Assessing Nigeria’s Peacekeeping Operations around the Globe: Experience from Prime Minister Balewa to President Jonathan Regime.
Abstract:A peacekeeping operation is an essential part of humanitarian intervention in conflict zones around the globe. It is part of the UN resolution to launch peacekeeping operations where it is necessary. Nigeria, as an integral member of the UN and other international organisations, is a key player in peacekeeping missions around the world, most importantly in Africa. Scholars have discussed extensively, under various administrations, the role of Nigeria in peacekeeping missions abroad without appraising the benefits of such missions to Nigeria. The current research thus queries the benefits and losses gained in the peacekeeping operations between 1960 and 2015. In this way, the research examines the role of Nigeria in peacekeeping operations from Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa's government to President Goodluck Jonathan's. Such a timeline gives enough space to assess the strains and stresses on Nigeria’s peacekeeping operations. The Meta-Analysis technique was employed as a secondary source of Textbooks, articles, journals, documents, speeches, and newspaper articles relevant to the field of study were used to collect data. The overall assessment reveals that Nigeria's government has been consistent in its peacekeeping operations around the globe since independence, which rests on one of the cardinal principles of Nigeria’s foreign policy-maintenance of a peaceful and just world. The research also underlines the training and financial opportunities Nigerian soldiers are accessible to in engaging in peacekeeping operations.