Nigeria must adopt a more assertive foreign policy posture if it is to effectively lead Africa’s push for global reforms, according to Professor David Aworawo, an international relations and strategic studies scholar at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday regarding Nigeria’s role in shaping Africa’s global standing, Aworawo argued that while the country is well positioned to champion continental interests, it has yet to fully realise that potential due to both internal weaknesses and a lack of strategic boldness on the international stage.
“A country’s ability to influence globally is directly proportional to its internal structure and level of power,” he said, noting that Nigeria’s national strength has fluctuated over the decades.
He pointed out that Nigeria’s gross domestic product, which stood at about $500 billion in 2015, has since declined to just over $300 billion — a sign, he said, of stagnation rather than growth. Industrial development remains weak, though he welcomed the recent launch of a new industrial policy aimed at reviving dormant factories and promoting cluster-based expansion. Progress in agriculture, he added, is encouraging but insufficient.
Beyond economic challenges, Aworawo described insecurity as a major constraint, warning that instability at home undermines Nigeria’s ability to project power abroad. “When you’re unstable within, you can’t do much in projecting power on the outside,” he said, stressing that vast resources will be required in the coming years to address the security crisis.
He noted that internal reforms alone are not enough. The professor emphasised that Nigeria must overcome what he described as a longstanding lack of vision and political will in foreign policy.
According to Aworawo, this reticence has diminished Nigeria’s influence. He said, “Nigeria needs to be more assertive. Nigeria needs to stand up wherever anything that affects Africa takes place and then stand for Africa. These are the things we can aggregate and put together that will place Africa and Nigeria at the right place and the right condition to be able to pick up that permanent seat on the UN Security Council when the forms are carried out.”
Melissa Enoch
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