-By Douglas Ogbankwa Esq

The Concept of Africa as the Centre Piece of Nigeria ‘s Foreign was Conceptualised by Nigeria ‘s First and Only Prime Minister -the sonorous voice gifted Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa aptly dubbed the Golden Voice of Africa by Queen Elizabeth 11.

The Concept presupposes that Africa is the main focus and the centre of attraction of Nigeria ‘s Foreign Policy .The Concept is also tagged Afro-centricism .

Africa as the Centre Piece of Nigeria ‘s Foreign Policy rests on four major principles.To wit:

1.Support for the African Union and its predecessor.-the Organisation for African Unity .

2.Support for Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts in Africa .

3.Support for Economic Cooperation in Africa .

4.Support for the Decolonisation of the African Continent.

Elucidation of the Principles ‘

1.Support for the AU:

Nigeria was a founding father of the then Organisation of African Unity ,formed on the 25th of May ,1963 in Addis Abba , Ethiopia.It is the tradition that it is the Country that hosts the AU or OAU Conference or Summit that chairs the Organisation for the next year .That is why Emperor Halle Selaissie is the First Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (O A U ).

Nigeria was also a founding Member of the African Union , which was formed on the 9th of July,, 2002 in Durban , South Africa.the South African President -Thambo Mbeki is the first Chair of the African Union (A U ).Nigeria remains the highest financial contributor to the AU.

A Nigerian – Peter Onu was acting Secretary General of the OAU in 1983 and then President Olusegun Obasanjo played a prominent role in the driving of the New Parnership for African Development Development (NEPAD), (called Knee Pad by former Gambian President Yayha Jammeh ).NEPAD was adopted in Lusaka Zambia by the year 2001 in an OAU summit hosted by former Zambian President -Jakaya Kikwete .

An aftermath of NEPAD was the conceptualisation of the African Peer Review Mechanism -APRM , a concept used to appraise African Leaders with the use of certain parametres .

The first African Leader to be Peer Reviewer was President Paul Kigame of Rwanda .

Former Libyan President -Col. Myaman Gaddafi in an OAU Summit in hosted in the Libyan Desert City of Sirte , Libya was instrumental to the formation of the AU with his suggestion of the formation of United States of Africa .

To be continued