SUMMARY OF THE LAND USE ACT DECREE NO. 6 OF 1978 IN NIGERIA

 

SUMMARY OF THE LAND USE ACT DECREE NO. 6 OF 1978 IN NIGERIA

Introduction

 From time immemorial through the period of agriculture to the period of industrial development, land has remained the most valuable property in the life of man and his development. It is a source of wealth to those who have it and the mother of all properties. In other words, virtually all the basic needs of human existence are land dependent. In view of the importance and usefulness of land to man and his development as well as the development of his society, every person generally desires to acquire and own a portion of land to achieve the various ends for which the land is meant. Therefore, to make land in Nigeria available to all and to ensure that land is acquired and put to a proper use for the needed development, governments during and after colonial period enacted laws to govern the use or administration of land in Nigeria.

Prior to the enactment of the Land Use Act in 1978, there were three main sources of land law: Customary Law (varied from custom to custom), English received law (which comprises of the common law, doctrine of equity and statutes of General application), and local legislation. There was also a duality of Land Use System in the southern and northern parts of the country.

The Parliament of the then northern Nigeria passed the Land Tenure Law in 1962, which governed all interest affecting land. The Land Tenure law vested all land in the governor who was to hold land in trust for the people and only rights of occupancy (not rights of ownership) could be granted to other people. The consent of the governor was required before any alienation of interest in land could take place.

In the then Southern Nigeria, however, customary system of land tenure governed land interest and land was owned by communities, families and individuals in freehold. Land was acquired either by inheritance, first settlement, conveyance, gift, outright purchase or long possession. There were also crown lands, which were acquired by the British Crown by virtue of treaty, cession, convention or agreement. When Nigeria attained independence, such crown land became known as state land.            

Notwithstanding the existence of laws regulating land, the problems of land tenure and land administration persisted both in the Northern and Southern Nigeria. There were new problems such as land racketeering and speculations. Exorbitant compensations were demanded by landowners whenever the government acquired land for development. Thus, acquisition of land by government or individuals was becoming almost impossible in Nigeria.

In fact, one of the major factors that was said to be a stumbling block against efficient implementation of the Second Development Plan 1975-1980, was lack of land for development project. To break this barrier and monopolies of landlords, the Federal Military Government set up some panels to consider how best to solve the problems associated with land tenure and administration in Nigeria. The report of one of these panels i.e., the Land Use Panel of 1977 eventually formed the basis of the Land Use Act No. 6 of 1978.

The purpose of this essay is to show the relevance of the Land Use Act to Land-use planning in Nigeria.

Summary the Land Use Act of 1978

The Land Use Decree (now Land Use Act) was promulgated on 29th of March 1978 following the recommendations of a minority report of a panel appointed by the Federal Military Government of the time to advise on future land policy. With immediate effect, it vested all land in each state of the Federation in the governor of that state (Fed. Rep. of Nigeria, 1978).

The Act vests all land comprised in the territory of each state (except land vested in the Federal Government for its agencies) solely in the hands of the military governors of the state who would hold such land in trust for the people.                                                       

The promulgation of this Act was as a result of two main factors:                              

•        Firstly, was the diversity of customary laws on land tenure and difficulty in applying the various customs of the different people.

•        The second factor was the rampant practice in southern Nigeria with regards to fraudulent sales of land. The same land would be sold to different persons at the same time giving rise to so many litigations.                                                             

The Act distinguishes throughout between urban and non-urban (rural) land.

•        In urban areas (to be so designated by the Governor of a state), land was to come under the control and management of the Governor.

•        In rural areas it was to fall under the appropriate local government.                              

•        “Land Use and Allocation Committees”, appointed for each state by the Governor, were to advise on the administration of land in urban areas.

•        “Land Allocation Advisory Committees” were to exercise equivalent functions with regard to rural land.                                                                                                                     

The Act envisaged that “rights of occupancy”, which would appear to replace all previous system or rules of inheritance to land, would form the basis upon which land was to be held. These rights were of two kinds: statutory and customary.

•        “Statutory rights of occupancy” were to be granted by the Governor and related principally to urban areas. 

•        “Customary right of occupancy”, according to the Act, means the right of a person or community lawfully using or occupying land in accordance with customary law and includes a customary right of occupancy granted by Local Government under this Act.

Local governments were empowered to grant customary rights of occupancy to any person or organisation for agricultural, residential and other purposes with the proviso that grants of land for agricultural or grazing purposes should not exceed 500 or 5000 hectares respectively without the consent of the State Governor. With the minor exception of land subject to Federal or State claims, the Act also empowered the local government to enter upon, use and occupy for public purposes any land within the area of its jurisdiction and to revoke any customary right of occupancy on any such land. The approval of the local government was to be required for the holder of a customary right of occupancy to alienate that right.                  

The Act prohibits the alienation by assignment, mortgage, transfer or possession, sub-lease or otherwise, of customary right of occupancy without the consent of either the Governor or the Local Government as the case may be. It also prohibits the alienation of statutory right of occupancy without the due consent of the Governor (Land Use Act, 1978: section 21 subsections a and b).

Governors were empowered to revoke rights of occupancy for reasons of “overriding public interest.” Such reasons included alienation by an occupier without requisite consent or approval; a breach of the conditions governing occupancy; or the requirement of the land by Federal, State, or local government for public purposes. Only in the last of these cases would any compensation be due to the holder, and then only for the value of unexhausted improvements on the land and not for the land itself.

There are four main objectives derivable from the act and these are:

1.     To effect structural change in the system of land tenure;

2.     To achieve fast economic and social transformation;

3.     To negate economic inequality caused by the appropriation of rising land values by land speculators and land holders; and

4.     To make land available easily and cheaply, to both the government and private individual developers.

(1) The land Use Act “nationalized” all lands in Nigeria by vesting it ownership in the state.

(2) Citizens are allowed to hold an interest in land called a right of occupancy

(3) Rights of occupancy are categorized as statutory Right of  occupancy and deemed statutory rights of occupancy for lands located in urban area and customary rights of occupancy and deemed customary rights of occupancy for land in non urban area

(4) The occupier of land pursuant to a right of occupancy is issued  a certificate of occupancy.

(5) The holder of a certificate of occupancy is obligated to pay rents which is subject to revision to the Governor.

(6) The validity of a certificate of occupancy is rooted in a grantee having a legally cognizable interest in the land in respect of which it is granted.

(7) The right conferred by a certificate of occupancy is transferable to heirs and capable of been alienated subject to the Governor’s consent been first had and obtained

Factors That Affect Rental Values in the Urban Areas in Nigeria

 

Factors That Affect Rental Values in the Urban Areas in Nigeria

Many developing countries depend on the rental sector for the supply of housing for the vast majority of its urban population. Nigeria is no exception. A significant proportion of Nigeria’s urban population relies on rental housing delivered by both the private and public sectors. (Tipple,1987).The increasing demand for housing in Nigeria may be as a result of rapid urban growth fuelled by increased population growth . The type of housing people live in is an indication of their level of poverty or wealth and the availability of facilities have implications for health and the environment. Concerns about sanitation arise and there is a challenge of refuse management in Nigeria. To some extent, rent has the ability to alter the distribution of population within a society. It tends to reserve some parts of society for particular classes of people.

 

This could lead to the variability of rental value. Over the years, one variable factor that has affected demand for accommodation is the price of accommodation (or rent), which is the amount of money paid regularly for the use of someone’s land, building or machinery. Revenue from rent serves as the main source of income for many real estate developers and house owners. The attractive incomes from rent have led to the conversion of various structures into apartments for rent. Though there are differences in inter-city rents, very little is documented about the factors that determine the rental charges of apartments, which can constitute a source of distortion in the setting of rents. Urban housing rents differ depending on the unique circumstances that exist in a particular urban area. Thus one can deduce that there appears to be no particular mechanisms upon which rent standards are based even within the same country. The question that then arises from this assertion is „what factors determine rents charged for accommodation. The determinants of property values can be grouped into many factors. Wilhelmsson (2000) for instance, identifies four main factors that affect demand for properties and hence the price, to include the property’s structural attributes, its location or neighbourhood amenities, its environmental attributes and macro attributes like inflation and interest rate. However, independent variables are limited to property structural characteristics and location in terms of neighbourhood quality and accessibility (Bowen et al., 2001).

 

The location in terms of neighbourhood characteristics and accessibility, the structural property or physical characteristics, are discussed below to show the influence of rental values.

i) Location

The importance of location in real estate is a high determinant of rent. There is a real estate adage that states that the three most important factors which determine property values are (i) location, (ii) location and (iii) location. Spatially, no two properties are the same and indeed, there is a consensus among valuers that location is the most important factor in property value determination (McCluskey et al., 2000). The importance of location is evident by the fact that location physically fixes a property in space and thereby defines its distance from features such as commercial, transportation and leisure activities. Again, in cases where houses within a particular sub-market or neighbourhood are homogeneous, many of the amenities that are common to those properties are best represented by location (Gelfand et al., 1998). Location is an inherent attribute of a house which directly determines the quality and hence the market value of the house. The theory of housing immobility is premised on location. The location influences on the value of residential property may arise or fall from a number of sources. These are grouped under neighbourhood quality and accessibility (McClauskey et al., 2000). In Bamahu for instance location has been one of the inherent factors that is likely to affect rental values in the municipality since it is closer to University For Development Studies.

ii) Neighbourhood Quality and its Influence on Property Values

Neighbourhood may be defined as a geographic area within which there is high degree of use homogeneous or similar between contiguous parcels. Neighbourhood is defined in an economic sense as an area within which relatively the same prices prevail for properties that permit approximately the same types of uses and socioeconomic status.

iii) Accessibility to the Central Business District

Easy and convenient accessibility within the urban areas will determine the price to pay for properties within a particular neighbourhood (Brigham, 1965). Especially in Nasarawa, a observation indicates that, Such accessibility measures involve property proximity to market, desirable supporting facilities such as transportation facilities, place of employment, shopping and leisure facilities etc. The areas with an easy assess to the central business district of the Municipality. Preliminary Survey indicates that these areas that afford relatively easy access to various necessary or desirable activities have higher property values than locations that do not have such easy access, all other things being equal. This accessibility facilitates the movement of people and goods from one site to the other.

iv)  Accommodation and Size of Rented Property

The size of accommodation provided by a house can influence the value or price to pay for the house (Brigham, 1965). Such factors include the number of bedrooms and other rooms, the number of floors, floor size, land area etc. Generally, individual buyers have their own needs, taste and preferences concerning the size of accommodation. Such accommodation needs, tastes and preferences are influenced by the size of the family, prestige and status of the individual (Brigham, 1965). Etc. The amenities enjoyed by a household determine the level of rent they pay. If individuals get the amount and size of accommodation they want, they will be willing to pay higher value for it than they would pay for property with more or less the amount of accommodation they require. As Sirmans et al. (2005) find, the number of rooms (bathrooms, public rooms and bedrooms) dominantly affects price in the positive direction. This means that as the number of rooms increase, the price of the property also increases. According to our first hand information received in the study area, the size of the accommodation does not determine the rental value for which a property should go for.

v) Structural Improvement and Materials Used For Construction of Property

The materials that go into the construction of a property and the structural improvement made to the property affect the price to pay for the property (Brigham, 1965). Physical factors such as the type, style and quality of floor finishes, roof, ceilings etc will influence the utility to be derived from living in a particular property and hence, the rent one may be willing to pay for that property. Structural improvements like the availability of garage, swimming pool, gardens, fence wall affect the value of residential accommodation. These utilities are not found in Wa Municipality. Usually, the availability of improvements like swimming pool, garages and gardens in a property will make rational buyers pay higher price for such a property than they will pay for similar property without such improvements, all other things being equal. (Brigham, 1965). Preliminary survey from landlords in Bamahu indicates that physical improvements such as renovation and other building services make the built environment conducive and affect rental values in this area

vi) Age and Condition Of Building

The age and condition of a property will also influence the price to pay for the property. (Brigham, 1965). In examining the factors that are mostly included in hedonic models to determine house prices, Sirmans et al. (2005) find that the age of property influence the value of the property mostly in the negative direction This is not surprising because as the age of the property increases, the economic value of the property decreases and hence the utility to be 

derived from the property decreases. In relation to the study area tenants consider the condition of building before renting and this affect rental values.

THE ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE BANKS TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA ECONOMY

Over the years, microfinance has emerged as an effective strategy for enhancing economic growth across developing countries. Micro, small and medium enterprises are turning to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) for an array of financial services. Credit allocation is a powerful instrument to fight  poverty, increase productivity, output and enhance economic growth. Access to financial services enable poor households to move from everyday-for-survival to planning for the future, investing in better nutrition, their children’s education and health and empowering women socially (Ehigiamusoe, 2005).

 

Microfinance banking and Economic stability has a nexus that cannot be overemphasized. This is because the growth of economy is dependent on the availability of liquidity (in terms of small credit niche) to small and medium scale enterprises. Government has in the past initiated series of publicly-financed micro/rural credit schemes and policies targeted at rehabilitating the poor. Among the programmes of government aimed at reducing poverty were rural banking programmes, sector allocation of credits and concessionary interest rate which were executed through agricultural credit schemes represented mainly in the institutional arrangements of the Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank Limited.

According to Obasi (2015), “Microfinance banking is a micro credit support services of banking operations that is concerned with small unit fund collection, allocation, administering, and management, for socio-economic growth, poverty alleviation on benefiting societies and political tranquillity.” According to Dandana and Nwele (2011), “microfinance banking service that is well implemented play important role in modern society, as it provides micro credit loans to small and medium scale farmers and enterprises. It reduces poverty growth level and creates an enabling environment for social and political tranquillity. Because microfinance lending when properly managed benefits the poor rural farmers, small and medium scale enterprises, artisans, et cetera, it helps to aid economic growth of its beneficiaries and their society through poverty reduction. Microfinance programmes that are well channelled help to improve economy, so, if the principles and ethics of microfinance banking are followed in implementations in Nigeria, economy will grow and the poverty profile of Nigeria would reduce properly.

 Microfinance according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (2005) is about providing financial services to the poor who largely constitute the 65% excluded from access to financial services of conventional banks. More so, lack of access to credit has been identified as the reason behind the growing level of poverty in many developing countries. This further emphasizes the crucial role microfinance institutions play in economic growth especially in their service for unserved and underserved markets (economically active person in rural and urban areas) to help meet economic and development objectives which include to reduce poverty (considered as the most important). Create employment, help existing businesses to grow or diversify their activities, empower women and other disadvantaged groups and even encourage the growth of new businesses (Khander, 2003).

 In 2005, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) formulated a new policy framework to enhance the access of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs and low income households who require such facilities (soft loans and investable funds) to expand and modernize their operations and their contribution to economic growth and development in Nigeria. The objective is in line with the institution’s policy in ensuring financial inclusion for all, such that financial services reach the poor whether in rural or urban communities as this would help improve their productivity level and also help contribute to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). 

In 2004, the Central Bank of Nigeria asserts that the emergence of microfinance institution has been largely due to the inability of the formal financial institutions to provide financial services to both the rural and urban poor. In view of the need for financial inclusion, both the government and non-governmental agencies have, over the years, implemented series of microfinance programmes and institutions as well as governmental agencies providing policy strategies needed to improve the productivity of micro, small and medium scale enterprises.

NIGERIAN’S RELATIONS WITH BRITAIN AND FRANCE SUBJECT MATTER THAT AFFECT FOREIGN POLICY

NIGERIAN’S RELATIONS WITH BRITAIN AND FRANCE SUBJECT MATTER THAT AFFECT FOREIGN POLICY

 

INTRODUCTION

The relationship of Nigerian with Britain and France as regards foreign policy cannot be understood without first knowing what is foreign policy? For the sake of this study I shall define foreign policy as a strategy or planned course of actions developed by the decision makers of a country aimed at manipulating the international communities in order to achieve certain national interest. From the above one could infer that foreign policy is the articulation of a country's national objectives and how such objectives is related to other countries.

 

The evolution of Nigerian’s foreign policy could be divided into two, namely pre-colonial times and post-independent period. The pre-colonial times is when the entity Nigeria came into existence i.e. from 1914-1960, when the country was still under the colonial rule of the British government, while the second phase is from independence to date.

 

This study focuses on the second stage of the Nigerian’s foreign policy as regards to its relation with Britain and France because that is when we can say that Nigeria as a country really has an interest. From 1914- the later part of 1960, the interest of the British is the interest of the entity called Nigeria. A writer put is this way, the interest of her Majesty government in England is the interest of the then dependent state of Nigeria. The post independent period saw the formation of a truly indigenous foreign policy that was truly called a Nigerian’s foreign policy, with the coming of successive government the policy has been mortified. Since independence in 1960, the foreign policy of Nigeria has been like a chameleon, it changes in colour but its substance remains the same, Anyaele states as follows, the protection of our national interest has remained permanent in Nigerian’s foreign policy, but the strategies for such protection has varied from one regime to another. This means that all the government from independent to date has pursued the same goal and objective but in deferent way.

 

The formation and execution of Nigerian’s foreign policy from independence to date has been carried out fewer than fifteen administrations through the External Affairs Ministry. From the administration of Sir Balewa on October 1st, 1960 to the administration of present president Muhammadu Buhari on May 29th, 2015, they have all pursued the same national interest, the prevailing domestic and international affairs determines the actions and responds of external matters.

 

The strength or weakness of Nigerian’s domestic economy and socio-political conditions have been the basic problem of implementation of her foreign policy, Anyaele states that foreign policy is a reflection of domestic policy, it is the promotion of national interest at international level. One can therefore state that the evolution of Nigerian’s foreign policy stated when Nigeria gained independent as a sovereign nation and not when she was under the colonial authority of Her majesty government, because as a dependent nation she has no interest of her own except that of her colonial master.

 

NIGERIA-UNITED KINGDOM RELATIONS

Nigeria has maintained meaningful relations with governments of U.K, through which they have agreed on issues bordering education trade and joint military operations and training. Clearly, the Nigerian government is committed to fundamental democratic principles and the return of political stability. To achieve this, Nigerian government have aligned with countries such as the U.K.

Although the continent of Africa has traditionally been the focus of Nigeria's foreign policy for several decades, economic diplomacy is emerging as another significant priority. In this regard, Nigeria hopes to promote economic co-operation with the global community.

The scope of relations between Nigeria and Britain has, for reasons of history, been diverse and intense. Within one month of the inauguration of President Jonathan’s Administration till date official visitors from the United Kingdom began to arrive the country. The former British Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, was among the early callers, closely followed by the British Secretary of State for International Development, Mr. Andrew Mitchell, at the end of June 2011.

Prime Minister, David Cameron arrived Nigeria in July 2011 and held talks with President Jonathan in the course of his Working visit to Lagos. On Nigeria’s part, similar visit to the United Kingdom also took place at all levels of Government underscoring the close historic ties and bonds of friendship and partnership between the two countries.

The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, was among the first world leaders to initiate direct engagements with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, within the first week of his assumption of Office. Thereafter, interactions continued on the margins of AU Summit in Malabo and the Commonwealth Heads of Governments meeting in Perth, Australia. These visits and exchanges have achieved the objectives of consolidating relations and opening new vistas of cooperation in diverse fields.

 One notable context was in the field of development assistance which is handled by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). DFID provides Nigeria with a spectrum of aid and assistance in electoral processes as well as towards the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in country.

  In the aftermath of the recent global economic crisis, Britain in collaboration with other EU member states, took measures to address the impact of the Eurozone financial crisis. Among these was the idea to implement cuts and spending review. However, due to the excellent state of relations between Nigeria and Britain, the latter has firmly committed that spending on Nigeria would rather increase than diminish.

The expectations of continued cooperation have always been high. These have been tested and reaffirmed notwithstanding inevitable occasional brushes, such as in operationalizing the bilateral air service agreement.

As a follow-up to the brief visit of the British Prime Minister in July 2011 and his discussions with Mr. President both countries have agreed to subject a number of key issues for continuous consultation by their top officials of their respective governments. These include:

• Prosperity: Creating conditions for doubling bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK by 2014;

• Development: Assisting Nigeria efforts to achieve the MDG, including “enabling factors” such as deepening democracy and good governance;

• Security: Work together to lessen and eradicate national and international security threats, in particular from terrorism;
• International Affairs: Coordination and cooperation to achieve common international foreign policy objectives;

• Migration: Enhanced cooperation to promote the mutual benefits of legal migration and to counter –illegal migration, including issues are already the subject of a six monthly dialogue at senior official level;

• The 36 Plus One Training Programme: Creating avenues for young Nigeria diplomats under the scheme to train and interact with British diplomatic institutions and vice versa.

Other areas of notable accomplishment have been the common pursuit of regional agenda as exemplified by the British-Nigerian stance during the Ivorian and Libyan crises, and the concerted efforts in resolving the conflict in Guinea Bissau and Mali.

 

 

NIGERIA-FRANCE RELATIONS

Nigeria and France established diplomatic relations on 1st October, 1960, following Nigeria's independence. The establishment of diplomatic relations immediately after independence was evidence of the importance attached to France, given its historical relationship with Africa, and the leadership role Nigeria was destined to play on the continent. Since then, relations have been cordial.

The restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999 opened a new vista in France-Nigeria relations, including exchange of high-level visits by leaders and officials of the two countries. The visit by President Jacques Chirac of France to Nigeria in July 1999, two months after the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, was the first by a foreign Head of State to Nigeria after the return to democratic rule. President Obasanjo returned the visit in February, 2000.

A new vista in bilateral relations was achieved in June 2008, when late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, GCFR, at the instance of President, Nicolas Sarkozy visited France. Relations between the two countries rose to the level of Strategic Partnership. The visit resulted in the endorsement of a Joint Communique on Strategic Partnership. The implementation of the
areas of cooperation detailed in the Joint Communique has already commenced, as evidenced through the two-way high level visit of several government and business delegations. These gains were consolidated when President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, visited France and had discussions with President Nicholas Sarkozy, on the side lines of the Africa-France Summit on 1st June 2010.

The deepening relationship finds concrete expression in the level of economic relationship between Nigeria and France. Nigeria is the largest recipient of French exports and its second largest trading partner. France is Nigeria’s second largest foreign investor and Nigeria is the leading exporter of oil and related products to France. It is in recognition of this that President Nicholas Sarkozy pledged that Agence France de Développement would increase the line of credit available to Nigerian and French companies doing business in Nigeria.

The two countries also continue to cooperate in dealing with African issues both at the regional (West Africa) and continental (African Union) levels and have helped to achieve peace in the Mano River Union countries and other places. The same level of cooperation had been achieved in tackling issues of international peace and security through their cooperation at the United Nations Security Council.

The Political Department of the Embassy works to consolidate and expand the excellent bilateral political relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the French Republic through the various organs of our two Governments and people.

Nigeria’s relations with France within the last year have been anchored on renewed zeal for the advancement of the existing strategic partnership between the countries. In this connection, the then French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, led a high-powered team of French officials and about ten top leaders of businesses to Nigeria from 11^th-12^th November, 2011. During the visit, Mr. Juppe also held consultations with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga A. Ashiru on a wide range of subjects relating to bilateral and international issues of common interest to France and Nigeria. France has emerged as Nigeria’s second largest trading partner with a trade volume in the region of 5.5 billion per annum whereas Nigeria is France’s largest export destination in Africa. Nigeria hosted a session of the Franco-Nigeria Forum for Dialogue during the visit, on the platform of which those subjects were discussed.

 In order to underscore the robust economic interaction between France and Nigeria, the former was the venue of the Honorary International Investors Council (HIIC) meeting which was held in Paris from 23-25 November, 2011 with President Goodluck Jonathan, accompanied by the First Lady, in attendance.

President Jonathan was received by the then President Nicolas Sarkozy during the working visit, a testimony to the excellent relations between the two countries which have assumed the status of a Strategic Partnership.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala signed the Agreement for the US$100 million loan granted by the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) to the Lagos State Government for the Lagos Megacity project on the margins of the HIIC meeting.

France and Nigeria have continued to extend mutual support and cooperation to each other the search for peace and promotion of democracy in West Africa. Measures identified included collaboration to stem the inflow of small arm and light weapons (SALWS) into the sub-region and strengthening Nigeria’s commitment to the promotion of harmonious economic development and integration of the sub-region.

The two countries have harmonized strategies and actions in other areas where both countries have abiding interest such as African Development Bank, West African Development Bank, ECOWAS, African Union and the UN Security Council.

The two countries also worked diligently on the convergence of the positions on developments in both Cote d’Ivoire and Libya. They have played crucial roles in enthroning and consolidating democracy in the two countries. Currently, they are working together to promote genuine national reconciliation and development in Cote d’Ivoire. Both countries also collaboration in rendering diplomatic support to the National Transportation Council (NTC). As part of efforts to consolidate the gains of the revolution, Nigeria and France interceded with authorities of the “new Libya” to embrace friendly governments with a view to restoring peace, reconciliation and national unity, democracy and respect for human rights of both Libyan and other nationals.

In the past year Franco-Nigeria relations witnessed common understanding and harmonization of interests on matters of security of the Gulf of Guinea. Consequently, France provided training support programme and maritime security assistance for the region, in the spirit of the MoU on Defence Cooperation and Maritime Security signed by both countries in May 2009.

In the field of bilateral economic cooperation, investment and trade promotion, France remained Nigeria’s major partner with many French companies actively pursuing opportunities in the Nigeria economy.

CONCLUSION

Nigeria, Britain and France have a deepening relationship which finds concrete expression in the level of economic relationship between countries, bilateral economic cooperation, investment and trade promotion have positively affected Nigerian foreign policy as it regards how this policy will encourage a more cordial relationship that will of mutual benefits.

 

REFERENCES

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GAMBARI, Ibrahim (1987) “Nigeria – France Relation: Problems and Prospects” in OKELLO OCULI, (ed), Nigerian Alternatives, Department of Political Science, A.B.U Zaria. 1987 p.239-248.

 

 IBRAHIM, Jibrin (1986). “Franco-Nigerian economic relations” Paper presented at All Nigeria Conference on Foreign Policy. Kuru. 6^th –13^th April 21pps.

 

NIGERIA-UNITED KINGDOM RELATIONS – retrieved from http://www. foreignaffairs.gov.ng/index.php/united-kingdom

DELANCEY, M. W.  (1983) “Nigerian Foreign Policy Alternatives” T. M. SHAW and O. ALUKO (eds), Nigerian Foreign Policy Alternative Perceptions and Propositions The Macmillan Press Ltd. London and Basingstroke. p.172.