5 Ways Nigeria Can Advance Its Foreign Policy Without Choosing Sides

Nigeria does not have to pick a side in big-power rivalries to grow. We can work with any country that helps us create jobs, earn foreign exchange, and get new skills.

The goal is simple: sign clear, useful deals and deliver them fast.

Agro-processing

Nigeria should stop exporting raw crops and start exporting finished food products. We can set up or upgrade plants for cocoa, cassava, rice, palm oil, and tomato paste close to the farms.

Long-term supply contracts with buyers in the Gulf, Europe, and Asia will make these factories bankable. Government can provide serviced land, steady power and water, and simple tax rules tied to output. In the first 100 days, pick the sites and the private partners.

In 12 months, aim to open or upgrade a few plants, add large processing capacity, cut food losses, and secure strong export orders. Use forward contracts with farmer groups to keep input prices steady.

Payments and remittances

Sending money to and from Nigeria should be cheaper and faster. Regulators can create “cross-border sandboxes” with partners like the UK, UAE, Singapore, and India.

This lets licensed fintech firms test payment products on both sides under the same rules. Publish one simple rulebook that covers data protection, know-your-customer steps, and dispute handling.

Within a year, target a clear drop in fees on the pilot routes and settle the same day or by the next day. Fight fraud with shared audit logs and a joint watchlist run under a data trust.

Critical minerals

Nigeria has lithium, tin, and other key minerals. We should not export only raw ore. Require investors to build plants that concentrate and refine these minerals within Nigeria. Start with a clean, online mining cadastre, standard community agreements, and a clear PPP template for power and permits.

Auction mining rights and processing plants in two steps, with strict rules on the environment and local jobs. Balance partners: equipment scale from China, high-purity know-how from Japan and Korea, governance support and offtake from the US and UK, and buyers from the EU.

In 12 months, break ground on at least one lithium concentration line and one tin upgrade plant, backed by offtake pre-payments and full traceability from mine to port.

Tax certainty

Investors need clear tax rules. Nigeria should publish a modern treaty model, then start talks to sign a new double-tax treaty with a major partner and update two old ones.

Add fast dispute resolution, digital services rules, and tests that block treaty abuse. If a full treaty takes time, sign small, focused deals on shipping, airlines, or pension portability.

The 12-month aim is a new treaty initialled, two updates agreed, lower withholding costs for key services, and a revived advance pricing programme with clear response times.

Talent mobility:

Nigeria can turn its young population into a skills engine. Sign two-way student and work-skills visa deals with the UK, Canada, and Germany; add manufacturing apprenticeships with Japan and Korea; and sector internships with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Give visas clear quotas, employer guarantees, and the right to return to jobs in Nigeria. Use short, portable certificates that our schools and firms recognise. Help returnees with a small re-entry grant, tax breaks, housing options, and fast business registration.

In the first 100 days, publish priority skills and sign MoUs with overseas and local employers. In 12 months, secure thousands of placements, with most people returning to Nigerian roles within six months and new small businesses launched by alumni.