BETWEEN WEALTH AND DEPENDENCY: RETHINKING NIGERIA’S FOREIGN AID POLITICS IN AN OIL-RICH STATE

Abstract

This paper interrogated the intricate intersection between oil rentierism and Nigeria’s foreign 
policy through the lens of neo-realist theory. Nigeria’s status as a major oil producer has created 
a deep rentier economic structure in which the state derives quite a significant income from the 
external oil rents rather than domestic taxation, influencing both its internal governance and 
international relations. While relying heavily on a qualitative method of data collection to gather 
useful information from credible and reputable secondary-based sources, the study examined the 
extent to which oil wealth has gone a long way in shaping the trajectory of Nigeria's interaction 
with foreign aid and her broader foreign policy behavior. The paper employed conservative theory 
to provide the theoretical foundation for examining these dynamics. Within this great framework, 
foreign aid is conceptualized not as a purely altruistic gesture but as a strategic tool deployed by 
donor states to serve certain geopolitical and economic interests. The paper argues that Nigeria’s 
oil wealth which is supposed to be a blessing on all fronts has, in turn, undermined domestic 
accountability and affects its leverage in negotiating foreign aid, often resulting in compromised 
governance, mismanagement, and distorted development priorities. The study also revealed that 
oil-fueled diplomacy has actually help the country to expand its regional influence particularly on 
African continent. However, it has ultimately faltered due the excessive systemic corruption, elite 
capture, and too much reliance on volatile resources. These revelations underscore the necessity 
of institutional reforms, economic diversification, and enhanced transparency to realign foreign 
aid with genuine national development goals and mitigate the adverse effects of the rentier state 
model. The paper concludes that interest plays a vital role in shaping the interaction between 
sovereign states at the global stage, and advocates for attention to the social constructions that 
shape state the identity and behavior during this interaction.