The roles and consequences of foreign involvement in Nigeria's internal violent conflicts

Nigeria has suffered several cases of violent conflicts since its political independence from Britain in 1960. Prominent among these were the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), herdsmen-farmers clashes and Boko-Haram insurgency. Unfortunately, extant studies on Nigeria's violent conflicts have focused mainly on the internal dynamics of these conflicts to the neglect of the significant roles played by foreign actors. It is this gap that this paper aims to fill. It is the position of this paper that the escalation, prolongation and massive destruction occasioned by these conflicts were largely as a result of the activities of foreign actors. The paper interrogates the various means of foreign interventions and their motives, and identifies their pervasive consequences to include wanton destruction of lives and property, rude demographic rearrangements, massive corruption, economic stagnation among others. Using historical methodology, this qualitative research is anchored on both primary and secondary sources including relevant extant literature, news media and independent reports and government documents. The paper concludes that in addition to the involvement of foreign actors, some of the conflicts were encouraged by local elements who benefitted from the situation. Among others, this paper recommends election of purposeful and patriotic leaders and adoption of early-warning early-response system.