International Relations and Nation building: The Nigerian Experience Since 1999.

Abstract

The intrinsic interrelatedness between International Relations and the art of nation-buildingis well-established in the international system both in theory and practice. In the system, nonation-state can be said to be self-sufficient without relating with other states to drive itsnation building as a systematic process. Meanwhile, the acts and manners in which nationbuilding is anchored have concomitant effects on its external relations especially how it isperceived. A pluralistic Nigerian nation, and as a Third-World state, is far from thesemblance of a nation. (Awolowo, 1987); argued that Nigeria is not a nation but a meregeographical expression. It therefore translates the uphill task for Nigeria to build its‘nation’ amid both domestic and external complex forces, within the context of internationalrelations. Due to limited resources, this study adopted a secondary collection of data readilyavailable in journal articles, using qualitative analysis with the concept of domestic-politicaldescriptions to x-ray how nation-building shapes Nigeria’s external relations, and viceversa. This paper studied some myriad challenges of nation-building confronting Nigeriasince its nascent democracy in 1999. Until Nigerians see themselves as a nation, their nationbuilding will always be challenged abroad.