Foreign Policy and Public-Private Partnership for Economic Development in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines foreign policy and public-private partnership for economic development in Nigeria. It proceeds from the assumption that foreign policy goes beyond spontaneous reaction to international issues and events, but an extrapolative and empirical attempt at achieving a state’s short and long term goals vigorously pursued through publicprivate partnership coalition. The paper argues that in view of the failure of the market mechanism in the promotion of economic development and also the failure of the Keynesian Macro-economic model which assumed that public control of development policy would inevitably lead to public service expansion, a combination of both sectors (public and private) in the development of a “think tank” for the promotion of strategic foreign policy for economic development in Nigeria, is a fundamental necessity. The paper accentuates the point that the control of the national economic structure is a “sine qua non” for the necessary domestic consensus which is the precursor for national autonomy in decision making. Finally, the paper articulates the point that the shift from the prevailing focus on foreign for political celebrations to economic development is fundamental and a strategic thing to do in order to arrest Nigeria’s foreign policy failures.