By Richard Elesho
Nigeria has come a long way in transforming its standing in the comity of nations.
In the hey days of military interregnum, especially during the late Gen Sani Abacha military junta, the country was reduced to a pariah nation as many advanced democracies in Europe and America stigmatised it. The return of democracy in 1999 has since changed Nigeria’s standing and status with successive administrations pursuing policies to bring the country back to international reckoning.
The Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has doubled up on the efforts of his predecessors to project Nigeria to the world not only as a sovereign country and Nigeria-centric in its foreign policy but also as a committed, dutiful and responsive member of the emerging international world order dedicated to international peace, security and sustainable development.
At the heart of these efforts is the consistent pursuit of Nigeria’s national interests, the protection of its sovereignty, and the promotion of the welfare and well-being of Nigerians anywhere in the world.
That is the essence of the 4D foreign policy focus of the Administration. The policy is anchored on themes of Demography, Development, Diaspora and Democracy. Its key enablers are national reforms, vigorous international engagements, and economic diplomacy. If anything, the complexities of modern innovations, advancements in technology, insecurity, economic challenges, and the search for survival in the global ecosystem have solidified the policy, rather than weakened it, as some may want to project.
In spite of the challenges posed by xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks, especially in South Africa, Nigeria has held its head high in its commitment to peace and measured response. Rather than the Mosaic prescription of ‘an eye for an eye,’ the country has toed the path of reason, dialogue and brotherhood by reporting the issue in unmistakable tones to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, (AU), urging the apex continental political group to make definitive pronouncements on it. It qualifies as vintage diplomacy for a country to hold its head while others are losing theirs. Without a doubt, two wrongs do not make a right.
Nigeria has also prioritized Economic and trade relations with the rest of the world for strategic national development reasons. Indeed, Nigeria may have turned the corner with the cheering news of improved trade relations with other countries. Early last week, news broke that the volume of Nigeria’s export to China has increased significantly to a whopping $2.25 billion in the first half of this year alone. This represents an 81 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
The Consul General of China in Lagos, Yan Yuqing, was beaming with joy when she disclosed this at the 2026 Nigeria International New Energy and Power Industry Expo and Nigeria International Lighting Expo Lunch Conference. Bilateral trade netween the two countries exceeded $28 billion in 2025, representing more than 28 per cent year-on-year growth, while China’s direct investment in Nigeria rose to $690 million, a 103 per cent increase from the previous year. The figures are set to gallop far higher in the current year. In any case, Nigeria is China’s biggest engineering contracting market in Africa and the second-largest export market on the continent. The task ahead in this trajectory is for more Nigerian content and value addition to the Nigerian economy in terms job creation, poverty reduction and technological advancement.
Nigeria’s foreign policy is driven by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by the duo of Her Excellency Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and His Excellency, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, an experienced career diplomat, as Minister and Minister of State, respectively, in conjunction with the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission. The trio has supported or midwived policies that have sought to reposition the country on a sound global footing.
Evidence of Nigeria’s foreign policy recalibration can be seen in the number of countries rushing to sign one kind of bilateral agreement or the other, making Nigeria more or less the toast of the globe. To ease the flow of conducting business, Nigeria has signed visa-waiver agreements for diplomats and top government officials with more than 20 countries across the world.
Enikanolaiye, who recently made this known in his office during an engagement with the Ambassador of Phillipines, noted that the initiative was to promote mutual consultation, contact and interaction between Nigeria and the respective countries. A few more of such agreements are about to be signed. He therefore called on more countries to take advantage of the opportunity to conclude more of such MoUs with Nigeria
In the same vein, Nigeria and Japan are putting finishing touches to agreements to deepen bilateral relations. That was the main takeaway from the 10th Nigeria-Japan Special Partnership Forum (NJSPF) recently held in Abuja. The efforts are expected to yield tangible economic outcomes in the areas of investment, industrialisation, technology transfer, innovation, job creation, and youth empowerment.
Realising the importance of security and a robust domestic economy to effective relationships with other sovereign states, the Federal Government has diligently continued its war against insecurity.
Last month, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, led a high-powered delegation to Washington for the United States – Nigeria Joint Working Group meeting on the designation by the US of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on account of alleged persecution of vulnerable groups among Christian communities in the country; counterterrorism, defence, and national security.
It was an important platform for assessing Nigeria’s progress in counter-terrorism, resilience and recovery.
It is instructive that a forum facilitated by the National Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, and Nigeria High Commission in Canada was explored by Ambassador Enikanolaiye to fire the zeal of patriotism in Nigerians abroad.
President Tinubu has taken his Economic Diplomacy strategy and dogged pursuit of the country’s national interests to several countries abroad that he has visited, notably UK, France, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Germany, India, Japan Brazil and the Caribbean and the US among others in Africa.
At the Nigerian Diaspora Economic Conference in Toronto, Canada, while acknowledging the security challenges, the Minister assured of government unwavering support and preparedness to harvest the vast potential of the diaspora for national development.
The Minister who explained that Nigeria was exploring its visions of a strategic economy with its international partners, called for greater and deeper involvement of the diaspora in national development. “Nigerians in the diaspora are critical assets of national development. We don’t see you as a basket case of consular burden and responsibilities. No. On the contrary, we see you as a vital human resource with huge capacities for Nigeria,” he said.
Nearly all of the 68 Ambassadors and High Commissioners appointed by Mr President earlier in the year have been fully installed in their various posts and to good effect.
Nigerian missions abroad are now better funded than ever before while the search for sustainable funding and resource mobilisation mechanisms are being intensified.
At the United Nations, Nigeria has started to re-invent its leadership role with its recent elections as Chair of the Budget and Administrative Questions (5th Committee) and the UN Peace Keeping Committee (C-34), the latter position taken over from Canada.
A microscopic view of Nigeria’s foreign policy in the last three years leaves a healthy verdict. Its roles in jump-starting smooth commerce including greater support for ECOWAS integration agenda and stable democracy within West Africa, in clear disavowal of unconstitutional change of governments, in addition to continental peace, are beyond debate.
Even the exit of three embittered members of ECOWAS (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), into forming the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) has been treated with continued engagement and adroit neighbourhood diplomacy such that the trans-boundary challenges facing the entire sub-region are addressed together.
After a tumultuous phase, the Naira is also slowly stabilising, boosting the confidence of both local and foreign investors in the economy.
All considered, the ship of the Nigerian state seems headed in the right direction.
Elesho is a media aide to the Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.
