Nigeria’s Policies in International Organizations: A Contemporary Perspective

The article explores Nigeria’s foreign policies in a range of international organizations with regard to the core interests that the country has pursued through multilateral engagement at the UN, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, OPEC, FAO, OIC since the return of civilian rule in 1999. The piece also highlights the shift in the country’s stance towards two informal institutions, BRICS and G20, that emerged after Bola Tinubu’s rise to the presidency. Although Nigeria’s approach to these fora can hardly be generalized, a search for the optimal balance between soliciting broad support for national development and flagging its role as a regional leader, capable of drawing global attention to Africa’s challenges and priorities, could be attributed as the main feature of the country’s vision of multilateralism. The UN remains instrumental to Nigeria’s multilateral diplomacy as the nation uses the venue to offer its own vision on a range of global issues, especially in matters of international security. At the same time, Nigeria’s multiple terms on the UN Security Council and the appointment of Nigerians to senior UN roles have contributed to enhancing its global stature. Nigeria’s recent partnership with BRICS and its growing interest in the G20 add symbolic weight to its ambition of being one of the leading voices for the Global South— pursuing broader collective interests alongside the national agenda. Economically, OPEC remains critical due to the structure of Nigeria’s resource-based economy, as does the Commonwealth’s initiatives on debt relief. BRICS, in the meantime, holds significant potential: Nigeria’s leadership is focused on major, particularly infrastructure-focused, projects in partnership with the New Development Bank and fellow BRICS partners.

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