 What are the specific challenges of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles in West Africa?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:

HYPOTHESIS 1:
H0: Nigeria has not been effective in its participation in peacekeeping operations in Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
H1: Nigeria has been effective in its participation in peacekeeping operations in Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
HYPOTHESIS 2:
H0: Nigeria has not incurred significant human, material and financial losses in peacemaking.
H1: Nigeria has incurred significant human, material and financial losses in peacemaking.
HYPOTHESIS 3:
H0: Nigeria has not achieved specific results in her peacekeeping roles in West Africa.
H1: Nigeria has achieved specific results in her peacekeeping roles in West Africa.
HYPOTHESIS 4:

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H0: Nigeria has not encountered specific challenges in her peacekeeping roles in West Africa.
H1: Nigeria has encountered specific challenges in her peacekeeping roles in West Africa.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY:

This study sheds more light on the dynamics that characterized Nigeria foreign policy objectives
on her west African neighbors, it is very useful to scholars especially diplomats, historians,
political scientist, peace and conflict scholars, international relations students and economists in
their research because this would enrich their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter
of study, the political and military class will learn, through this study, the need for them to be
patriotic in keeping Nigeria arrow head in the international arena. This research will also help in
providing information on the domestic factors that has been influencing peacekeeping mission
since independence. This research is set to provide possible solutions to the challenges faced by
Nigeria in her peacekeeping mission and to also be a source of reference to other researchers in
similar area.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY:

This study covers Nigerian peacekeeping missions from 1960 to 2014 in Liberia and Sierra
Leone. It also looks at the concept of peace keeping and nature of peace keeping. However due
to the complex nature of the study area (Liberia and Sierra Leone), special attention is given to
the major peacekeeping efforts of Nigeria even though all these efforts might not be fully
covered. Case studies of two West African countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone, will afford
substantial insights into Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles in West Africa. The study therefore looks
at the various capacities where Nigeria has served to transform war torn regions into peaceful
areas under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF STUDY:

This is a structured five chapter work, such that chapter one covers the general introduction
which consist of background information. Statement of problem, objective of study, research
questions, research hypothesis, significance of study, scope of study and conceptual clarification
chapter two covers the literature review and theoretical frame work. Chapter three is for the
research methodology; chapter four is devoted to data analysis and presentation while chapter
five is meant for summary of findings, discussion, conclusion and recommendation.

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1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS:
PEACEKEEPING: Peacekeeping is a term mainly used to describe actions sponsored by
the United Nations charter with primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and
security. Agwu (2007) indicated that peacekeeping consists essentially of observer missions
and lightly armed forces monitoring ceasefire, operating in an essentially static mode with
the consent of the parties involved. In its traditional sense, peacekeeping meant conflict
containment and it adopted the form of neutral outside assistance to mediate and encourage
belligerent parties to disengage (Dokubo, 2005). For peacekeeping operation to succeed
therefore, it needs to secure not only the cooperation of the conflicting parties but also of the
international community-regional and sub-regional organization.
AFRO- CENTRIC POLICY: can also be referred to as Africa-Center-Piece or Nigerian
policy for African affairs, especially policy for the West African region. It simply means
African affairs are the cornerstone of Nigeria‘s foreign policy.
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS): Established
in 1975, is an organization of fifteen West African nations that have agreed to share common
market, technical ideas, cultural and social exchanges, with an eventual economic integration
in the West African region. Since January 2007 ECOWAS has a commissioner format
administration led by a president. Its secretariat is located in Abuja, Nigeria and has the
following commissioners: agriculture, environment and water resources; human and gender
development; Infrastructure and micro-economic policy; political affairs, peace and security
and trade and customs for free movement of its citizens.
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES MONITORING GROUP
(ECOMOG): This body was formed in 1990 and is made up of military troops from some
ECOWAS member-states, to help gain cease-fire and restore peace to the crisis in Liberia
and has since remained as a security arm of ECOWAS. Since its creation, ECOMOG has
been involved in several peacekeeping missions (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d‘lvoire and
Sudan) in Africa.
NATIONAL INTEREST: As it relates to this study, is a term used by Nigeria, to articulate
reasons or the need for her foreign policy objectives. It is based on the national interest
policy that Nigeria formulates her foreign policy agendas, particularly as it relates to West
African affairs.

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 ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNION (OAU), NOW AFRICAN UNION (AU): Is
an organization of all nations within the African continent, established to address African
issues. The OAU also supported ECOWAS decision to send ECOMOG into Liberia. Nigeria
has been a member of OAU since its inception in 1963.
TRANSITION: Refers to the period of a crisis when external assistance is most crucial in
supporting and underpinning still fragile cease fires, or peace processes, by helping to create the
conditions for political stability, security, justice and social equity.

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF PEACEKEEPING

Peace is an occurrence of harmony characterized by lack of violence, conflict behaviors and the
freedom from fear of violence. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility and retribution,
peace also suggests sincere attempts at reconciliation, the existence of healthy or newly healed
interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare,
the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true interests of all
(Wikipedia, 2015). Peace is usually a dichotomous state, external to nation-states, that separates
their violence or wars. In many international relations works, peace in context implies a narrow
to overarching absence of violence or war. Aaron, 1966 opines that Peace is said to prevail when
the relations between nations do not involve the military forms of struggle. According to the
Merriam Webster dictionary conflict can be defined as a difference that prevents agreement:
disagreement between ideas and feelings. Oxford dictionary on the other hand defines conflict as
a serious incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles, or interest.

According to the International Peace Academy (2010), peacekeeping force is described thus, as
internationally organized and directed use of multinational forces of solders, police and civilians
to remote and maintains peace. Alan, (1991) in his article titled ―The Politics of Peace Keeping‖
opines that, the concept of peacekeeping involves the maintenance of international peace and
security with the ultimate purpose of reducing tension, diminishing the risk of direct involvement
by a large number of countries, saving vast material resources and irreplaceable human lives.
Alan James states that peacekeeping ranges from observer missions to military deployment
undertaken by international armies, down to the activities of an individual who has been sent to
the field on some political task.

Peacekeeping is a term mainly used to describe actions sponsored by the UN charter with
primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security (Hamman and Omojuwa,
2013). Peacekeeping refers to activities that tend to create conditions that favor lasting peace.
Within the United Nations group of nation-state governments and organizations, there is a
general understanding that at the international level, peacekeepers monitor and observe peace

9
processes in post-conflict areas, and may assist ex-combatants in implementing peace agreement,
commitments that they have undertaken. Such assistance may come in many forms, including
confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the
rule of law, and economic and social development.(UN ,2012) Accordingly, UN peacekeepers
(often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets)
can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel (Wikipedia,2015). A traditional
peacekeeping operation is established when parties to a conflict, typically two states, agree to the
interposition of UN troops to uphold a ceasefire. Limited numbers of lightly armed troops are
introduced and situated between the combatants, and they provide a symbolic, guarantor of the
peace. The Security Council maintains authority over the operation, expressed through the
secretary – general of the UN and the military commander, authorized under chapter 6 of the
charter, although the term ‗peacekeeping‘ is conspicuous by its absence. UN troops, voluntarily
provided by member states, can use force in self-defense or in defense of their mandate. They are
to be impartial throughout the operation and derive their legitimacy from representing the
international community as whole (International Journal of Politics and Good Governance 2012).

Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to assist host
countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. Peacekeeping has unique strengths,
including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from
around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional
mandates. UN Peacekeepers provide security and the political and peace building support to help
countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. UN Peacekeeping is guided
by three basic principles: Consent of the parties, Impartiality, Non-use of force except in self-
defense and defense of the mandate. Peacekeeping is flexible and over the past two decades has
been deployed in many configurations (UN, 2014). There are currently 16 UN peacekeeping
operations deployed on four continents (United Nations peacekeeping 2014). Today's
multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain peace and
security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in the disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of former combatants; support the organization of elections,
protect and promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law. Peacekeeping has
always been highly dynamic and has evolved in the face of new challenges (Internet resources,
2014).

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The United Nations is not the only organization to implement peacekeeping missions. Non-UN
peacekeeping forces include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) mission in Kosovo
(with United Nations authorization) and the Multinational Force and Observers on the Sinai
Peninsula or the ones organized by the EU like The European External Action Service ( EUFOR
RCA) with UN authorization. The Nonviolent Peace force is one NGO widely considered having
expertise in general peacemaking by non-governmental volunteers or activists. Not all
international peacekeeping forces have been directly controlled by the United Nations. In 1981,
an agreement between Israel and Egypt formed the Multinational Force and Observers which
continues to monitor the Sinai Peninsula. (FCMF, 1986) The African Union (AU) is working on
building an African Peace and Security Architecture that fulfills the mandate to enforce peace
and security on the continent. In cases of genocide or other serious human-rights violations, an
AU-mission could be launched even against the wishes of the government of the country
concerned, as long as it is approved by the AU General Assembly (AU, 2014). The establishment
of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) which includes the African Standby
Force (ASF) is planned earliest for 2015.(The African Peace and Security Architecture is already
proving useful even though it is still a work in progress"( AU, 2013).

More recently, especially in the 1980s, there has been an increasing realization that security
issues pre-dominate discussions in Africa, especially in West Africa. This realization arises from
the fact that the presence of political instability was recognized as an obstacle to meaningful
economic integration and indeed to sustainable development in the region. Events of civil wars
in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the coup d‘état in Sao Tome and Guinea Bissau even the revolts in
Niger and Mali are evidence of problems that security is an important issue in West Africa
(Omotere, 2011).

There are glut of works on peacekeeping missions especially those relating to the United
Nations. However, much is yet to be documented on Nigeria peacekeeping mission in the
African region. For the purpose of this study, quite relevant for review is a sufficient amount of
the literature on Nigeria‘s peacekeeping mission in West Africa. The evaluation of literature was
necessary because the literature facilitates a better understanding of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles
in the West African region.

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Chinade (2010) presents a straightforward explanation of Nigeria‘s involvement in the UN
peacekeeping and debate‘s for the inclusion of Nigeria in the permanent member of the Security
Council. It traces the active roles played by Nigeria in installing peace in war torn zones and in
building peace among African states. This work, though logical in its presentation is not
adequate to analyzing Nigeria‘s involvement in peacekeeping mission under the auspices of the
UN Security Council.

Nwoke (2000) argues that Nigeria is a neocolonial and a dependent society; that this pattern of
society, does not lead to economic liberation. He indicated that because of the dependent and
neocolonial nature of Nigerian governments since independence, Nigeria‘s external economic
policies will always order the internal or domestic economic realities, which is, an
underdeveloped economy. Nwoke‘s argument points to the remarkable difference between
Nigeria‘s domestic and foreign policy, both in purpose and implementation. Nwoke further
argues that, ―. . . throughout the history of the nation‘s International economic relations, the
attitude of Nigerian governments have been, that of less than nationalist and independent
approach. In other words, since independence, in view of neocolonialism, no Nigerian
governments‘ economic diplomacy has been geared towards as it points to the extent Nigerian
regimes have gone in their quests, to establish and maintain good international relations,
especially regional relationships, and the dichotomy between Nigeria‘s domestic (internal) and
international policies, particularly at the regional level. The deduction in this regard, is that,
despite Nigeria‘s economic problems such a underdeveloped economy, extensive national debt,
and many such domestic problems caused by the lack of economic sustainability, Nigeria has
managed to pursue peacekeeping campaigns; either unilaterally and/or in multilateral effort with
other ECOWAS member states. In either case, this inquiry has found that Nigeria almost always
absorbs eighty to ninety percent of the financial burden of these peacekeeping endeavors.

Offiong and Idise (1999) States that, ―only a country in a secure environment can really be
effective in her foreign interest. Since it is not possible for her to be an island unto herself,
Nigeria must interact with other state actors. But she has to be discriminatory in her approach
and prioritize the importance to its own existence.‖ Here Offiong and Idise by their statement,
show why it is important for Nigeria to continue to participate in a bilateral or multilateral

12
manner, because cooperation among other ECOWAS member states will lead to better economic
integration in the West African region.

To Muhammad (2014) Nigeria‘s effort at peace building has been based principally on the
pursuit of national security through the promotion of peaceful relations between herself and
neighbors, and between neighbors themselves. It is against this background that Nigeria‘s role in
peace building across West Africa should be examined. Nigeria strives to put its neighbors at
ease and attempts to prevent problems that could arise especially over inherited colonial
boundaries by establishing bilateral agreements as the case of relations with Equatorial Guinea
since 1988 demonstrate. The dominant role in the mediation of the crises between Liberia and
Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Mali, and Togo and Ghana are some of the clearest indications
of this peace building role However, Muhammad did not focus his attention on one particular
peacekeeping effort that Nigeria carried out such as that of Sierra Leone.

Chiedu and Martin (1999) detailed the various attempts by Nigeria, to become a member of the
UN‘s Security Council. Chiedu and Martin argued that, at its inception, the UN included only
three African countries - Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt. Currently, however, the continent of
Africa occupies 54 seats at the UN general assembly. In Chiedu and Martin‘s view, ―the
continent needs and deserves to be represented permanently in the UN Security Council, and that
Nigeria should be Africa‘s representative.‖ Furthermore, they contend, ―the moral imperative
and credibility of Nigeria‘s candidacy for Africa‘s permanent seat in the UN Security Council
are predicated on the country‘s ability and willingness to contribute significantly to the
maintenance of international peace and security.‖These authors further articulate that, ―. . .
Nigeria naturally sees its destiny intertwined with the dynamics of changes in the external
environment; and a responsible member of the international community.., in relation to the
concerts of nations at the sub-regional and international levels.‖Chiedu and martin‘s argument is
relevant, because it shows Nigeria‘s continuous and open commitment both sub-regionally and
to the broader international arena.

Bukarambe (2000) examines the period between the two landmark years (1960 year of Nigeria‘s
political independence and 1999 — year that ended the Century), and discusses the various
changes in world affairs and their impact on Nigeria‘s international relations. In spite of

13
profound world events such as the Cold War, end of colonialism, the new world order, and
global economy, Bukarambe suggests that,‖... the period spanning thirty-nine years affords
enough time for Nigeria‘s national institutions responsible for international relations to evolve
and mature in their own right irrespective of the events within the country.

Akinyeye (2000) contends that, ―in projecting into the 21st century, the article advocates a
people-centered defense policy that incorporates economic and defense ties with Nigeria‘s
immediate neighbors, and democracy, social justice and environmental protection.‖ In this,
Akinyeye attempts to show a model of defense incorporation. That is, a model where, in addition
to her defense policies, Nigeria also tries to incorporate security, economic, politics and
diplomacy. He states that, ―although, scholars of international relations and strategic studies
define defense in different ways, there is a broad consensus that, it refers to the protection of a
nation‘s goals and threats.‖ The guiding concept of national interest is more often assumed than
analyzed in the dynamic context of domestic and international politics.

Akinterinwa (1992) noted that:… it was demonstrated that Nigeria‘s political stability could be
undermined by foreign elements, using as staging point not only adjacent off-shore islands, such
as Malabo, Sao Tome and Principe, but also Chad, Benin and Cameroun. It was for this reason
that Nigerians raised with great alarm to the discovery of South African‘s undercover attempts to
establish in the Equatorial Guinea in 1987. Also for these reason Nigerians have to be wary
about Americans, Israeli and French military and intelligence activities in Chad, Cameroun,
Niger and Benin Republic. These events portrayed by Ate and Akinterinwa indicate that ―France
is aiming towards a total consolidation of its hegemony in the contiguous area by calibrated
penetration of the economy of Nigeria, the only Anglo-phone and also the largest population in
the region, which is surrounded by four smaller Franco-phone counties.‖ The opinions of Ate
and Akinterinwa are quite important in the attempt to estimate Nigeria‘s relationship with her
immediate neighbors.

2.2 NIGERIA’S MILITARY STRENGTH

It is essential to understand that power is an important component of a viable legitimate state or
sovereignty. Power is a composite of human resources, natural resources, economic
development, socioeconomic sustainability, political stability and other such related structures
such as, financial/political institutions and the related infrastructure. Before further analysis of

14
Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles, this study will try to define/explain power- both regional and
global. Power in the context of world politics, is understood to encompass wealth money, land,
and other such properties that constitute assets. However there must be balance of power
(Ojekwe, 2010).

According to Claude (1962), ―The Balance of Power is a system of political dynamics that comes
into play whenever a society articulates itself into a number of mutually independent local states.
In such a world the Balance of Power operates in a general way to keep the average caliber of
states low in terms of every criterion for the measurement of political power. Another aspect of
power is human resource, yet it alone is not enough to sustain power or substitute for other
necessary components of power. Large human resources however, can give access to large
armed forces and can add to enhance and or facilitate political power within the context of world
politics. As echoed by Oche (2005), a country‘s military power can be measured essentially by
the size of its armed forces and the number and diversity of the weapons it possesses. Nigeria, in
spite of her enormous human resources, her equally impressive natural resources, such as crude
oil and other minerals, lacks an equally impressive global political strength. One of the main
reasons for this deficiency stems from Nigeria‘s lack of adequate socioeconomic structure,
sustainable economic structure and other such power. The main reason for Nigeria‘s the lack of
adequate economic development, can be attributed to Nigeria‘s undisciplined past and present
leaderships (both military and civilian). Other reasons are also due to the unequal terms of trade
between the developed world (mostly Europe and North America), and the developing world (all
of Africa and other regions of the world) (Ojekwe, 2010). Echoing the same sentiments on the
unequal terms of trade; Dare (2001) points to the insatiable appetite of the Western countries for
Africa‘s diverse natural resources, as the main precipitant to perpetuate the urge for the
exploitation of the African people; initially in form of colonization and more recently,
globalization. Within the continent and context of Africa and within the African, particularly in
the West African region, Nigeria‘s population and her military strength (the size and military
equipments), and as the size of Nigeria‘s armed forces, which is 76, 000 strong, makes it the 46th
largest in the world and one of the largest in Africa,‖ affords her the ability as a regional power
(Oche 2005). Her military strength as the fourth largest United Nation (UN) troop contributor
also makes her a potential global political power. In the evaluation of almost all political crises
that have occurred in several different African countries since Nigeria‘s political independence,

15
there is hardly any such incidence that did not involve Nigeria‘s military assistance, in one form
or the other—either military equipment and/or troops. These findings are not in line with the
common assertion by some political scholars that, Nigeria seeks regional hegemony. Nigeria,
from the time of her political independence to the present, has remained committed to all causes
that aim to liberate Africa and Africans from economic and for political hardship and despite
some assertions of her hegemonic intent, Nigeria has remained steadfast in her quest for a
peaceful Africa. For Nigeria to move forward towards a better economic development and
economic sustaining state, she has to be recognized beyond her current commonly inferred status
of an aspiring regional hegemon (Ojekwe, 2010).

2.3 NIGERIA IN THE REGIONAL ARENA

From the time of her political indepence in 1960, Nigeria has been at the lead of all affairs of
African unity. This could be seen in relation to the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, and
also the decolonization process of many African nations; as a member of international
organizations including united nation organization (U.N.O), Economic community of West
African states, the common wealth of nation, the African union, just to mention but a few.
Whether the issue is with the United Nations, the economic community of West African states,
the common wealth or the African union, Nigeria has never hesitated to participate at significant
levels. Nigeria has provided free untitled aid in the areas of technical assistance, financial
assistance, economic investments, and conflict resolution among several African countries
unilaterally, bilaterally and multilaterally through the A.U and any other regional arrangements.
For example Nigeria in 1962, sent troops to help quell the mutiny against Tanganyika, also in
1981, Nigeria spearheaded the first ever A.U peacekeeping operation to resolve the conflict in
Chad (chiedu et al, 1999).

One of Nigeria‘s foreign policy cardinal objectives is the promotion and sustainment of peace in
Nigeria in the African arena. Akinterinwa contends that ―since the attainment of political
independence, Nigeria has been virtually committed to the promotion of peace in Africa,
regardless of the fact that Nigeria herself is still struggling with the enormous development,
lacking the necessary economic structures and infrastructures to continuously champion African
affairs, she forges ahead anyway (Akinterinwa, 1992). It is quite ironic that Nigeria strives very
hard at the international level to prevent human suffering, but lacks the same zeal internally. The

16
irony of all these is Nigerians ability to assist in bringing peace to Liberia and sierra Leone, by
enhancing the instating of the then, democratically elected president of both countries whereas
her own head of state(General Sani Abacha) at that time was considered a dictator (Yaqub,
2005).

Nigeria is the only country in the world with the largest concentration of black people and the
most populous country in Africa. She perceives herself as responsible for Africa and its problems
(Ojekwe, 2010).

17
MAP SHOWING NIGERIA AND HER NEIGBOURS

18
2.4 NIGERIA AND THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
Nigeria‘s record in peace keeping operations worldwide, and particularly in Africa, is impressive
and second to none in Africa. The record is a reflection of unwavering commitment to peace as
instrument of national and African development. This commitment is explained not just by
funding but also by troops‘ contribution‖(Akinterinwa, 2005). What is being expressed here by
Akinterinwa is that not only does Nigeria have the capacity (resource wise) but she has also met
the requirements in terms of her versatile contributions and commitment to peace around Africa
and the world alike. The expansion of the United Nations Security Council to include major
countries from the developing world, particularly from the continent of Africa, is a fundamental
necessity. Advocates for the expansion, indicate that the primary reason for the enlargement of
the UN‘s Security Council, is for a more global representation. In addition to becoming more
globally representative, Scholars such as Iweribor and Uhomoibhi (1991)opines that, the UNSC
should be enlarged, to represent a more democratic, transparent, effective and accountable
agency, geared for the improvement of human welfare and the resolution of conflict word-wide.
On the other hand, there are those who argue differently, particularly those permanent members
in United Nations Security Council, who represent continents with fewer nations than Africa. For
example, the continent of Europe with forty-six countries compare to the continent of Africa
with fifty-three countries, believes that Africa should be equally represented. It is important to
note that, those with permanent memberships in the UNSC also represent continents with the
most industrialized countries (Akinterinwa, 2005) .Those who argue for African permanent
membership in the United Nations Security Council claim that it is only Africans who can better
represent Africa. On the issue of African representation in the United Nations Security Council
on a permanent basis, some proponents for Nigeria‘s membership argue that Nigeria should at
least occupy one of the seats supposedly reserved for Africa. In their argument, they point to the
criteria set forth by the high-level panel on the review of the UN Charter, which includes that the
eligible country must contribute most to UN financially, militarily and diplomatically should
have their involvement in decision-making increased (Akinterinwa ,2005) .The UNSC is charged
with maintaining peace and security around the world. For the past decade and half, the numbers
of crises around the world have increased, thereby increasing activities of the UNSC. This issue
has necessitated many UN member-states to advocate for more representation at the UNSC on
permanent basis. Currently there are only five powerful countries sit as permanent members

19
along with ten other member states, elected every two years, for a two-year terms‖(Global
policy, 2010). Since the debate has been for ways to enlarge the United Nations Security
Council, the High-level Panel has a mandate to come up with ways to improve the UN Charter,
bearing in mind ―the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration on 8 September,
2000 by which member states resolved to intensify efforts ‗to achieve a comprehensive reform of
the Security Council in all aspects‘ renewed and even increased the scope of work of the working
group. One of the recommendations of the High level Panel was that the United Nations Security
Council should be expanded or enlarged to accommodate the countries with significant number
of input to the UN in terms of financial, military and diplomatic sphere, to be part of the
decision-making body. Secondly, countries that are more representative of the broader
membership of the UN should be brought into the decision-making process; the effectiveness of
the United Nations Security Council must not be allowed to be impaired; and the United Nations
Security Council should be made more democratic and accountable. Proponents for Nigeria‘s
permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council contend that, as a result of her
peacekeeping and peace enforcement in Africa and around the world, Nigeria is the most eligible
Black African state to represent the black people of the world. Within the UN organization,
Nigeria plays an important security role (in terms of troop contribution, peacekeeping/peace
enforcement). The need to discuss Nigeria‘s qualification as Africa‘s permanent representative in
the United Nations Security Council is therefore, relevant to the analysis of Nigeria‘s
peacekeeping roles both regionally and globally (Ojekwe, 2010).

2.5 LIBERIA AND HER CRISIS

Liberia was established by citizens of the United States as a colony of former African
American slaves and their free black descendants. It is one of only two sovereign states in the
world that were started by citizens of a political power as a colony of former black slaves of a
political power. Sierra Leone came into existence as a colony for resettlement loyalties and poor
black‘s from England for the same purpose by Britain. The republic of Liberia is a country in
West Africa bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, guinea to its north, and Ivory Coast to its east.
It covers area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000sqmi) and is home to about 4million people
English is there official language. In 1847, the country became the republic of Liberia,
establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming its capital city
Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter

20
of the colonization. Liberia began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United
States during World War II and economic liberation under President William Tubman. Liberia
was a founding member of the United Nations and the organization of African unity (Liberia
international monetary fund). In 1980 a military coup overthrew the Americo-liberian leadership
after 150years of power, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two
successive civil wars. These led to massive loss of lives and devastated Liberians economy. A
peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. Today about 85% of the population
live below the international poverty line (UNDP, 2014).

The 133-year rule of the Liberian oligarchy created deep seated resentment and divisions within
Liberian society and left historical scars on the oppressed indigenous population; the reforms
enacted by presidents William Tubman and William Tolbert (1944-1971; 1971-1980) failed to
heal these. (Adekeye, 2002).By the 1970s, the inequality had reached its saturation level and the
natives escalated their agitation. On April 12, 1980, the America-Liberian monopolized
government was overthrown by Samuel Quiwonkpa Doe. Doe faced opposition both at home and
abroad, where his regime was often described as corrupt and brutal. His term of office was
burdened by deteriorating economic conditions Subsequently, Doe, a soldier and a member of
the Krahn ethnic group, created ethnic division within his administration and ultimately, the
ethnic division led to mistrust. As things began to deteriorate, the economy began to crumble.
And on December 24th 1989, Charles Taylor, a rebel leader of the National Patriotic Front of
Liberia, invaded the country through neighboring Côte d‘Ivoire, thereby, officially the Liberian
crisis. (Ojekwe, 2010)

In an attempt to quell the situation and to initiate an immediate cease-fire in Liberia, the newly
formed security group (ECOMOG)—made up of military contingents from the five SMC
members, plus Guinea and Sierra Leone, left for Liberia on August 29, 1990. Support for the
mandate though, was not unanimous within the ECOWAS organization Burkina Faso and Côte
d‘Ivoire were not in agreement, but it had the approval of both the OAU and the UN. Also
because of fear of wide spread regional instability, the ECOWAS member-states had to act to
contain the crisis and/or end it. The ECOMOG intervention was a heavy under-taking for an
economic organization such as ECOWAS which as at five months into the Liberian crises, had
no security division and was pleading with its members to liquidate their respective outstanding

21
contributions to the organization. Nonetheless, ECOMOG deployed to Liberia with a diverse
contingent of 2,700 troops led by a Ghanaian force commander. ECOMOG was mandated to
monitor ceasefire between the rebel group National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) lead by
Charles Taylor, and the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in support of Samuel Doe, until the
environment was conducive for an eventual general election. But what ECOMOG met upon
arrival at the Liberian capital of Monrovia, was beyond ceasefire operation. The case of Liberia
had more than three warring factions—the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) loyal to Samuel Doe,
the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor, and other divisions such as
United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), and the
United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy- Kromah faction (ULIMO-K) ( Ojekwe,
2010).

Given the above scenario, ECOMOG‘s initial mission of ceasefire/peacekeeping changed to

peace enforcement. Since the group had not trained together as a peacekeeping unit, the troops
lacked cohesion and they were very few troops (2,700), compared with the enormity of the task
of enforcing peace in such a hostile environment as Liberia was then. Additionally, the two-tier
chain of command (the different contingents, sought directives from their home base) within the
ECOMOG contingents, as well as the lack of funds to sustain the mission, and reported
skepticism of some ECOWAS members. All these stated challenges mentioned above, combined
to turn a difficult case into an almost impossible mission. According to cleaver on the question of
the size of ECOMOG the initial deployment of 3,000 troops was inadequate to the tasks allotted
to them, because Part of the problems found in the Liberian crisis included different acts of
violence, from rapes to torture, and killings committed on the civilians (mostly women and
children), as well as the reported different attacks on the nongovernmental (NGO) aid workers.
As these violent attacks continued, ECOMOG‘s initially mandated mission of peacekeeping for
the sake of cease-fire, transformed to peace enforcement (Cleaver, 1998).

According to Liberia Human Rights Practices (1997), ―Although the Constitution prohibits
torture and other degrading treatment, the factions perpetuated massive abuses. Given the violent
treatment of the civilian population, particularly by the NPFL rebels, there was the urgent need
for peace enforcement. As the conflict continued and not much physical military assistance from
the international community anticipated by ECOWAS, ECOMOG troops strived to maintain

22
some level of security. There were those within the international community who criticized
ECOMOG‘s use of force but peace enforcement under the Liberia‘s violent and volatile
conditions required some level of force.

2.6 NIGERIA’S ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING OPERATION IN LIBERIA

ECOMOG may not have been able to carry out any peacekeeping Mission, had Nigeria not
contributed the majority of the troops as well as the funding for other military equipment. As
According to Hutchful (1999) without Nigeria‘s massive contribution in funding and manpower,
the ECOMOG operation could not have been sustained. Nigeria played an unparalleled role in
putting an end to the crisis in Liberia; crisis that had the potential to spill over in the neighboring
countries. Nigeria contributed immensely to the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), an
interventionist mediation force to end the protracted Liberian civil war, where the government of
Nigeria put the financial cost at 8 billion (over N800 billion) apart from a large number of lost
and maimed soldiers in 1987. At time it looked like every member of the ECOMOG army was
Nigerian because they all spoke Pidgin English (Ojekwe, 2010).

The civil war in Liberia is significant for two reasons. First, it served as an important example of
a new type of external intervention – intervention by a sub regional organization. Second, it has
led to a re-examination by African leaders, of the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs
of states. Non-intervention in the internal affairs of states is one of the principles underlying the
OAU (now AU). African leaders are, however, far more aware of the threat to regional security
posed by internal conflicts. This was reflected in the second principle of the 1991 Conference on
Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa which stated that the security,
stability and development of every African country are inseparably linked with those of other
African countries. Consequently, instability in one African country reduces the stability of all
other countries. Nigeria shared the joy of the return to democracy by Liberia. Additionally, The
then Nigeria‘s president, Gen. Babangida served as the Chairman of ECOWAS thrice while the
community‘s secretariat in Abuja - a project mainly funded by Nigeria was completed (Yakubu,
2011).

23
2.7 SIERRIA LEONE AND HER CRISES

Officially the Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in
the north-east, Liberia in the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Sierra Leone
has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra
Leone has a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and an estimated population of 6 million
(United Nations 2011). Freetown is the capital, largest city, and its economic and political centre.
Bo is the second largest city and second major economic center in the country. The country is
divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern
Province and the Western Area, which are further divided into fourteen districts. About sixteen
ethnic groups inhabit Sierra Leone, each with their own language and custom. The two largest
and most influential are the Temne and the Mende people. The Temne are predominantly found
in the north of the country, while the Mende are predominant in the south-east. Although English
is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, the Krio language is
the most widely spoken language in the country and unites all the different ethnic groups in the
country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each other. Sierra Leone is a
predominantly Muslim country, though with an influential Christian minority. Sierra Leone is
regarded as one of the most religiously tolerant nations in the world. Muslims and Christians
collaborate and interact with each other peacefully. Religious violence is very rare in the country.
Sierra Leone has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic base. It is also among
the largest producers of titanium and bauxite, a major producer of gold, and has one of the
world's largest deposits of rutile. Sierra Leone is home to the third-largest natural harbor in the
world. Despite exploitation of this natural wealth, 70% of its people live in poverty. Sierra Leone
became independent in 1961. Government corruption and mismanagement of the country's
natural resources contributed to the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 to 2002), which over more
than a decade devastated the country. It left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the country's
infrastructure destroyed, and over two million people displaced as refugees in neighboring
countries. More recently the 2014 Ebola outbreak threatens to lead the country into a
humanitarian crisis situation and a negative spiral of weaker economic growth (Net resources
international, 2015).

24
Sierra Leone from the time of her independence in 1961 had a relatively stable civilian
government until the military coup in April 29 1992. After Siaka P. Steven‘s 18 year regime,
ended in 1985, and Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, was elected president in a one-party
referendum in October that same year. The Sierra Leone‘s relatively stable government began to
experience some agitation and lack of confidence in Major General Momoh‘s government.
Across Sierra Leone, public revolt continued fueled by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
led by Foday Sankoh, and the economy of the country further deteriorated, as a result of
mismanaged of natural resources. Part of the root cause of the Sierra Leone crisis is poor
administration of the country‘s economy which according to BAF, included natural resources
such as diamonds, bauxite, gold, iron ore and many more as well as forests, abundant fresh
water, and rich offshore fishing grounds. Another part of the Sierra Leone crisis was precipitated
by the prevalent unequal distribution of goods and services like many states in the developing
world but especially in West Africa (Bureau of African Affairs, 2000). By March 1991, a full-
blown revolution ensued against Momoh‘s government, incited by the RUF movement, which
was reported to have an established relationship its leader Foday Sankoh, and the leader of the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Charles Taylor. With no credible group in charge of
the central government, things got out of hand and subsequently, Momoh‘s government was over
thrown by a military coup. But by 1996, in a general election, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was elected
Sierra Leone‘s President (Leoneclub.org, 2010).

On May 25, 1997, after the elected government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was over Thrown in a
coup d‘état, led by Major Koroma the crisis in Sierra Leone worsened. Incidentally, Major
Johnny Paul Koroma, had aligned himself with the RUF movement, But his administration could
not maintain security in the country. It is also possible that, given the proximity of Liberia to
Sierra Leone, some of the crisis in Liberia, particularly violence against civilians and smuggling
of arms and ammunitions as well as some diamonds, had earlier spilled over into Sierra Leone.
Further complicating the crisis there was also the fact that, some of the RUF‘s movement had
reportedly been trained by the NPFL group, especially as there were reported evidences of
strengthening of the relationship between Taylor and Sankoh. For example, ―Knowledge of
President Charles Taylor‘s NPFL led government‘s support of rebels in Sierra Leone is an open
secret in Liberia‖ (Theperspective.org, 2010).

25
ECOMOG‘s involvement in Sierra Leone‘s civil war was inextricably linked to its peacekeeping
efforts in its neighboring Liberian‘s civil war. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) had
invaded Sierra Leon from Liberia in March 1991 with the assistance of Charles Taylor‘s
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), resulting in several hundred Nigerian and Ghanaian
troops being deployed to assist Sierra Leon a fellow ECOMOG member, to defend it capital,
Freetown. By 1998, Sierra Leone‘s crisis had reached the level where ECOWAS had to once
again, elect for ECOMOG to intervene in the country. This intervention was in spite of
ECOMOG‘s challenges in Liberia, which were the non-cohesiveness of the contingents (having
not before the Liberian conflicts, trained or worked together. etc.), and the fact that, financial and
logistical aspects of the group‘s mission were seriously lacking. Given these challenges, coupled
with the internal political struggles within the ECOWAS organization, the Sierra Leonean case
was beginning to resemble the ECOMOG‘s experience in Liberia. Since many ECOWAS
members lagged behind in their required financial obligations (annual dues and other required
fees), Nigeria had to bear the burden of financially sustaining ECOMOG‘s operations. In
addition Nigeria also contributed about eighty percent of the troops (Ojekwe, 2010).

2.8 NIGERIA’S PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN SIERRA LEONE

Officially the Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in
the north-east, Liberia in the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Sierra Leone
has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra
Leone has a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and an estimated population of 6 million
(United Nations, 2011). Freetown is the capital, largest city, and its economic and political
centre. Bo is the second largest city and second major economic center in the country (Net
resources, 2015).

During the 6th of January 1999 rebel invasion of Freetown, Nigerian jets bombed rebel‘s
positions in the capital and its soldiers shelled the outskirts of eastern Freetown. ECOMOG
eventually forced the rebels to withdraw from Freetown after more than six weeks with the loss
of 3,000 civilian lives and massive destruction of the city by arsonist rebels. About 100 Nigerian
soldiers died in this attack and 100 were missing in action. Some observers indicated that,
Nigeria, because of her regional hegemonic intent, has elected to shoulder most of the burden.
There were others who saw Nigeria‘s level of participation within the ECOWAS organization, as

26
activities indicative of a member state, wanting to and doing everything in its power to prevent
political and security destabilization to its region. Yet, others contend that, since the aid pledged
by the UN and the international community was insufficient, Nigeria, often criticized for its
hegemonic aspirations, continued to regularly bear the burden of the missions to prevent what
she saw as embarrassment to West Africa. As President Ibrahim Babangida stated at the 10th
session of the Authority held at Abuja, ―Nigeria‘s interest in establishing effective and integrated
security in the sub-region is shared by other states and is designed to promote the general
wellbeing of the region‖ (Ojekwe, 2010).

In various accounts of ECOMOG‘s peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, several Different

reports indicated that Nigerian soldiers dominate the mission. ECOMOG troops were made up
of soldiers from several different military contingents‘ from different ECOWAS member-states
but the Nigerian contingent made up eighty percent of the force. To this end, perhaps the
―dominant force‖ often attached to Nigeria but Nigeria equally suffered huge casualties .For
Nigerian troops, the casualty rate was horrific. Foreign news agencies and some Nigerian
newspapers reported an average figure of thirty deaths on a daily basis for all of January and
early February, 1999. . . But perhaps most provocatively, a Sierra Leonean Minister announced
that the conflict was costing Nigeria one million US dollars daily. This has not been denied by
any knowledgeable Nigerian official (Omoigui, 2007). Though Nigerian force constituted the
largest contingent of ECOMOG troops, the troops still had major problems for example, many of
these soldiers spoke different languages thereby, making communication among them difficult.

Also the troops had Issues that should have ordinarily, deterred any group from functioning as a
unit but the ECOMOG troops, reinforced by large military supply by Nigeria, including military
planes, and other military ammunitions, carried on in spite of the difficult working conditions
and challenges. Nigeria/ECOMOG forces embarked on the Sierra Leone peacekeeping mission
and together with the Kamajors (a Sierra Leonean based civil defense force) fought against the
RUF rebels to reinstate Kabbah‘s government. Nigeria also advanced the initiative to continue
peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone particularly after the ―RUF rebels attack on UN
peacekeepers in May 2000. This led to the arrest of Foday Sankoh who had been appointed Vice-
President in the transitional government at a peace conference in Lomè in July 1999 (Adekeye,
2004). As part of Nigeria‘s effort to strengthen and sustain sub-regional and regional

27
cooperation, Nigeria established the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme to assist needy
countries, especially in Africa. Nigeria again brokered peace in the Mono River Union,
comprising Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone Nigeria and Sierra Leone have a bilateral
agreement on security protection for the government of President Tejan Kabbah. It was the basis
of the bilateral accord that Nigerians were in to contain the violent activities of the RUF before
the arrival of ECOMOG II in Sierra Leone (Akinterinwa, 2005).

The motives of the Nigerian intervention were in twofold: there was a natural desire for regional
security, but General Sani Abacha also wanted international legitimacy for his regime which was
being discredited by the international community. The initial success of the peace keepers helped
obscure some of the troubling aspects of intervention - the lack of an international mandate, the
use of mercenary in peace keeping operations and the very undemocratic nature of the Nigerian
regime. At the peak of the operations, ECOMOG had 13, 000 troops in the country which
conducted the operations. Late in 1999 the disputants in the sierra Leonean conflict signed an
agreement in Lome, Togo to end the crisis; thus paving the way for UNAMSIL (United Nations
Mission in Sierra Leone)(Anifowose,1999). Nigeria has every reason to be proud of her
peacekeeping missions.

As noted earlier, Nigeria, spurred by her experience with colonization and the Urgent need for
regional security, pursues regional peace through several peacekeeping Roles. To Nigeria,
regional security/stability became even more necessary, particularly as the attention to African
issues by the international community diminished after the Cold War (Net resources 2014).

2.9 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

For this study, the approaches employed and discussed are the collective security, Conflict
Analysis and Descriptive-inductive theory. These perspectives serve as lenses for viewing and
analyzing the concept of peacekeeping.

COLLECTIVE-SECURITY THEORY:
Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement in which all states cooperate
collectively to provide security for all by the actions of all against any states within the groups
which might challenge the existing order by using force. This contrasts with self-help strategies
of engaging in war for purely immediate national interest. While collective security is possible,

28
several prerequisites have to be met for it to work. Sovereign nations eager to maintain the status
quo, willingly cooperate, accepting a degree of vulnerability and in some cases of minor nations,
also agree to the interests of the chief contributing nations organizing the collective security.
Collective Security is achieved by setting up an international cooperative organization, under the
aegis of international law and this gives rise to a form of international collective governance,
albeit limited in scope and effectiveness. The collective security organization then becomes an
arena for diplomacy, balance of power and exercise of soft power. The use of hard power by
states, unless legitimized by the Collective Security organization, is considered illegitimate,
blameworthy and needing remediation of some kind. The collective security organization not
only gives cheaper security, but also may be the only practicable means of security for smaller
nations against more powerful threatening neighbors‘ without the need of joining the camp of the
nations balancing their neighbors. Employed during the construction of the League of Nations,
the concept of collective security goes beyond the pure idea of defense. The concept of
"collective security" forwarded by men such as Michael Joseph Savage, Martin
Wight, Immanuel Kant, and Woodrow Wilson, are deemed to apply interests in security in a
broad manner, to "avoid grouping powers into opposing camps, and refusing to draw dividing
lines that would leave anyone out" (Yost, 1977). The term "collective security" has also been
cited as a principle of the United Nations, and the League of Nations before that. By employing a
system of collective security, the UN hopes to dissuade any member state from acting in a
manner likely to threaten peace, thereby avoiding any conflict.

Collective security is used in this paper to understand Nigeria‘s peacekeeping role in Africa.
Most nations in Africa are poor and cannot on their own solve crises occurring in their country,
Nigeria who is seen as the big brother of Africa believes that she (Nigeria) has been predestined
to help countries in Africa, Hence her afro-centric foreign policy. Nigeria has taken it upon
herself to help conflict ridden nations in Africa having at the back of her mind that if conflict
occurring in a neighboring country escalates it could lead to a major threat to Nigeria‘s security
(Adesanya, 2015).

CONCENTRIC THEORIES OF CONFLICT AND PEACE:

Conflict analysis focuses on three important elements of peacekeeping: conflict analysis,
analysis of ongoing response, strategic and program planning. Conflict analysis is necessary

29
because it facilitates understanding of the causes and consequences of violent conflict, as well as
the dynamics supporting peace efforts made by Nigeria and ECOWAS diplomats, and the efforts
by ECOMOG troops towards cease-fire. This framework also identifies all relevant conflict
factors that have contributed and may further contribute to the resurgence of violent conflict
(CIAFCAT, 2004).

Conflict analysis include: identifying key conflict factors such as the origin of the conflict;
identifying individuals or groups (Actor analysis) engaged in, and/or affected by the conflict; and
analysis of capacities for peace. When ECOWAS ambassadors tried to mediate between the four
warring factions—the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) loyal to Samuel Doe, the National
Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor, and other divisions such as United
Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), and the United
Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Kromah faction (ULIMO-K). Conflicts are not
mono-causal phenomena and arise from a set of interconnected conflict factors and dynamics. As
was seen in the Liberian crisis—there were several causes to the violent conflict in Liberia,
Namely: disconnect with government institutions, lack of access to justice, lack of access to
reliable appropriate mechanism for resolving disputes and other issues alike.

Conflict analysis view can be described as a set of policy analysis tools that is helpful in
Understanding the underlying causes and consequences of violent conflicts, as well as the issues
supporting peace efforts in transition situation. A major criticism made against conflict analysis
approach is that part of its assumptions, such as its informal approach to conflict solution, which
involves authorities, civil society and cultural tolerance, may not be attainable. Conflict analysis
has considered the fact that each conflict situation is unique, but what it has not taken into
account, is that perhaps, particularly in violent conflict situation, there may not be a civil society,
a legitimate authority and/or any tangible cultural tolerance. It has ignored these possible
limitations, by stipulating these limitations as standards for capacities for peace in a transition
situation following violent conflict (CIAFCAT, 2004).

Johan (2007) opines in his mini theory of peace that peace is a relation, between two or more
parties. The parties may be inside a person, a state or nation, a region or civilization, pulling in
different directions. Peace is not a property of one party alone, but a property of the relation
between parties. Saying that in no sense belittles the significance of the party‘s intent and

30
capability to build peaceful relations. Johan (2007) further pointed out that there are three kinds
of relationship; (I) Negative, disharmonious whereby what is bad for one is good for the other.
(II) Indifferent whereby they do not care about the other. (III) Positive, harmonious whereby
what is bad-good for one is bad-good for other. In the real world relations may be mixes of all
three. Johan points out two concept of peace: Negative peace and positive peace. Negative
peaces the absence of violence while positive peace is the presence of harmony, intended or not.

Democratic peace theory is a theory which posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in
armed conflict with other identified democracies (Alberto, 2004). In contrast to theories
explaining war engagement, it is a "theory of peace" outlining motives that dissuade state-
sponsored violence. Some theorists prefer terms such as "mutual democratic pacifism"(Daniel,
2008) or "inter-democracy nonaggression hypothesis" so as to clarify that a state of peace is not
singular to democracies, but rather that it is easily sustained between democratic nations (Babst,
1964). Among proponents of the democratic peace theory, several factors are held as motivating
peace between liberal states: Democratic leaders are forced to accept culpability for war losses to
a voting public; Publicly accountable statesmen are more inclined to establish diplomatic
institutions for resolving international tensions; Democracies are less inclined to view countries
with adjacent policy and governing doctrine as hostile; Democracies tend to possess greater
public wealth than other states, and therefore eschew war to preserve infrastructure and
resources. According to Kant, 1795, a world with only constitutional republics was only one of
several necessary conditions for a perpetual peace. Kant's theory was that a majority of the
people would never vote to go to war, unless in self-defense. Therefore, if all nations were
republics, it would end war, because there would be no aggressors. Paine (1776) made similar or
stronger claims about the peaceful nature of republics. Paine argued that kings would go to war
out of pride in situations where republics would not. Democracy in America (1835–1840), by
French historian and social scientist Alexis de Tocqueville, also argued that democratic nations
were less likely to wage war. But situations where by these democratic state begin to engage in
war, it becomes difficult for democracy to be upheld. Sometimes a dictator can rise up in a
democratic setting leading to chaos and need for change in government as in the case of Liberia
and Sierra Leone. The citizens in such states cannot solely defend or achieve the goal of change
in government single handedly. This leads to the need for external powers to be engaged in
peacekeeping mission which justifies Nigerian‘s peace keeping mission in West Africa

31
 CHAPTER THREE
In this chapter the research methodology used in the study is described. The area in which the
study is conducted, the study design, the population and the sample are described. The
instruments to be used to collect the data are also described. The Methodology makes use of both
primary and secondary sources.
3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NIGERIA
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Nigeria is located in West Africa and shares land borders with
the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its
coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria is often referred to as
the "Giant of Africa", owing to its large population and economy. With approximately 174
million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most
populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world
(CIA World Fact Book 2014). The country is inhabited by over 500 ethnic groups, of which the
three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Regarding religion, Nigeria is divided roughly in
half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern and central parts of the country, and
Muslims, concentrated mostly in the northern and southwestern regions. The official language of
Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country, owing
to the influence of British colonization that ended in 1960. The country's oil reserves have played
a major role in its growing wealth and influence. Nigeria is considered to be an emerging market
by the World Bank and has been identified as a regional power in Africa.

NIGERIAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

The Nigerian institute of international Affairs was established in 1963, with the support
of the then prime minister of the federation of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The
institute is a specialized instrument of foreign policy formulation in Nigeria. It serves as an
intellectual base upon which decision-makers rely for informed opinion and expert advice in
order to make rational choices between contending policy options.

32
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

A contemporary history approach and descriptive research design which involved a case study
approach was used in this study because it assumes a prior knowledge of the research questions
and problems before the research began. Also, descriptive research design allows for diverse
method of data collection that ensures an adequate process and procedure in obtaining extensive
information regarding the research questions. An advantage of case study method is that it
enables the researcher gain a deeper understanding of peacekeeping efforts, particularly
peacekeeping efforts in relation to Nigeria‘s roles in West Africa. The review of published
scholarly work, Nigerian government documents and other documents alike, will provide a
reliable source for analysis. The focus of the analysis is on Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles in West
Africa. The study examines Nigeria‘s peacekeeping efforts both in Liberia and Sierra Leone
including patterns of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping endeavors in West Africa. This study includes
evaluation of historical analysis of Nigeria‘s foreign policy implementation for West Africa,
evaluates data relating to Nigerians peacekeeping roles in both Liberia and Sierra Leone crises,
the pattern of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping endeavors, through the evaluation of relevant theoretical
literature and use of findings from both primary and secondary sources. Interviews were
conducted with other learned personnel in the field of History, Political Science and International
Relations.

3.3 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Sample, is a representative fraction or unit of a whole. According to the oxford English
dictionary a sample is defined as a number of people or things taken from a larger group and use
in test to provide information about the group. In reality there is simply not enough time, money,
energy, money, labor/man power, equipment, access to suitable sites to measure every single
item or site within the parent population or whole sampling frame. Therefore an appropriate
sampling strategy is adopted to obtain a representative valid sample of the whole.

3.4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A qualitative research method was adopted. The qualitative method is used to compliment the
quantitative method because details from the data generated, for the purpose of analyzing
peacekeeping in West Africa and analyzing Nigeria‘s roles, cannot be quantified and also,
because qualitative method tends to allows for broader range of utilization and flexible

33
qualitative interpretation of data which can lead to a holistic view of past, present and future
issues.

3.5 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Qualitative methods where used to collect data in the course of this study In using the historical
and descriptive approach, the study makes use of primary and secondary data generated from
diverse sources: (I) relevant empirical literature, consisting of published scholarly work,
government documents and gazettes, and other documents alike (II) In-depth interview was also
carried out at Nigerian institute for international affairs. This is a supple way of getting
information from respondents because ideas can be followed up. The response rate tends to be
higher because topics are discussed freely. Considerable time and patience are needed to obtain
the interest and cooperation of individuals. As a qualitative technique, interviews were used to
gather information from respondents based on their experience. The use of this technique gives
room for proper understanding of Nigeria‘s peacekeeping role in West Africa. This was achieved
by a face to face interview with the director of research and student department of NIIA
professor Ogba .D. Oche. Interviewees were based on their experience and vast knowledge in
peacekeeping.

3.6 DATA ANALYSIS

This work features a more interpretative format to explain the findings and result. There
are lots of opinions on Nigeria‘s peacekeeping role in West Africa. This is necessary to make a
descriptive analysis of variables so as to allow for credibility of the findings and postulations of
this work.

34
 CHAPTER FOUR

CASE STUDY

4.1 INTRODUCTION
This study makes use of the contemporary history and case study approaches. The contemporary
history approach is used because it analyzes peacekeeping from past and present perspectives.
These two viewpoints are analyzed in respect to peacekeeping in West Africa. The contemporary
history viewpoint on Nigeria‘s roles in West Africa is important to note that historically, Nigeria,
from time of independence has sort ways to help rid Africa of colonial rule. Equally, Nigeria has
continued to extensively contributed resources to course relating to Africa‘s freedom from
colonization. Nigeria has extended her roles in Africa and West Africa in particular, to include:
diplomatic, economic assistance, cultural exchange, social and economic integration, peace
enforcement and peacekeeping. These stated roles are better presented from the viewpoint of
contemporary history, because the contemporary history utilizes descriptive characteristics to
analyze events. By so doing, details of Nigeria‘s commitment to ECOWAS/ECOMOG, as well
as the case studies of Liberia and Sierra Leone, are presented sequentially.

4.2 NIGERIA’S COMMITMENT TO ECOWAS AND ECOMOG

Since its inception, Nigeria has remained committed to the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and by extension, its monitoring group (ECOMOG). Nigeria‘s
commitment to these organizations is examined in relationship to her Peacekeeping efforts in the
West African region. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was
established in 1975, and is made up fifteen countries, essentially to facilitate economic
integration among the West African States, to raise the standard of living of its citizens, as well
as to foster socioeconomic and sociopolitical relationship between its member states. The
initiative for ECOWAS originated from a desire by some of the member states, particularly
Nigeria, for an economically and/or politically stable and developed region. In addition to
championing the initiative, Nigeria has continued to commit to its existence, operation and by
extension, the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).
Nigeria contributes thirty-one percent of ECOWAS total annual budget and on occasions
supplied other resources such as petroleum products and Nigeria has helped to construct new

35
roads to link up member states.(iweriebor and uhomoibhi ,1991 ) Given the fairly calm political
climate in many regions in Africa, especially in the West African region, Nigeria, though still
bent on complete political independence for the whole of Africa, began to escalate her strategies
for regional economic integration.

In pursuing the goal of regional economic cooperation and development, Nigeria helped create
ECOWAS, which seeks to harmonize trade and investment practices for its fifteen West African
member countries and ultimately to achieve a full customs union. Nigeria also has taken the lead
in articulating the views of developing nations on the need for modification of the existing
international economic order. Nigeria has played a central role in the ECOWAS efforts to end
the civil war in Liberia and contributed the bulk of the ECOWAS peacekeeping forces sent there
in 1990. Nigeria also has provided the bulk of troops for ECOMOG forces in Sierra Leone
(Wikipedia, 2014).Nigeria championed the formation of ECOWAS and, in spite of competing
allegiances to rival organizations within the subcontinent, continued to support the organization's
objectives. Strengthening ECOWAS promoted Nigeria's national interests through encouraging
development of the region's economy and discouraging its neighbors' reliance on extra-African
countries for military, political, and economic survival, thus serving such security interests as
weakening colonial divisions within West Africa, ending border disputes, contributing to African
unity, and strengthening West Africa's bargaining positions (Akims, 2014).

With the establishment of ECOWAS in 1975 (made up of 16 West African states initially and
currently 15), and the subsequent victory in Zimbabwe by Mr. Robert Mugabe—Unilateral
Declaration of Independence (UDI), Nigeria was beginning to attain its goals. As with any
establishment ECOWAS had its challenges especially in the areas of funds needed to sustain the
basic day-to-day of ECOMOG‘s operations. Adding to the lack of funds, which is a drawback,
ECOWAS suffers from the perceived Anglo-phone/Franco-phone dichotomy a situation which
infers that, there were some level of mistrust between the English speaking states and the French
speaking ones. Another reason though, more speculative, than factual, was the language barrier
between the English speaking group and the French speaking ones. There were other issues too,
such as the often commonly asserted notion by some political propagandists that, Nigeria‘s intent
for and effort in the formation of ECOWAS, stems from an ulterior desire for regional
hegemony. The issues discussed above further retard the achievement of the main idea for the

36
establishment of ECOWAS which was an economic integration, socio-economic and socio-
political relationship among its member-states. Some progress though has been made, such as the
construction of the coastal Trans-West African Highway, the execution of INTERCOM, the
operation of the Brown Card Scheme and the implementation of protocols on free movement of
persons, right of residence and establishment. As stated in Nigeria and the ECOWAS since 1985,
the first major area of activity of the ECOWAS was the dismantling of barriers to trade in the
sub-region as the initial steps towards trade expansion. Agreement on these schemes, however,
was not reached until May 1980 at the Third Summit of the Authority of Heads of States and
government. Subsequent to the summit, there were so many interesting initiatives taken and
planned by ECOWAS community. These initiatives were in the areas of trade liberation;
transport and communication, free movement of persons, defense co operation, the fund for co-
operation, compensation and development (Fund), and executive secretariat.

Despite different problems affecting the ECOWAS community initiatives, including funding, the
organization was able to achieve some success with some of the initiatives. For example, ―by
1985, the telecommunication network in the sub-region had received a face-lift. INTELCOM I,
the infrastructural development aspect had proceeded satisfactorily with active participation of
the ECOWAS Fund.‖ECOWAS also succeeded in erecting the ECOWAS secretariat in Abuja,
Nigeria. Other problems however, surfaced to set the community‘s progress back especially with
the implementation of the free movement of persons. From the onset, the protocol was not quite
clear the ratification was hastily done and equally misinterpreted, which resulted in massive
immigration particularly from the less developed states to the more developed ones; so that, ―by
1982, illegal immigration in Nigeria from Benin, Ghana, Niger and Togo numbered about 2
million. Many of these immigrants were employed at wages below the statutory national
minimum, thus exacerbating the unemployment problem which was then at about 15 percent.
Their presence created the need for more social overhead cost in terms of more schools,
hospitals, etc.‖ There were other immigration related problems, apart from social economic
issues; there were religious issues that somewhat spilled over into socio political issues. As
indicated in Nigeria and the ECOWAS since 1985: Towards a dynamic regional integration.

The more significant part of the immigration problem was that large segment of these
immigrants, were of diverse religious persuasions and political beliefs, susceptible to local

37
political manipulations by devious political leaders in Nigeria. These, in fact, became inevitable
in the political and socio-economic crisis that ensued in Nigeria as from the early 1980s about
mid 1988s. In the report of the Aniagolu‘s Commission on the Maitasine (Islamic extremist
movement that resulted in the killing of many Muslims in Northern Nigeria) uprising in 1980,
ECOWAS illegal emigrants were said to be effectively involved. As a result of this pressure and
the calculation that the emigrants could be mobilized into an army of thugs at the October 1983
general elections, the government in January of that year expelled the illegal emigrants (Yaqub,
2005) In spite of the above socioeconomic problems, the ECOWAS community did overcome
these setbacks and obstacles and forged ahead with the integration and arrangements, for further
implementation of various projects. At each summit, treaties were signed and protocols set for
new agendas.

Subsequently, as the conflict in Liberia continued to escalate and in accordance with the
provisions contained in the ECOWAS mutual defense treaty of 1981, signed in Freetown which
authorizes ECOWAS member-states to intervene with force when the security of a member-state
is threatened, ECOWAS members therefore, could not stand by while the peace and tranquility
they so desperately wished and needed for the realization of regional economic integration
evaporate. After all, economic stability/sustainability and peaceful tranquil environment are not
mutually exclusive; one enhances and reinforces the other.

Given the noncommittal attitude of the world community, ECOWAS members therefore, had to
devise a means to attend to the rather pressing Liberian crisis. It is important to note that before
1990, ECOWAS had no unit within it, nor did it commit or set aside resources to deal with
security issues. However, in the wake of the Liberian crisis, ECOWAS in desperate need for a
necessary cease-fire, moved to set up the Standing Mediation Committee (SMC), during its 13th
summit of May 28-30 1990 held in Banjul, Gambia. SMC a committee made up of five
ECOWAS members-states Gambia, Ghana, Mali Nigeria and Togo. SMC hence formed, was
designated the task of finding a possible solution to the deplorable attacks on civilian lives in
Liberia and the rising security concern to other neighboring states. SMC subsequently
recommended the creation of a cease-fire group, which will then cater to regional security. The
result of this recommendation was the creation of the ECOMOG as of August 7th 1990
(Akinterinwa, 2015).

38
4.3 A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA‘S PEACEKEEPING ROLE IN LIBERIA
In an attempt to quell the situation and to initiate an immediate cease-fire in Liberia, the newly
formed security group (ECOMOG)—made up of military contingents from the five Standing
Mediation Committee (SMC) members, plus Guinea and Sierra Leone, left for Liberia on August
29, 1990. Support for the mandate though, was not unanimous within the ECOWAS organization
Burkina Faso and Côte d‘Ivoire were not in agreement, but it had the approval of both the OAU
and the UN. Also because of fear of wide spread regional instability, the ECOWAS member-
states had to act to contain the crisis and/or end it. ECOWAS‘ decision to intervene transcended
primordial and humanitarian concerns; First, citizens from several member-states were in Liberia
at the outbreak of the conflict. Some were killed while others were taken hostage (mainly by
Taylor‘s [NPFLJ). Second, Member states were concerned that the Liberian civil war would
have a domino effect in the region. The movement of peoples fleeing the conflict across borders
combined with the constantly shifting military alliances could prove too much for these unstable
and largely authoritarian regimes. (DRAMAN AND CARMENT, 2007)

The ECOMOG intervention was a heavy under-taking for an economic organization such as
ECOWAS which as at five months into the Liberian crises, had no security division and was
pleading with its members to liquidate their respective outstanding contributions to the
organization. Nonetheless, ECOMOG deployed to Liberia with a diverse contingent of 2,700
troops led by a Ghanaian force commander. ECOMOG was mandated to monitor ceasefire
between the rebel group National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) lead by Charles Taylor, and
the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in support of Samuel Doe, until the environment was
conducive for an eventual general election. But what ECOMOG met upon arrival at the Liberian
capital of Monrovia, was beyond ceasefire operation .As soon as ECOMOG forces landed in
Monrovia, they were attacked by the NPFL, which then controlled almost all of the country
outside capital city. The situation warranted a reinforcement of intense military operation.

According to an interviewee, the condition in Liberia was too violent among the different groups
ECOMOG had to deal with and the civilian population was caught in the crossfire. This situation
was much more than ECOWAS! ECOMOG had anticipated. It should be understood that

39
ECOMOG is a group pulled together in an instance of emergency, to further compound this
position, the group was made of different military contingents.

Secondly, the force commander did not have complete autonomy in issuing directives, even
though, ―SMC stipulated that ‗the commander was to have full command authority over
ECOMOG, which he will derive from the chairman of the ECOWAS Authority through the
Executive Secretary, each contingent however, obtained directives from its military leader from
their home base (Belmakki, 2005) Daily operational movements of the troops however, were
enforced by the force commander. The above scenario invariably could lead to a safety issue for
the troops. In some other interstate conflicts and wars, usually the situation was somewhat
straight forward, in that, there is a rebel group opposing the main government or just two
opposing groups fighting for the right to govern. The case of Liberia had more than three warring
factions—the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) loyal to Samuel Doe, the National Patriotic Front
of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor, and other divisions such as United Liberation
Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), and the United Liberation
Movement of Liberia for Democracy, Kromah faction (ULIMO-K).

According to SMCs report, the situation on the ground in Liberia had deteriorated from violent to
extreme violent. As noted by Gerry Cleaver, 1998: The second fundamental problem that faced
ECOMOG forces arriving in August of 1990 was that they failed to obtain the consent of the
belligerent parties to the mission. Taylor regarded ECOMOG as a Nigerian force sent to deny
him his ‗deserved‘ triumph over Doe. Given the above scenario, ECOMOG‘s initial mission of
ceasefire/peacekeeping changed to peace enforcement. Since the group had not trained together
as a peacekeeping unit, the troops lacked cohesion and they were very few troops (2,700),
compared with the enormity of the task of enforcing peace in such a hostile environment as
Liberia was then. Additionally, the two-tier chain of command (the different contingents, sought
directives from their home base) within the ECOMOG contingents, as well as the lack of funds
to sustain the mission, and reported skepticism of some ECOWAS members. All these stated
challenges mentioned above, combined to turn a difficult case into an almost impossible mission.
According to Cleaver 1998, on the question of the size of ECOMOG the initial deployment of
3,000 troops was inadequate to the tasks allotted to them. Part of the problems found in the
Liberian crisis included different acts of violence, from rapes to torture, and killings committed

40
on the civilians (mostly women and children), as well as the reported different attacks on the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) aid workers. As these violent attacks continued,
ECOMOG‘s initially mandated mission of peacekeeping for the sake of cease-fire, transformed
to peace enforcement. According to the Human Rights Report entitled, Liberia Human Rights
Practices, ―Although the Constitution prohibits torture and other degrading treatment, the
factions perpetuated massive abuses. But there were no reports of torture by the AFL, LNTG-I or
LNTG-II police or security forces, nor by ECOMOG.

It is also important to point out that SMC‘s initial mandate for ECOMOG was for ECOMOG to
keep the two groups (Doe‘s and Taylor‘s) from fighting, while ECOWAS members through
diplomacy negotiate proper conditions for a cease-fire. But given the violent treatment of the
civilian population, particularly by the NPFL rebels, there was the urgent need for peace
enforcement. As the conflict continued and not much physical military assistance from the
international community anticipated by ECOWAS, ECOMOG troops strived to maintain some
level of security. There were those within the international community who criticized
ECOMOG‘s use of force. Perhaps ECOWAS moved too fast in the bid to attain a ceasefire at the
very initial stage of the Liberian crisis. But given the non-urgency of the crisis to the
international community and the precarious position of the organization the fact that members
were concerned that the civil war would have a domino effect in the region, the desire for
regional stability, led ECOWAS to respond in the manner they did. At the end of the crisis, and
in spite of the difficult scenarios, many including the critics of ECOMOG‘s intervention all
agreed that the Liberian crisis was an incredible challenge and ECOMOG did relatively well
given what it had to work with. Furthermore, ECOMOG may not have been able to carry out any
peacekeeping mission, had Nigeria not contributed the majority of the troops as well as the
funding and other military equipments. As Hutchful indicated, ―. . . without Nigeria‘s massive
contribution in funding and manpower, the ECOMOG operation could not have been sustained.

Though there are some scholars who asks what Nigeria‘s motive for such massive contributions
are and other scholars such as Cleaver, who indicated that, the Francophone states believed that
Nigeria was using ECOMOG as a vehicle for its own regional hegemonic ambitions. Scholars
such as Adebayo, on the other hand, suggested that perhaps, ―It will be important to find ways in
future of harnessing the important military and financial capacity of local hegemon like Nigeria.‖

41
Or it could just be as Kuna stated, ―Nigeria‘s effort at peace building has been predicated
principally on the pursuit of domestic security through the promotion of peaceful relations
between herself and neighbors, and between neighbors themselves.‖ It could just also be that
Africans are beginning to take care of Africa. As Adebayo stated in Regional Security in Post-
Cold War Africa, ―There is a new urgency among African policy-makers and scholars in the
search for effective mechanisms for resolving African conflicts.‖ No matter what reasons are
attributed to the motivation behind Nigeria‘s role in the ECOMOG‘s peacekeeping mission to
Liberia, one thing is certain, Nigeria played an unparalleled role in putting an end to the crisis in
Liberia; crisis that had the potential to spill over in the neighboring countries. Also as observed
by some members of the Liberian community that were interviewed, ―If Nigeria did not come to
the aid of the Liberian, when they did, there may not be more than few of us Liberians left. At
time it looked like every member of the ECOMOG army was a Nigerian because they all spoke
Pidgin English.

4.4 A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA’S PEACE KEEPING ROLE IN SIERRIA LEONE

On May 25, 1997, after the elected government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was over thrown in a
coup d‘état, led by Major Koroma the crisis in Sierra Leone worsened. Incidentally, Major
Johnny Paul Koroma, had aligned himself with the RUF movement, but his administration could
not maintain security in the country. It is also possible that, given the proximity of Liberia to
Sierra Leone, some of the crisis in Liberia, particularly violence against civilians and smuggling
of arms ammunitions as well as some diamonds, had earlier spilled over into Sierra Leone.
Further complicating the crisis there was also the fact that, some of the RUF‘s movement had
reportedly been trained by the NPFL group, especially as there were reported evidences of
strengthening of the relationship between Taylor and Sankoh. For example, ―Knowledge of
President Charles Taylor‘s NPFL led government‘s support of rebels in Sierra Leone is an open
secret in Liberia‖ (Masa, 2007).

By 1998, Sierra Leone‘s crisis had reached the level where ECOWAS had to once again, elect
for ECOMOG to intervene in the country. This intervention was in spite of ECOMOG‘s
challenges in Liberia, which were the non-cohesiveness of the contingents (Having not before
the Liberian conflicts, trained or worked together. etc.), and the fact that, financial and logistical
aspects of the group‘s mission were seriously lacking. Given these challenges, coupled with the

42
internal political struggles within the ECOWAS organization, the Sierra Leonean case was
beginning to resemble the ECOMOG‘s experience in Liberia. As Mohamed Belmakki 2005
indicted, ―The diversity of languages, equipment, and doctrine denied the ECOMOG force the
synchronicity and homogeneity that a military operation requires to be successful on the ground.
There were communication difficulties between Francophone and Anglophone forces and lack of
overall training in counterinsurgency.‖ Since many ECOWAS members lagged behind in their
required financial obligations (annual dues and other required fees), Nigeria had to bear the
burden of financially sustaining ECOMOG‘s operations. In addition Nigeria also contributed
about eighty percent of the troops. According to Belmakki, during the 6 January 1999 rebel
invasion of Freetown, Nigerian jets bombed rebel‘s positions in the capital and its soldiers
shelled the outskirts of eastern Freetown. ECOMOG eventually forced the rebels to withdraw
from Freetown after more than six weeks with the loss of 3,000 civilian lives and massive
destruction of the city by arsonist rebels.

Some observers indicated that, Nigeria, because of her regional hegemonic intent, has elected to
shoulder most of the burden. As Hutchful asserted in 1999, ―On the Nigerian side, several
personal as well as economic motives, have been cited as principal reasons for the intervention.‖
There were others who saw Nigeria‘s level of participation within the ECOWAS organization, as
activities indicative of a member state, wanting to and doing everything in its power to prevent
political and security destabilization to its region. Yet, others contend that, since the aid pledged
by the UN and the international community was insufficient (below that which the situation
demanded), Nigeria, often criticized for its hegemonic aspirations, continued to regularly bear
the burden of the missions to prevent what she saw as embarrassment to West Africa. As
President Ibrahim Babangida stated at the 10th session of the Authority held at Abuja in 1997,
―Nigeria‘s interest in establishing effective and integrated security in the sub region is shared by
other states and is designed to promote the general wellbeing of the region.‖ In various accounts
of ECOMOG‘s peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, several different reports indicated that
Nigerian soldiers dominate the mission.

As noted earlier, Nigeria, spurred by her experience with colonization and the urgent need for
regional security, pursues regional peace through several peacekeeping roles. To Nigeria,
regional security/stability became even more necessary, particularly as the attention to African

43
issues by the international community diminished after the Cold War. As reported by different
political observers; for example, ―The UN and the international community played only a passive
role in stopping the recurrence of internal conflict in Africa, and helping to reduce the violence
prevalent in many West African countries. Equally, Britain, like the US, lent mostly diplomatic
and humanitarian assistance to ECOMOG‘s peacekeeping efforts, and until a brief military
intervention in 2000 which helped to stabilize a collapsing UN mission, desisted from playing a
direct military role in Sierra Leone. Both interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leon illustrated the
growing indifference of external actors to African conflicts in the post Cold War era, the rising
Influence of regional actors like Nigeria (Adebayo, 2007)

Nigeria‘s claims to regional hegemony can be made or unmade by the outcome of the war.‖In
spite of all the difficulties it faced, such as logistical issues, ECOMOG achieved a respectful
success in Sierra Leone, by reinstating Ahmed Tejan Kabbah as the rightfully elected president.
Brief as it may be, and regardless of the UN peacekeeping mission (UNAMSIL), it was
ECOMOG, after the killing and hostage taking of the UN peacekeepers in May of 2000, that
finally supervised the eventual Sierra Leonean transition to peaceful election in 2003, with
Nigeria substantially absorbing greater part of the cost.

As was reported by the Center for Democracy and Development ―in the aftermath of the AFRC-
RUF coup of May 1997, diplomatic efforts were made by ECOWAS, OAU and UN to return the
country to the elected government of Tejan Kabbah. However, faced with the insurgents‘
prevarication and the project of long drawn negotiations, President Kabbah solicited the help of
mercenaries to mount a counter-coup that was largely supported by the international
community.47 Nigeria, not about to allow matters to deteriorate further, reconvened ECOWAS
member-states for another ECOMOG operation. Subsequently, and regardless of the reported
recruitment of the private military company (Sandline International), Nigeria/ECOMOG forces
embarked on the Sierra Leone peacekeeping mission and together with the Kamajors (a Sierra
Leonean based civil defense force) fought against the RUF rebels to reinstate Kabbah‘s
government. Reporting on the same event, Ero 2000 contends that From December of 1998 until
the signing of the Lomè peace agreement of 7 July 1999 in Togo, the RUF and the AFRC
launched a devastating attack throughout Sierra Leone. Kabbah and ECOMOG were not alone in
relying on mercenaries. Taylor‘s network of mercenaries, mainly from the Ukraine, was effective

44
in supporting the RUF/ACRF military campaign. The ECOMOG contingent of 15, 000 was
unable to respond to the jungle warfare tactics of the RUF and the AFRC. Instead the Kamajors
and other civil defense forces orchestrated much of the fighting that took place between January
and June of 1999.

Even though there was the controversy in March of 1998 of President Kabbah, the British
official (Ambassador Penfold), and Nigeria‘s involvement in the acquisition of private company
to maintain peace and order in Sierra Leone, what is important here, is the effort by
Nigeria/ECOMOG troops to restore peace to the region and bring order to an ECOWAS
member-state. Nigeria also advanced the initiative to continue peacekeeping mission in Sierra
Leone particularly after the ―RUF rebels attack on UN peacekeepers in May 2000. This led to the
arrest of Foday Sankoh who had been appointed Vice-President in the transitional government at
a peace conference in Lomè in July 1999 (Adebayo 2004).

4.5 Similarities of Nigeria’s peacekeeping role in Liberia and Sierra Leone

There were similarities between the Liberian and the Sierra Leonean crises. In both cases, the
ECOMOG troops were dealing with multiple factions in Liberia, they had to contend with the
Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), the United
Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), and the United
Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy Kromah faction (ULIMO-K). It is along this line
that Cleaver argues that, ―ECOMOG‘s claim to be an effective intervention force has been
undermined by numerous failures to enforce agreements and disarm the factions. Generally
speaking the only constant in what was otherwise a fluid environment of shifting alliances had
been the antipathy between ECOMOG and the NPFL. This has at times led to open warfare with
ECOMOG fighting alongside other factions, such as ULIMO and AFL, against the NPFL.‖While
in Sierra Leone, apart from coping with the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) led by Lieutenant Colonel
Johnson Koroma, ECOMOG had to deal with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by
Sankoh and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) led by Sam Bockarie. With the
above challenges as the (IINAMSIL) later found out, ECOMOG‘ troops had to additionally cope
with outdated equipments, nonfunctioning communication system and many other logistical
problems already mentioned above. Adebayo further stated, UNAMSIL eventually recovered its
balance, disarming Sierra Leone‘s factions and overseeing the successful election Kabbah in

45
May 2002. While Taylor and Sanko along with Johnny Paul Koromah, and the head of the
Kamajors (Hinga Norman), were indicted for war crimes by an international Special Court for
Sierra Leone in 2003.It is relevant to point out that the conducive environment for the
UNAMSIL to eventually return to Sierra Leone, particularly after the UN peacekeepers‘ killing
and hostage taking by the RUF rebels, was by the efforts of the Nigeria/ECOMOG troops, which
sustained heavy casualties.

Finally, there is no knowing for sure what the outcome in both the Liberian and the Sierra
Leonean cases would have been, had ECOMOG not intervened and had Nigeria not played the
roles both diplomatically with the OAU/AU and UN general assembly. But one thing is certain;
ECOMOG‘s intervention in both of these crises did minimize violence against the civilian
populations of both countries and provided relative security for the West African region. As
noted by Draman and Carment, This fear was based on the fact that the preponderant majority of
ECOWAS member-states were governed by weak regimes. The movement of peoples fleeing the
conflict across borders combined with the constantly shifting military alliances could prove too
much for these unstable and largely authoritarian regimes (Rasheed and Draman 2001)

Secondly, the various diplomatic endeavor by different organizations such as the OAU now AU,
the UN, and other ECOWAS member-states such as Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Nigeria and Togo,
has added to bring an end to the crises in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. In almost all of these
diplomatic efforts, Nigeria has participated in one form or the other. According to Akinterinwa,
as part of Nigeria‘s effort to strengthen and sustain sub-regional and regional cooperation,
Nigeria established the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme to assist needy countries, especially
in Africa. Nigeria again brokered peace in the Mono River Union, comprising Liberia, Guinea
and Sierra Leone Nigeria and Sierra Leone have a bilateral agreement on security protection for
the government of President Tejan Kabbah. It was the basis of the bilateral accord that Nigerians
were in to contain the violent activities of the RUF before the arrival of ECOMOG II in Sierra
Leone (Akinterinwa).

The OAU on the other hand has equally been instrumental in seeing that peace was restored to
both Liberia and Sierra Leone. This point has been reiterated by Akinterinwa who stated that In
Liberia, the role of the OAU was critical in the mobilization of international political, financial
and material support for the initiative of the Economic Community of West African States

46
(ECOWAS). The OAU promoted the evolution of a regional consensus behind the ECOWAS
Military Observer Group (ECOMOG), and contributed to the Abuja Peace Accord and the
process that culminated in the successful elections held in that country during mid-1997. In
Sierra Leone, the OAU worked closely with the UN, and the regional actors in the negotiations
that brought the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to the conference table, and is still engaged
in the search for a political and security solution to the stalemate brought about by the coup
d‘état in the country in June 1997. It is also important to note that the roles played by these five
SMC members especially in the creation of ECOMOG was very instrumental in the
minimization of violence as well as peace enforcement/peacekeeping successes achieved in
Sierra Leone.

4.6 INTERVIEW

QUESTION ONE: Do you agree that Nigeria’s reputation as a regional stabilizer,

conciliator and peace building efforts in the west-African region remains unmatched

RESPONDENT ONE: Professor Ogba .D. Oche, Director of research and studies department,
Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

YES. Nigeria is the dominant power in West Africa. It is economically by far the most powerful
country in West Africa. Nigeria has been using her economic and military power for peaceful
purposes over the year. This can be seen in the establishment of ECOWAS and AU.

RESPONDENT TWO: Mr. Patrick Ojo, Department Of International Relations and Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti

Yes. Nigeria‘s status and contribution towards peace and security in the sub-region is
significant. Nigeria can do more and can also be supported to do more.

RESPONDENT THREE: Dr Tayo Oke, Senior Lecturer In The Department Of Law,

International Relations And Political Science, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti.

Of course, in West Africa Nigeria is unmatched 100%

47
RESPONDENT FOUR: Mr. Paul Adesanya, Department Of International Relations and
Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti

Nigeria has always prided herself as having a historic mission and a manifest destiny to the state
within the African continent. Nigeria is endowed with becoming a giant not just in Africa but in
the whole world. Though Nigeria has witnessed some catastrophic situations that has
undermined her involvement as a power but within the West Africa region Nigeria has actually
acted not just as a hegemon but a sub- imperial power within the sub- region but has actually
acted as a big brother sacrificing some of the things I ought to take over take for instance when it
engineered the establishment of ECOWAS during Babaginda‘s regime Nigeria would have
taking advantage of the west African states but Nigeria did not do that. Vis-à-vis situations and
event Nigeria has acted as a power within the West African region and beyond that is that
Nigeria has not contradicted international law while acting on that stead.

RESPONDENT FIVE: ANONYMOUS

YES, Nigeria has been using her economic and military power for peacekeeping operation
without seeking to gain economic benefit.

QUESTION TWO: Do you agree that Nigeria has incurred significant human, material
and financial loss during a peacekeeping process.

RESPONDENT ONE: Professor Ogba .D. Oche, Director Of Research And Studies Department,
Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

Yes, we have incurred a lot of loss but it isn‘t loss that will destabilize the country rather loss we
can cope with given our population size and economic position in West Africa. What people
complain about is the fact that we go in militarily and help these countries establish peace but we
don‘t gain from it. People in the country want a situation where Nigeria can go in and still gain
economically. That is the people need a purposeful diplomacy and foreign policy that not only
brings about peace in West Africa but also a diplomacy that includes an economic diplomatic
objectives.

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RESPONDENT TWO: Mr. Patrick Ojo, Department Of International Relations and Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti

Well, I won‘t say yes or no because I do not have access to the resources that Nigeria has
expended during her peace keeping mission and this hinders me from giving a specific answer as
to whether the loss is significant or minimal.

RESPONDENT THREE: Dr Tayo Oke, Senior Lecturer In The Department Of Law,

International Relations And Political Science, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti.

Absolutely, the more successful you are the more loss you incur in terms of material and man-
power.

RESPONDENT FOUR: Mr. Paul Adesanya, Department Of International Relations and

Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti

Definitely, during the Sierra Leone crisis Nigeria expended 12 billion dollars and about 1000
soldiers to the Sierra Leone crisis and if you look at it Nigeria has not significantly spent 12
billion dollars on its citizens within the country. Beyond that is the fact that Nigeria has served in
many regions of the world on United Nations peace keeping missions and has contributed her
quota towards such missions: soldiers, monetary fund etc and keeps expending in such missions
simply because staring from 1960 when it joined united nations peacekeeping mission to Congo,
it actually had a serious contingent to that mission and also contributed funds to such mission.
Nigeria has actually expended a lot of fund to peacekeeping mission without actually gaining
from such mission.

RESPONDENT FIVE: ANONYMOUS

Yes Nigeria has incurred significant loss. Loss in both manpower and monetary loss

QUESTION THREE: What is the specific achievement of Nigeria’s peacekeeping

operation in West Africa?

Respondent One: Professor Ogba .D. Oche, Director Of Research And Studies Department,
Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

49
The primary objective of peace keeping is to bring about peace and the fact that Nigeria brought
conflicts like Liberia to an end is an achievement. Also Nigeria effectively brought Liberia to a
constitutional democratic rule and also brought stability to Sierra Leone. Now Liberia has the
first woman president in West Africa.

RESPONDENT TWO: Mr. Patrick Ojo, Department Of International Relations and Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti

One of such achievement is that it has earned Nigeria a status of a regional balancer. And also
Nigeria has earned a prestige in the committee of nations seeing that Nigeria has been doing a lot
on peacekeeping not just in West Africa but also in Africa as a whole. Nigeria started
contributing troops to the UN peacekeeping operation since 1960 when crises broke out in
Congo. To this extent Nigeria has enabled her troops to even learn more in the art of war fare.
Because sending out troops in such significant operation also helps the Nigeria army to gather
idea in the art of war fare. Nigeria has also earned applaud from the committee of nation for
preserving humanity by stopping incessant killing from countries that have been involved in civil
war.

RESPONDENT THREE: Dr Tayo Oke, Senior Lecturer In The Department Of Law,

International Relations And Political Science, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti.

By the definition of peace keeping the specific achievement would be peace and the reduction of
violence in West Africa and promotion of stability in West Africa.

RESPONDENT FOUR: Mr. Paul Adesanya, Department Of International Relations and

Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti

Nigeria was able to restore peace in the West African region. As at the time Liberian crisis
started, the whole west were not interested in assisting Africa in any way to resolve crisis. Why?
United States and the other western civilized countries as at then dabbled into Bosnia crisis and
also they were interested in solving crises in Serbia and Montenegro. They believed Africa
should handle their situation themselves and Africa was been regarded as a country falling off
the global map. Nigeria regarding itself as having a manifest destiny decided on taking the
initiative of assisting in initiating peace to the west African region. Seeing that without peace in

50
the West African region Nigeria would be flooded with refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Also there is the fact that there would be serious insecurity everywhere. On that basis Nigeria‘s
contribution to peacekeeping mission has actually significantly assisted West Africa out of the
trolls of insecurity to state and human insecurity

RESPONDENT FIVE: ANONYMOUS

Nigeria has been able to bring peace in the sub- region and also curb security threat. These
factors can be seen as an achievement

QUESTION FOUR: What are the specific challenges Nigeria has encountered in her
peacekeeping operation in West Africa.

RESPONDENT ONE: Professor Ogba .D. Oche, Director Of Research And Studies Department,
Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

Each conflict poses a challenge on its own. So if Nigeria is playing a peace keeping role, every
conflict she is up against has diplomatic challenges. You have to deploy diplomacy to bring the
conflicting parties together and try to broker some kind of agreement towards peace. Besides if
you have to deploy force you face all the challenges associated with forming a force, sustaining a
force and deploying the force in conflict. It is not just the disputants who are involved in the
conflict even external parties have interest in such conflict. And different conflict poses different
challenges.

RESPONDENT TWO: Mr. Patrick Ojo, Department Of International Relations and Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti

One of such challenges is the reluctance from other West African country to team up and
cooperate in forming ECOMOG. Another significant challenge has been in the area of finance.
Nigeria bears a significant percentage of the token of human and material resources that goes
into peace keeping operations. Another challenge is the reluctance of the larger international
community like the United Nations, the African union and even states like France, Britain
,United States just to mention but a few, to cooperate with ECOMOG operation in all these

51
conflict ridden states. Finally Nigeria has equally face d the challenge of how best to resolve
these crises even after peace keeping operation like conducting free and fair election.

RESPONDENT THREE: Dr Tayo Oke, Senior Lecturer In The Department Of Law,

International Relations And Political Science, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti.

Man-power resources are a challenge. The personnel and people are not well equipped. And lack
of adequate equipment and support from the international society pose a challenge for Nigeria
during a peacekeeping operation.

RESPONDENT FOUR: Mr. Paul Adesanya, Department Of International Relations and

Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti

The challenge Nigeria has faced, is facing and would still be facing is one lack of fund.
Peacekeeping mission takes a toll from the budget. Two is the fact that if you are not successful
in the peace keeping mission it becomes a dent on your imagine finally is the fact that soldiers
dispatched might have challenges with their habit. This means that soldiers can misbehave
example some of them might have sexual desires resulting to rape when they get to their place of
posting. Beyond that is that they have the tendency of embarking on selfish aggrandizement by
looting in the places they were sent to. There is also the likely hood of their violating the human
right of the citizens in their lace of posting. Therefore all these together pose as a challenge to
Nigeria‘s peace keeping mission in the past, presently and would still pose in the future.

RESPONDENT FIVE: ANONYMOUS

One of the major challenges Nigeria has faced in peacekeeping is the issue of funds. Also there
is the issue of lack of technological know-how which has been detrimental to Nigeria‘s peace
keeping mission.

QUESTION FIVE: Do you think Nigeria should stop her peace keeping operation in West
Africa?

RESPONDENT ONE: Professor Ogba .D. Oche, Director Of Research And Studies Department,
Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

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No. Nigeria should not stop her peacekeeping mission in West Africa. Historically our
development from time past would not let Nigeria to stop. For instance Benin republic has
Yoruba people just like Nigeria, in Niger and Chad there are Hausa and Fulani people, in
Cameroon, there are Nigerian ethic groups there. Therefore Nigeria cannot stop her peace
keeping operation in West Africa because of her geographical position and neighbors.

RESPONDENT TWO: Mr. Patrick Ojo, Department Of International Relations and Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti

NO. The issue of peace and security in the West African sub-region in the long run would
benefit Nigeria. A stable West African region would enable Nigeria to carry out her commercial
and economic activities. Also a stable West African region would help in consolidating the
current democratic experience in Nigeria. Beyond this a stable West African sub-region would
also prevent Nigeria from expending on the consequences of civil war like refugee problems. It
is in the interest of not only the West African sub region but in the interest of Nigeria to preserve
the security, peace and stability of West Africa.

RESPONDENT THREE: Dr Tayo Oke, Senior Lecturer In The Department Of Law,

International Relations And Political Science, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti.

NO. They shouldn‘t stop because there is no one else capable of keeping peace in the region.

RESPONDENT FOUR: Mr. Paul Adesanya, Department Of International Relations and

Diplomacy, Afe Babalola University Ado- Ekiti

Nigeria cannot stop her peace keeping operation. If you look at the West African region, none of
the country has the financial, military or population capacity of Nigeria. Nigeria has about half of
the military power in the West African region. Nigeria population is double if not more than
double of the whole lot of other West African state put together. This makes Nigeria a significant
sub-imperial power in the West African region. Also if Nigeria stops her peace keeping mission
and crisis occur in the sub- region, who will rise up to the challenge?

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RESPONDENT FIVE: ANONYMOUS

NO. Reason being that if Nigeria stops her peace keeping mission in West Africa; it would lead
to Security Bridge in Nigeria. Also with crisis escalating in the sub- region there would be influx
of refugees and illegal migration into the country.

4.7 ANALYSIS

The response to question one from all respondents was yes. They all agreed that Nigeria‘s
reputation as a regional stabilizer, conciliator and peace building efforts in the West African
region remains unmatched. They further agreed that Nigeria has incurred significant human,
material and financial loss during a peacekeeping process. The respondents were in total
agreement that Nigeria has achieved from her peacekeeping operation. Such achievements are
not personal achievement but rather general achievement. One respondent stated that Nigeria has
helped to bring adequate peace and security to the region. The respondents agreed that Nigeria
has encountered a lot of challenges during a peace keeping mission such challenges include
difficulty in troop formation, diplomatic challenge, lack of skills and technological know-how.
Furthermore, with the challenges and losses incurred by Nigeria during a peacekeeping operation
one would assume that the fifth question would get an approval but this was not the case. When
asked if Nigeria should stop her peacekeeping operation, there was a unanimous disapproval to
that assertion. Nigeria can choose her friends but not her neighbors, If Nigeria stops her
peacekeeping operation in West Africa, and conflict arising in the sub-region could be
detrimental to the security of Nigeria.

In conclusion, from the interview carried out Nigeria has helped the sub-region by being the sub-
regional stabilizer and conciliator through her various peace keeping operations that has helped
various countries in the region to achieve peace and curb violent conflict.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In the course of this study, information gathered from various sources was analyzed in an effort
to establish the scope and extent of Nigeria‘s roles in peacekeeping in West Africa. The study
also looked at the relationship between Nigeria and her neighbors as well as the perception of
Nigeria by her neighbors in West Africa; then, through different theoretical and conceptual
approaches, the study researched into scholarly and empirical analyses of the international and
domestic implications of Nigeria‘s extensive involvement in international peace-keeping
operation. A lot of interesting and insightful findings emerged from the vast body of literature
reviewed and the interviews conducted for this study and the findings are summarized as
follows.

5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

5.2. RESEARCH QUESTION ONE: How Effective Is Nigeria’s Participation In

Peacekeeping Operation In Liberia And Sierra Leone?

Nigeria has been at the forefront of peacekeeping in West Africa, through enormous
contributions of financial assistance, economic aid, diplomatic relations and partnerships and
extensive contribution of other resources, including human resources. The findings in this study
revealed that Nigeria since her independence and even before then has remained committed to
achieving economic and political stability for Africa, especially for the West African region. The
findings also showed that, Nigeria remains adamant and committed to these causes, because they
are necessary for economic development, political stability, socioeconomic sustainability and
regional security.

5.2.2 RESEARCH QUESTION TWO: What Are The Positive And Negative Implication
Of Nigeria’s Participation In Peacekeeping Operation In West Africa?

Nigeria‘s intent or rationale for taking the lead role in peacekeeping in West Africa has been
commended by some, but it has also been misconstrued by others as an attempt to establish
political hegemony. What the findings further indicate is that the perceived regional political

55
rivalry, particularly between the Anglophone and Francophone ECOWAS members, is more
speculation than factual and often exacerbated by the Extra-African countries, for their own
ulterior benefits. It was also found that part of the political rivalry among some of the ECOWAS
members, is as a result of the constant insinuations by some western political observers, of
Nigeria‘s intent for regional hegemony. The findings showed that many of these observers were
quite critical of ECOWAS initiative, and even called it Nigeria‘s decision, indicating that
because of Nigeria‘s need for regional hegemony, she dominated the forces and created problems
for ECOMOG in Liberia as well as in Sierra Leone. Some political observers equally contend
that some of ECOMOG‘s decisions were made unilaterally by Nigerian forces.

The perception of Nigeria‘s neighbors of her peacekeeping roles in the West African region as
the finding revealed, is that some of her neighbors see Nigeria as a powerful good neighbor and
some see her as rich in resources, helpful but arrogant; while others view Nigeria as a leader in
West Africa. For example, ―Today, each of Africa‘s sub regional entities has a natural lead
country. South Africa plays that role in the Southern Africa sub region just as Nigeria plays it in
West Africa, and Kenya does same in East Africa.

5.2.3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH QUESTION THREE: What Are The
Specific Achievements Of Nigeria’s Peacekeeping Operation In West Africa?

The primary objective of peace keeping is to bring about peace and the fact that Nigeria brought
conflicts like Liberia to an end is an achievement. Also Nigeria effectively brought Liberia to a
constitutional democratic rule and also brought stability to Sierra Leone. Now Liberia has the
first woman president in West Africa. Nigeria‘s peacekeeping operation has earned Nigeria a
status of a regional balancer. And also Nigeria has earned a prestige in the committee of nations
seeing that Nigeria has been doing a lot in peacekeeping not just in West Africa but also in
Africa as a whole. Nigeria started contributing troops to the UN peacekeeping operation since
1960 when crises broke out in Congo. To this extent Nigeria has enabled her troops to even learn
more in the art of war fare. Because sending out troops in such significant operation also helps
the Nigeria army to gather idea in the art of war fare. Nigeria has also earned applaud from the
committee of nation for preserving humanity by stopping incessant killing from countries that
have been involved in civil war. Nigeria has also helped in the reduction of violence in West
Africa and promotion of stability in West Africa.

56
5.2.4 RESEARCH QUESTION FOUR: What Are the Specific Challenges Of Nigeria’s
Peacekeeping Operation In West Africa?

The findings revealed that the ECOMOG troops (trained for conventional army), were not used
to the tactic (guerilla war) used by the warring factions in both the Liberia and Sierra Leone
crises. There were many such challenges, as stated by Adebayo, ―Military maps were not
available except the tourist maps of Monrovia which was what the initial planning was based
on.‖ Furthermore, the lack of consensus among ECOWAS members in addition to the challenges
enumerated above resulted in ECOMOG‘s inadequate strategies throughout their peacekeeping
missions. It is clear from the findings that the recent waves of interstate conflicts prevalent in
Various parts of West Africa and indeed, Africa, are more vicious, volatile, and sophisticated (in
terms of the arms and ammunitions) used by the perpetrators. ECOWAS had many questions
regarding its legitimacy in creating ECOMOG, particularly with reference to its Treaty of non-
aggression, signed in 1981, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This issue of legitimacy was further
addressed by the then President of Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida, who during an impromptu
briefing stated that: We have heard of the illegality of the ECOMOG. But those who raise this
Preposterous question are equally but indirectly questioning the legality of the ECOWAS. The
answer therefore to this rather ambiguous question lies in asking the fundamental question, is the
ECOWAS legal? Furthermore, people who raise the issue of legality should promptly look at
Article 52 of the Charter of the United Nations for the appropriate and expected role of the
ECOMOG and other sub-regional organizations world-wide. The findings also showed that
ECOWAS members have been financially handicapped and Nigeria has had to bear the financial
burden of maintaining both ECOWAS and ECOMOG.

The findings summarized above are useful for, or contribute to, scholarly and policy discourses
of peacekeeping in Africa. They also serve a pragmatic purpose as the basis for the
recommendations of this study, which are presented below.

5.3 CONCLUSION

This study concludes from the findings, that Nigeria encountered many obstacles and challenges
in these two peacekeeping missions (Liberia and Sierra Leone) but in the end, what mattered was
that ECOWAS members were able to find an African solution to an African problem. ECOWAS

57
members were able to organize troops from the organization‘s member-states, to prevent the
Liberian and Sierra Leonean crises from becoming a regional anarchy. Regardless of the
criticisms of Nigeria‘s actions and strategies, she was determined to end both crises. It is,
however, important to note, that the effort of the ECOWAS organization and Nigeria‘s
determination to bring about peace to Liberia and Sierra Leone, are what ultimately brought
relative peace to these two countries.

Furthermore, Nigeria‘s insistence on a stable region stems, from her belief that economic and
political stability leads to secure environment, especially in relation to her contiguous neighbors.
Nigeria further believes that Africa can take care of Africa‘s problems. Hence her adamant
commitment to several peacekeeping roles in the region and beyond, to further substantiate the
above statements, former Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida, speaking on the Liberian crisis,
stated that: Our attitude over the years with all these countries (Ring Countries) has developed a
consistent pattern and relentless effort to ensure and encourage peaceful co-existence. Nigeria
may as well be one of the countries in Africa with less number of border clashes with our
immediate neighbors. We believe that policies that emphasize stability, and above all, we believe
that crisis or conflicts in our region will inevitably have adverse spill-over effects on the peace
and stability of our own country.

This study set out to analyze Nigeria‘s peacekeeping roles in West Africa. It is obvious that
Nigeria and ECOMOG will continue to participate in peacekeeping endeavors in the West
African region and other regions in Africa. This form of regional peacekeeping arrangement is
new and unique. This continuous involvement in international peacekeeping is extensive. The
Implication of this extensive peacekeeping role is its cost on the domestic economy. But Nigeria,
given her geographical location in the West African region, has to continue to play the part of a
coordinator, by constantly finding ways to maintain political stability in the region. Some
scholars in Nigeria for example, have also stated that ―Nigeria cannot but thread the path of
multilateralism. They however, insist that while Nigeria continues to cooperate and collaborate
with other nations in West Africa, for ways to maintain peace and political stability, she must
also pay attention to principles and standards guiding the collaboration. A good example of
collaborative work is the establishment of ECOMOG by ECOWAS member-states. Another
effective means of collaborative work is the setting up of treaties and accords, and the diligent

58
implementation of the agendas set forth in that treaty and/or accord. The Abuja accord signed in
August of 1995 in Abuja, Nigeria, is an example of how to set standards or principles of a
collaborative endeavor. The Abuja accord had sixteen articles to it, some of this are the enlarging
of the council of states to six members and appointing Mr. Wilton Sankawulo (a civilian), as
chairman; imposing a cease-fire from August 26, followed by the installation of the council of
states immediately after.

This new bold move by a regional group showed the world what Africans are capable of
achieving when they decide to work together. Since the Liberia and Sierra Leone crises, Nigeria
has adjusted her peacekeeping policy, though still ―Africa-center-piece,‖ the format of its
implementation has some element of change. With the election of a democratic government in
1999, ―the current thrust of Nigeria‘s foreign policy is to regain respectability and relevance in
the international community. The grand strategy seeks to the conversion of foreign policy
activities into concrete achievements which are of direct benefit to Nigeria.‖ From many
indications, it is obvious that democracy has a direct bearing on the way Nigeria‘s foreign policy
is implemented. Another way of looking at it is that over time, Nigeria‘s foreign policy
implementation which by extension, her peacekeeping roles, will adjust to reflect its format of
governance, especially in a democratic environment.

Finally, in this study of Nigeria‘s roles in the West African region, it was revealed that Nigeria
has taken a leading role in providing funding and military personnel for conflict resolution in the
West African region, in forming organizations and assembling groups to protect the region‘s
economic and political stability, and in encouraging a collaborative partnership among the
member states of the region. All these responsibilities have placed a burden on Nigeria‘s ability
to take adequate care of her own domestic (internal) affairs, mainly economic and security. On
this issue, the following recommendations become very relevant.

5.4 RECOMMENDATION.
The recommendations made in this study are by no means exhaustive. This is partly because
conflict, by nature, takes on new and different dimensions with time and context. This would
mean and require response strategies that are appropriate and feasible at the time of a conflict
and for the parties in the conflict. It is in this regard that the recommendations made in this study
are relevant and appropriate. They point to specific and useful lessons that ECOWAS member-

59
states particularly Nigeria, can and should learn from their experiences in peacekeeping, peace
enforcement and peace-making in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
It is recommended therefore that:

1. Nigeria continues to work with ECOWAS members as well as the ―Ring Countries‖ (countries
that surround Nigeria in all her four coordinated, through diplomatic and cultural endeavors to
minimize and/or eliminate the perceived Anglo-phone/Franco-phone differences. These
differences are seen as distracting and limiting on the effectiveness of the organization.

2. Nigeria should streamline her regional multilateral roles and devote more of the resources
going towards regional peacekeeping, to strengthening her domestic economy.

3. This study, highly recommends that the ECOWAS organization, in the case of future
peacekeeping missions, try to solicit extensive international help (more than they sought during
the Liberian/Sierra Leonean crises). Especially from the more established organizations such as
the United Nations—with extensive peacekeeping experience and financial backings. The
solicitation should not however, be limited to the UN, the United States of America, Britain and
France, but should be expanded to nations like Japan, China and any such nations with the
capacity and ability to assist in times of extreme crises.

4. Finally, this study further recommends that it would be logical and or necessary for Nigeria to
reduce the dichotomy or balance the difference in policy implementation between her domestic
policy and her foreign policy, while paying attention to the environmental variables, such as
regional intra state and inter-state crises. Attention to these environmental variables is necessary,
given the reduction in the level of peacekeeping involvement by the international community
such as the United Nations.

BIBIOGRAPHY
Adebayo A. (2004) “Regional Security in Post War Africa,” in Liberia‟s Civil War:
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