Machine summary:
A. Islam, Arabs and Nigeria The arrival of Islam in northern Nigeria dates back to the 11th century and constitutes a major development in the history of this region of Africa.
”4 Because of the Arab-Israeli struggle in Africa, Nigeria and all other independent sub-Saharan states found themselves in the thick of Middle Eastern politics.
This was the constitutional wrangle over the extent to which the regional governments in Nigeria could pursue their own ties with either the Arabs or the Israelis.
During this time, the Northern Nigerians were also having their own political and cultural honeymoon with the Arab states.
C. Nigerian-Arab Relations Under Military Rule When the military seized power in Nigeria on January 15, 1966, Nigerian foreign policy towards the Middle East conflict was neutral.
Because of the outbreak of the conflict between secessionist Biafra and the federal government of Nigeria, the Middle Eastern countries began to take sides.
Muslim organizations in the Arab world made sure that some semblance of solidarity was shown to the Northern Nigerian brethren and the federal government.
Having lived through a civil war, and being conscious of her status and stature in contemporary African diplomacy, Nigeria decided to take a cautious move when the Secretary- General of the OAU acted on what he thought was the majority decision to seat the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic delegates (i.
Finally, in the third stage, especially during the last two years of President Shagari, Nigeria’s ties with Arab states depended on matters relating, to Libyan efforts in the sub~Saharan region.