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ABSTRACT
The increasing relevance given to soft power by Western and Chinese academics and more importantly their public officials has prompted some African scholars to examine the utility of soft power in the African context. Whilst the literature on South African foreign policy and regional powerhood has paid attention to this issue in recent years, there are few studies on Nigeria’s soft power. Against this backdrop, this article examines whether or not Nigeria is a soft power state. It argues that whilst the country possesses remarkable soft power resources, particularly in Africa, this has not been optimally deployed to achieve the desired outcomes. The article highlights the constraints to Nigeria’s soft power capacity and concludes that Nigeria is at best a potential soft power state. It therefore, urges public officials to pay more attention to the utility of soft power in their foreign policy process and challenges Nigerian academics to take a cue from their counterparts abroad and begin to engage their country’s soft power.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. Naija Swagger is used here to refer to Nigeria’s brands and pop culture including its multinational corporations, literature, fashion, movies, music and other entertainments.
2. For more on this, see AMAA at https://www.ama-awards.com/.
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Notes on contributors
Oluwaseun Tella
Oluwaseun Tella holds a doctorate in Political Science. His research interests include soft power, foreign policy, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics, and global politics.