Nigeria's overseas ambitions have expanded and contracted with its oil revenues. The military government of the 1970s û when oil prices were high û saw itself as Africa's leading voice. It recognized the Marxist government in Angola, was an enthusiastic sponsor of ECOWAS, and strongly opposed apartheid in South Africa. With the fall in world oil prices after 1981, this ambition was trimmed. Relations with South Africa have been restored, now that political change there is under way.
The main foreign policy concern is Nigeria's key role in the ECOWAS force that invaded war-torn Liberia in 1990. Under Babangida, Nigeria also took the lead in planning for an African Common Market, with a target date of 2025. Nigeria now has one of the non-permanent African seats on the UN Security Council.
