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NIGERIA’S MEDIATORY ROLE DURING THE LIBERIA CIVIL WAR 1990-2003

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Abstract

This study examined the mediatory role of Nigeria during the Liberia civil war. Findings revealed that Nigeria?s mediatory role during the civil war was achieved through ECOWAS monitoring group (ECOMOG) whose aim is to restore peace, ensure security, law and order. It also encouraged many humanitarian activities aimed at reducing the suffering of the people. ECOMOG helped considerably to create favourable condition for the holding in Liberia of the free and democratic presidential and parliamentary elections. Eleven member states of ECOWAS provided contingents for the operations in Liberia
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Liberia?s internal conflict can be traced back to at least 1847 when it gained its independence

from the United States of America. The immediate root cause of the civil war was Samuel Doe a

Liberian army master sergeant and his failed promises to institute democratic reforms and return

to the country back to civilian rule after the 1980 bloody coup by assassinating president Tolbert

and executing thirteen of his cabinet members. Doe?s military regime was to stay in power until

1985 when he promised to end the system of corruption and redistribute the nation?s wealth

among the people. In 1989, Charles Taylor, a military man who was part of Doe?s cabinet

entered Liberia through, Côte d? Iviore seeking to overthrow Doe?s regime. This resulted in a

civil war which was brought to an end by African peacekeepers in 1996. In 1996 Charles Taylor

was elected as president of Liberia.

The end of the Cold War witnessed intensification of intrastate conflicts in the West African subregion. Prior to this era, the West African sub-regional body, Economic Community of West

African States (ECOWAS), had used traditional conflict resolution mechanisms to resolve

conflicts. These notwithstanding, with the outbreak of conflict in Liberia in November 1989,

ECOWAS employed ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), a military

intervention force, in August 1990 as another conflict resolution mechanism. The end goal of

ECOMOG was to stop the carnage, destruction of property, and create the conditions for

diplomacy and dialogue to be employed hopefully resulting in a long-term political settlement.

Since then, ECOMOG has been employed on four subsequent intervention operations in the

countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Côte d? Iviore, and Liberia for a second time

The last twenty-five years have witnessed intensification of intrastate conflicts in West

Africa. The sub- region?s leaders have tried to resolve these conflicts using various traditional

conflict resolution mechanisms. These mechanisms have included commissions of mediation, adhoc committees, mediation by West African Heads of State and the use of the Chieftaincy

Institution. Conflicts in the region have, however, revealed that the use of these mechanisms

alone has not helped much in resolving the conflicts and preventing the outbreak of violence.

Since 1990, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resorted to

employing military intervention forces as a major part of its conflict resolution mechanisms.

These interventions have created an atmosphere conducive for diplomatic means and the

traditional conflict resolution means to be employed to resolve conflicts in the West Africa subregion.

The ECOWAS intervention force, known as the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group

(ECOMOG) is a non-standing force whose troops are contributed by West African states

militaries. ECOMOG has intervened in intrastate conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea

Bissau and Côte d? Iviore. Even though these interventions did little to eradicate the root cause of

the conflicts in these countries, the interventions halted the carnage and created an atmosphere

for peace to be restored and political dialogue to begin. In particular, the ECOMOG operation in

Liberia has been widely acclaimed as one of the most successful and unprecedented in the

history of peacekeeping.

The history of Nigeria?s involvement in peacekeeping in West African States is based on its

foreign policy approach which since 1960 has constantly been changing, though the principles

guiding its foreign relations remain the same. Nigerian leaders are largely responsible for these

unstable external relations. Since Nigeria?s foreign policy is deeply rooted in Africa with

strategic emphasis on political and economic cooperation, peaceful dispute resolution, and global

nonalignment, Nigerian leaders also have their attention fixed on the successful implementation

of these principles.

Over the years, implementation of Nigeria?s foreign policy show that her leaders operate

within four “concentric circles” of national interest. The innermost circle represents Nigeria?s

own security, independence and prosperity and is centered on its immediate neighbors Benin,

Cameroon, Chad and Niger; the second circle revolves around Nigeria?s relations with its West

African neighbors; the third circle focuses on continental African issues of peace, development

and democratization; and the fourth circle involves Nigeria?s relations with organizations,

institutions and states outside Africa. With this in mind, each Nigerian head of state or president

work to ensure that no single part is defected in pursuing the country’s foreign policy. Evidences

abound on how past Nigerian heads of state or presidents have worked within these four

concentric circles.

The African-centeredness of Nigeria?s foreign policy stemmed from the various speeches

made by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in the House of Representatives on August 20, 1960;

Independence Day Address on October 1, 1960; and Acceptance Speech of Nigeria?s admission

into the United Nations in New York on October 8, 1960. These famous speeches became the

fundamental principles that guided different Heads of State and Presidents of Nigeria towards

other West African states for more than 50 years. Again, the military strength of Nigeria which

soared after the civil war plays important role in the conduct of foreign policy on the African

soil. Nigeria dominates the ECOMOG, and remains one of the largest contributors of military

personnel to different United Nations peacekeeping missions in the sub-region.

Thus, between 1960 and 2013, Nigeria has been actively involved in various ways in the

struggle against disintegration of the West African sub-region. This made her to champion the

establishment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS in 1975) and

other sub-regional organizations concerned with bringing peace to the sub-region and peoples

across the West African sub-region.

In all, Nigeria?s contributions to the economic development and socio-political stability

of the West African sub-region call for scholarly attention. This is because the country?s

significant financial backing, troops and resources that made ECOWAS as well as ECOMOG?s

creation possible, cannot be separated from the African-centeredness of Nigeria?s foreign policy.

Nigeria?s reputation as a regional stabilizer, conciliator, and peace builder in the West

African sub-region remains unmatched. Nigeria?s positive and successful intervention in the

Sierra Leonean civil war, Liberia, Niger, makes Nigeria to be a major player towards global

peace, security and stability. Nigeria?s long-term leadership of peacekeeping missions in Chad

(1979-82), Liberia (1990-98), Sierra Leone (1991-2000), Guinea Bissau (1998-00) and Cotê

d?Ivoire (2000-Date) are all reflections of its commitment and role to peace building, peace

keeping, conflict resolution, economic development and political integration of the West African

sub-region.

More important is that the overall operation of Nigeria?s foreign policy since 1960,

whether conservative, dynamic or confrontational, was conducted based on shared pre-colonial

and colonial experiences, intra-African cultural relations and post-colonial geopolitics. Hence,

the problems of West Africa are not only shared by Nigeria, but are seen as a priority which has

made its leaders to sometimes severe relations with other countries, particularly the western

powers.

Several factors have continually driven Nigeria?s foreign policy towards its West African

neighbors. One of them is centered on the protection of over 160 million Nigerians who might be

negatively affected by the spill-over of wars from „ring countries? such as Chad, Niger,

Cameroon and Republic of Benin.

Added to the above is the boom and bull of „Petro-Dollar? which have significantly shaped the

way in which Nigeria implements its foreign policy towards West African states. Nigeria is the

largest donor to the ECOWAS as well as one of the largest donors to the African Union. Again,

the military strength of Nigeria which soared after the civil war plays important role in the

conduct of foreign policy on the African soil. Nigeria dominates the ECOMOG, and remains one

of the largest contributors of military personnel to different United Nations peacekeeping

missions in the sub-region.