Nigeria's Multilateral Approach in West Africa: A Case Study of Cote D'Ivoire Electoral Violence

Abstract

This study interrogates the role of Nigeria through the multilateral organizations in West Africa with a particular reference to Cote d'Ivoire's elections crisis from 2010 to 2011. The violence occurred due to President Gbagbo's refusal to concede power to the election winner, Allassane Ouattara. However, through the influence of the multilateral organizations, Nigeria intervened and returned Cote d'Ivoire to democratic stability. Consequently, this study critically analyzed the role of Nigeria through the multilateral approach in Cote d'Ivoire's electoral violence. It also assessed how the use of Nigeria's relative material preponderances contributed to quelling the violence. This study used historical and exploratory qualitative techniques from the extant literature of high-ranking bodies. Thus, the initial literature search brought many articles, books, reports, and newspapers and selected only those with the needed historical and analytical depth in line with the subject matter. Also, role theory was applied in this study to aid analysis, and the data source for this study was analyzed thematically. The study found that the Cote d'Ivoire election crisis was animated due to former president Gbagbo's refusal to give power to the winner, Ouattara. Further findings revealed that the constitutional court illegally nullified Ouattara's legitimate votes favouring President Gbagbo. Also, the concept of national identity or Ivorite compounded the problems of the violence. This study will benefit researchers in the field of political science, international relations, and policymakers. Finally, other areas for future research include Nigeria's roles through the multilateral organization in other parts of West Africa.