Chad–Nigeria relations

As of the late 1980s, Nigeria considered France its primary rival in its attempt to chart the course of West Africa's political development.[1] Its generally paternalistic relations with Chad intensified after the coup that ousted President François Tombalbaye in 1975.[1] After that, limiting Libyan expansion while avoiding direct clashes with Libyan troops also became important goals.[1] Nigeria sponsored talks among Chad's rival factions in 1979 and promoted a little-known civil servant, Mahmat Shawa Lol, as a compromise head of a coalition government.[1] Lol's perceived status as a Nigerian puppet contributed to mounting opposition during his short term as president in 1979.[1]

Chadian-Nigerian relations

Chad	Nigeria

The two nations forged stronger ties during the 1980s.[1] Hoping to benefit commercially and diplomatically by expanding regional trade relations, Nigeria replaced France as Chad's major source of export revenues.[1] Bilateral trade agreements involved Chadian exports of livestock, dried fish, and chemicals and imports of Nigerian foodstuffs and manufactured goods.[1] Both governments also recognized the potential value of the large informal trade sector across their borders, which neither country regulated.[1] In addition, Nigerian industry and commerce employed several thousand Chadian workers.[1] Both nations have seats on the United Nations Security Council.

Chad's relationship with Nigeria was not without its strains, however.[1] Beginning in the late 1970s, clashes occurred around Lake Chad, where both countries hoped to exploit oil reserves.[1] Both also sought to defuse these confrontations, first by establishing joint patrols and a commission to demarcate the boundary across the lake more clearly.[1] Then in the early 1980s, the low level of Lake Chad brought a series of tiny islands into view, leading to further disputes and disrupting long-standing informal trade networks.[1]

This relationship was also complicated by Nigeria's own instability in the north, generated by rising Islamic fundamentalism.[1] Thousands of casualties occurred as the result of violent clashes in Nigeria throughout the 1980s.[1] Most religious violence was domestic in origin, but Nigerian police arrested a few Libyans, and Nigerian apprehension of Libyan infiltration through Chad intensified.[1]

Nigeria's 1983 economic austerity campaign also produced strains with neighboring states, including Chad.[1] Nigeria expelled several hundred thousand foreign workers, mostly from its oil industry, which faced drastic cuts as a result of declining world oil prices.[1] At least 30,000 of those expelled were Chadians.[1] Despite these strains, however, Nigerians had assisted in the halting process of achieving stability in Chad, and both nations reaffirmed their intention to maintain close ties.[1]