ASSESSING NIGERIA'S FOREIGN POLICY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: THE ROLE OF A CLIMATE HEGEMON IN AFRICA

Abstract

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of this century. The threat of climate change is not only global, it is multidimensional, invisible, unpredictable, and also transcends national borders thus threatening the national securities of individual countries. National security issues are fast becoming a top priority of nations and will remain so for a long time because of its strategic nature. Fundamentally, climate change threatens to undermine governments' ability to ensure stability and progress. Nigeria’s foreign policy is historically traced to the country’s leadership and its response to the external environment since independence in October 1960. One of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives is the promotion of unity as well as the total political, economic, social and cultural liberation of the country and Africa. The purpose of this paper is therefore to assess Nigeria’s leadership role as a climate hegemon in Africa, this would look at the contributions, the short comings, the prospects, and the future trajectories. This paper concludes that Nigeria’s commitment and participation towards finding solution to the climate crisis will reposition Africa towards effective efforts to address the challenge of climate change. As a leading country in Africa, Nigeria can deploy necessary global and regional mechanism to ensure workable climate policies for Africa. This paper shall use the international relations theory of cooperation and integration. Finally, the paper makes recommendations that would enhance and strengthen Nigeria’s role as a climate hegemon in Africa.