Nigeria in African Affairs: Hegemonic and Altruistic Considerations

Commitment to Africa has become a permanent policy of the Nigerian state. Yet, critics have expressed reservations about the worthiness of the policy. While their arguments appear strong, they do not provide adequate grounds to justify a reconsideration of the policy. Nigeria’s quest for dominance has always informed the country’s designation of Africa as a primary sphere of interest. To achieve this goal, altruism has become a defining attribute of Nigeria’s African diplomacy, thereby validating the theoretical overlap between hegemony and altruism. If Nigeria’s altruistic and subtle diplomacy has failed to translate into diplomatic ascendance in Africa as some observers have argued, then it is not because the policy is ignoble; the problem lies elsewhere. The paper contends that the question has more to do with the manner in which Nigeria has managed the domestic environment of its African policy over the years. Relying on data generated through the secondary method and key-informant interview, as well as the interpretive method of qualitative data analysis, this piece examines the planks upon which the policy is built, explains the complexities involved in its pursuit, and then constructs arguments in favour of the policy.