Nigeria–United States relations
Bilateral relations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United States of America were formally inaugurated when Nigeria attained its independence from Britain in 1960. In the 21st century, they have entailed an important, if occasionally uneasy, alliance, following a more chequered diplomatic past. Nigeria has traditionally been among the United States's most important partners in Africa, and together the countries' populations account for more than half a billion people.[1]
Nigeria |
United States |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Nigerian Embassy, Washington D.C. | United States Embassy, Abuja |
Envoy | |
Ambassador Uzoma Emenike | Chargé d'Affaires David Greene |
Although Nigeria entered its independence with a broadly, though informally, pro-Western and anti-Soviet orientation, its early relations with the United States were significantly strained by the U.S. government's official neutral stance during the Nigerian–Biafran War and its refusal to send weapons to the Nigerian military government led by Yakubu Gowon, the U.S. government authorizing sending humanitarian aid to Biafra during the Biafran airlift,[2] and by Cold War dynamics elsewhere in Africa. Under the administration of American President Gerald Ford, tensions were piqued by the countries' support for opposing sides in the Angolan Civil War, and by the United States's ongoing cordiality with the apartheid government in South Africa, which remained a sticking point throughout the 1980s. Relations improved considerably in the mid-1970s, both because of the foreign policy initiatives of Jimmy Carter's administration and because of the increased importance of Nigerian oil for the United States in the aftermath of the 1973 OPEC crisis. Carter's visit to Lagos in 1978 was the first ever state visit of a U.S. president to Sub-Saharan Africa.
In the 1980s, ongoing trade and investment links were accompanied by simmering diplomatic tensions over the Nigerian government's failure to curb cross-border crime and drug trafficking, and over increased reports of human rights abuses inside Nigeria. Although the United States had rarely objected to Nigerian military rule in the past, its tolerance expired under the regime of General Sani Abacha, who took power during a 1993 military coup d'état. For the next five years, Nigeria faced escalating sanctions and the near dissolution of diplomatic relations. However, following the death of Abacha, the U.S. was quick to welcome Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999. Under Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, trade and aid links intensified, and the relationship between the countries regained its erstwhile warmth. Bilateral relations are increasingly centred around military, security, and counterterrorism cooperation in West Africa, particularly multilateral initiatives in the Gulf of Guinea and on ISIS and Boko Haram. During the course of these initiatives, tensions and mistrust between the United States military and Nigerian military have sometimes spilled over into diplomatic discord.
Emerging from an earlier tradition of bilateral oil diplomacy, both countries have diversified their oil trades over the last decade, but the United States remains a major market for Nigerian exports, almost entirely in crude oil. The United States is also the primary foreign investor in Nigeria and a significant source of foreign aid. Over a million Nigerians and Nigerian Americans live, study, and work in the United States. While over 25,000 Americans live, and work in Nigeria. There are many Nigerian Diaspora organizations in the United States that help the political and economic empowerment of the people of Nigerian descent outside of Nigeria. Complementing these formal economic links are a large volume of family remittances from the United States's large Nigerian American population. Yet Nigeria's oil resources and importance for regional stability have tended to counteract any strong dependence on the United States, reducing the latter's leverage and necessitating a relationship built on mutual respect and pragmatic mutual advantage.[3][4][5]
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center poll, 74% of Nigerians had positive views of the United States, with 20% expressing a negative view.[6]