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The effectiveness of Nigeria’s counterinsurgency operation has once again underscored the strategic importance of Russo-Nigerian relations. Having played a pivotal role in safeguarding the territorial unity of the country during its grueling civil war 1967–1970, Moscow’s importance in Nigeria’s national security in the post-Cold War period cannot be overemphasized. This article explores the dynamics of Russo-Nigerian relations in the context of current insurgency in the country. Drawing on extant literature and interview data from military chiefs, personnel of Nigeria’s Ministry of External Affairs, the study makes three arguments on why Russia agreed to Abuja’s request for arms for counterinsurgency operation in the face of Western disappointments. First, the convergence of interests between the two powers on the fight against terrorism. Second, Russia’s geopolitical calculation especially its quest for a new world multipolar order, and third, Russia’s economic doldrums occasioned by dwindling oil prices and Western economic sanctions in the wake of Crimean debacle. These overlapping factors are central to Russia’s strategic engagement with Nigeria. While the article notes that Moscow has cast itself as a Nigerian most dependable partner in security sector over the years, it concludes by urging Nigeria to strengthen relations with the country in all areas.

Nigeria’s advocacy for the ‘African solutions to African problems’ has been a critical component of its African diplomacy since its independence in 1960. This advocacy finds its loudest expression in the leadership roles it played in peacekeeping and peace-building efforts in the continent in tandem with what has been dubbed Pax-Nigeriana. However, less than a decade since returning to democratic governance in 1999, Nigeria’s commitment to the peacekeeping efforts has been waning. In spite of its globally acknowledged regional security provider, Nigeria’s interventions in a number of regional countries leave much to be desired. This study, therefore, argues that the plethora of domestic security challenges in Nigeria has had dire implications for conflict management in Africa. The study, which relies on personal observation and secondary sources, contends that Nigeria’s declining commitment to its self-assigned ‘responsibility to protect’ in Africa as vividly demonstrated in Mali’s operation and other contexts portend bleak future for the effective peacekeeping operations in the continent. The paper concludes by recommending that domestic issues such as terrorism and inequality in the polity among others must be addressed if Nigeria wants to continue playing its traditional leadership role in West Africa especially in the security sector. Keywords: African security, African solutions to African problems, conflict management, Pax-Nigeriana, responsibility to protect

In light of the failure of the Nigerian military in containing the bandits in the northwest, the nonmilitary solution was advanced as an alternative to address the violence. This came in the form of amnesty deals involving “financial settlement”, among others, for the bandits in exchange for peace. However, rather than containing the crisis, the amnesty deal acted in opposite direction, leading to its escalation. It is in this context that this study interrogates the changing dynamics of banditry in the region. It contends that three interrelated factors were responsible for the failure of the amnesty deals. First, the bandits are cluster groups without any identifiable central leadership, thus, amnesty for some groups only encourage the proliferation of more groups for material accumulation. Secondly, the intricate linkage between banditry in northwest and terrorism in the northeast has implication for the escalation of the crisis. Lastly, lack of commitment to the deals by bandit groups who operate transnationally without respect or recognition for national laws or governments. The study recommends a new approach through which banditry can be curbed in Nigeria. Keywords: Amnesty deal, banditry, security, northwestern Nigeria

Nigeria’s traditional role as a security provider in West Africa being a sub-regional hegemon and mainspring of the ECOWAS has enjoyed scholarly engagement since the end of the Cold War. Its advocacy for the ‘African solutions to African problems’ has been a critical component of its African diplomacy since independence in 1960. This advocacy finds its loudest expression in the leadership roles it played in peacekeeping efforts in the continent in tandem with what has been dubbed Pax-Nigeriana. However, Nigeria’s intervention in the Gambian political crisis has generated endless controversies in light of its regional hegemonic disposition. The study, against this background, investigates its intervention in this tiny West African country. It argues, within the context of hegemonic stability theory, that its intervention presents little evidence to suggest that Abuja’s ‘leadership role’ in the resolution of the crisis is indicative of hegemonic influence.