Foreign Policy: Nigeria Must Get Out of Its Own Way

This research paper analyzes Nigeria's foreign policy under President Buhari, arguing that a persistent conflict between regional aspirations and domestic policy instincts has hindered the country's economic and diplomatic goals. The author highlights how domestic measures, such as land border closures and a delay in ratifying the AfCFTA, contradicted Nigeria's stated goals of regional integration and economic growth.

• The closure of land borders with Benin Republic, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon from August 2019 to December 2020 aimed to curb smuggling of drugs, arms, and agricultural products, but resulted in significant economic contradictions. While local manufacturers saw a 10% increase in sales, legal exports to neighbors suffered, and food inflation rose from 13.51% in September 2019 to 19.56% by December 2020.
• Nigeria was among the last countries to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) due to concerns from local traders and manufacturers, such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), regarding low productivity and high business costs.
• Despite domestic challenges, Nigeria's service sector, which contributes 46% of GDP and employs 53.1% of the population, is well-positioned to benefit from the AfCFTA, particularly in telecommunications, ICT, financial services, and cultural exports like film and music.
• Nigeria's oil sector has faced a steady decline in daily production from 1.49 million barrels in 2020 to 1.14 million in 2022. This decline is attributed to a lack of new bidding processes for exploration since 2003, a harsh business environment, and pipeline vandalism, with an estimated 20% of daily production being stolen.
• The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), established in May 2019 via the Diaspora Act, focuses on damage control and crisis intervention—such as responding to 2019 xenophobic attacks in South Africa and the conflict in Ukraine—but lacks the power to pre-empt challenges or resolve systemic issues like passport delays and bribery.

APA

Abiola, S. (2023). Foreign Policy: Nigeria Must Get Out of Its Own Way. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/foreign-policy-nigeria-must-get-out-of-its-own-way

Chicago

Abiola, Saratu. Foreign Policy: Nigeria Must Get Out of Its Own Way. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2023. https://afripoli.org/foreign-policy-nigeria-must-get-out-of-its-own-way.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abiola |first1=Saratu |title=Foreign Policy: Nigeria Must Get Out of Its Own Way |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=13 February 2023 |url=https://afripoli.org/foreign-policy-nigeria-must-get-out-of-its-own-way |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abiola2023foreign, author = {Abiola, Saratu}, title = {{Foreign Policy: Nigeria Must Get Out of Its Own Way}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://afripoli.org/foreign-policy-nigeria-must-get-out-of-its-own-way}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }