Reassessing the Power of a Sub-Regional Security Provider: The Case of Nigeria in the Gambian Crisis

Abstract

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.