Does the reference to regional hegemony in the African context apply to Nigeria? This study examines this question in line with increasing claims in academic and diplomatic circles of Nigerian hegemony in Africa. While scholars and leading opinion holders have described Nigeria's influence in Africa as typical of a regional hegemon, this paper interrogates the substance of this argument in the context of the nature of the country's foreign policy relations in Africa. Against this background, the article contends that Nigeria actually enjoys a dwindling influence in Africa notwithstanding its current status as Africa's largest economy. The article argues that although Nigeria has never officially harboured any hegemonic aspirations, this hardly disqualifies it from being Africa's hegemonic power. It takes the position that Nigeria remains an important regional power on the continent but is hindered by several factors in playing a hegemonic role. In making this assertion, the article considers a number of conditions that increasingly deflate Nigeria's capacity to play a meaningful hegemonic role in Africa. In doing this, it critically assesses the inherent internal and constraining external conditions that diminish Nigeria's claims to or credentials for effective regional hegemony.

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