The Role of Nigeria in Peace-Keeping Operation in West Africa: 1960 – 2010

Abstract

Peace keeping is a peaceful third party intervention which operates with a set of guiding principles that include the consent of the parties to the conflict, impartiality, and the non-use of force except in self-defense. The thesis, examines Nigerian’s role in peacekeeping exercise across the globe under the United Nations Organisation, with special emphasis on the Liberian and Sierra-Leone crises. Certainly, this peace keeping effort has cost Nigeria significant human and material losses. The study therefore, examined regional efforts at mediating and resolving the Intra-State conflicts that nearly brought the states concerned to the brink of total extinction. The idealist theory was adopted as the tool of analysis, while the methodology was the systematic qualitative content analysis derived mainly from secondary sourced, materials. The paper concludes by recommending reduction of financial cost of peacekeeping and prioritizing the welfare of citizens.

Keywords: Peace Keeping, Operation Nigeria, West Africa