Nigeria

=== Foreign relations ===
{{main|Foreign relations of Nigeria}}
[[File:MinForeignAffairs.jpg|alt=|thumb|The Ministry of [[Foreign Affairs]], [[Abuja]]]]
Upon gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made African unity the centrepiece of its foreign policy.<ref>Young, Andrew (20 July 2006) [http://allafrica.com/stories/200607200078.html "Collins Edomaruse, how Obasanjo cut UK, US to size"], ''This Day'' (Nigeria).</ref> One exception to the African focus was Nigeria's close relationship developed with Israel throughout the 1960s. Israel sponsored and oversaw the construction of Nigeria's parliament buildings.<ref>Burkett, Elinor (2009) ''Golda'', HarperCollins, {{ISBN|0-06-187395-0}}, p. 202.</ref>

Nigeria's foreign policy was put to the test in the 1970s after the country emerged united from its civil war. It supported movements against white minority governments in [[Southern Africa]]. Nigeria backed the [[African National Congress]] by taking a committed tough line about the South African government. Nigeria was a founding member of the [[Organisation of African Unity|Organisation for African Unity]] (now the [[African Union]]) and has tremendous influence in West Africa and Africa on the whole. Nigeria founded regional cooperative efforts in West Africa, functioning as the standard-bearer for the [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS) and [[ECOMOG]] (especially during the Liberia and Sierra Leone civil wars).

With this Africa-centred stance, Nigeria readily [[Congo Crisis|sent troops to the Congo]] at the behest of the United Nations shortly after independence (and has maintained membership since that time). Nigeria also supported several Pan-African and pro-self government causes in the 1970s, including garnering support for [[Angola]]'s [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola|MPLA]], [[SWAPO]] in Namibia, and aiding opposition to the minority governments of [[Mozambican War of Independence|Portuguese Mozambique]], and [[Rhodesian Bush War|Rhodesia]]. Nigeria retains membership in the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]. In late November 2006, it organized an Africa-South America Summit in [[Abuja]] to promote what some attendees termed "South-South" linkages on a variety of fronts.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 November 2006 |title=ASAS – Africa-South America Summit |url=http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/November/SummitASA/summit.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518172006/http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/November/SummitASA/summit.htm |archive-date=18 May 2011 |access-date=29 May 2011 |publisher=[[African Union]]}}</ref> Nigeria is also a member of the [[International Criminal Court]] and the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. It was temporarily expelled from the latter in 1995 when ruled by the [[Sani Abacha|Abacha regime]].

Nigeria has remained a key player in the [[Petroleum industry|international oil industry]] since the 1970s and maintains membership in [[OPEC]], which it joined in July 1971. Its [[Petroleum industry in Nigeria|status as a major petroleum producer]] figures prominently in its sometimes volatile international relations with [[Developed country|developed countries]], notably the United States, and with developing countries.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Timothy, Shaw |year=1984 |title=The State of Nigeria: Oil Prices Power Bases and Foreign Policy |journal=Canadian Journal of African Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=393–405 |doi=10.2307/484337 |jstor=484337}}</ref>

Since 2000, [[China–Nigeria relations|Chinese–Nigerian trade relations]] have risen exponentially. There has been an increase in total trade of over 10.3 billion dollars between the two nations from 2000 to 2016.<ref>LeVan, Carl; Ukata, Patrick (2018). ''The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;751. {{ISBN|978-0-19-880430-7}}.</ref> However, the structure of the Chinese–Nigerian trade relationship has become a major political issue for the Nigerian state. Chinese exports account for around 80 per cent of total bilateral trade volumes.<ref>LeVan, Carl; Ukata, Patrick (2018). ''The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;756. {{ISBN|978-0-19-880430-7}}.</ref> This has resulted in a serious [[Balance of trade|trade imbalance]], with Nigeria importing ten times more than it exports to China.<ref>LeVan, Carl; Ukata, Patrick (2018). ''The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;754. {{ISBN|978-0-19-880430-7}}.</ref> Subsequently, Nigeria's economy is becoming over-reliant on cheap imports to sustain itself, resulting in a clear decline in Nigerian industry under such arrangements.<ref>LeVan, Carl; Ukata, Patrick (2018). ''The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;754–755. {{ISBN|978-0-19-880430-7}}.</ref>

Continuing its Africa-centred foreign policy, Nigeria introduced the idea of a [[Currency union|single currency]] for West Africa known as the [[Eco (currency)|Eco]] under the presumption that it would be led by the [[Nigerian naira|naira]]. But on 21 December 2019, [[List of heads of state of Ivory Coast|Ivorian President]] [[Alassane Ouattara]], [[Emmanuel Macron]], and multiple other [[Economic Community of West African States|UEMOA]] states announced that they would merely rename the [[CFA franc]] instead of replacing the currency as originally intended. As of 2020, the Eco currency has been delayed to 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Elliot |date=2020-09-29 |title=West Africa's new currency could now be delayed by five years |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/west-africas-new-currency-could-now-be-delayed-by-five-years.html |access-date=2020-11-17 |publisher=CNBC}}</ref>