Hegemony in Decline: Causes and Costs

Abstract

The chapter scoops and highlights from the previous chapters, those shortcomings that undercut Nigeria’s stature, posture and influence in African politics. It identifies and discusses the weaknesses or shortcomings in the foreign policies from 1985 to 2022, which directly explain the declining hegemony of the country in West Africa and the entire African continent. Beyond the self-immolation or self-inflicted harm, the government or various administrations wrought upon the country by the actions, inactions or ill-fated actions of the successive administrations in the foreign policy terrains (including the local and external variables of these policies), there were other factors that created hegemonic decline. These include a deliberate or spontaneous resistance to Nigeria’s overbearing posture by some African states, stiff competition from emerging powers, including South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya and the general rejection of Nigeria’s leadership that seemed to play out in some quarters, are discussed. The cost or implications of this decline for Nigeria’s national interest and diplomacy are outlined and critically analyzed.