Nigerian foreign policy during General Sani Abacha’s regime could be described as

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks how Nigeria's foreign policy is best characterized under General Sani Abacha (1993-1998).

Step 2: Recall the background Foreign policy tends to reflect the regime and its circumstances. Here is how Nigeria's policy moved through several regimes:

• Balewa (1960-66): pro-West and cautious
• Murtala/Obasanjo (1975-79): dynamic and Afrocentric
• Babangida (1985-93): economic diplomacy
• Abacha (1993-98): a pariah-state period

Step 3: Examine Abacha's period

• The 1993 election annulment and the 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists led to Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth.
• The West (the US, the UK, and the EU) imposed sanctions, including visa bans and arms embargoes.
• Abacha's government responded defiantly. It accused Western nations of interference, turned toward Asian and Middle Eastern countries and some African states, and kept up a strong ECOMOG role in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
• Its relations with the West were confrontational and hostile, with strong reactions to criticism.

Step 4: Test the options

• A. Cautious and inactive: wrong, because Nigeria remained active (ECOMOG, for example).
• B. Dynamic and active: this describes the Murtala/Obasanjo years better, and Abacha's policy was marked by isolation.
• C. Heavily dependent on the West: wrong, because the West sanctioned Nigeria.
• D. Truly non-aligned: not a fitting description of the period.
• E.

Answer: E, retaliative and aggressive

Tip: Link each regime to a keyword: Balewa = pro-West, Murtala = Afrocentric and bold, Babangida = economic diplomacy, Abacha = isolation and defiance toward the West.