حکیم زکریا

The United States actively engages in various regional orders, here with a particular focus on West Africa. Its approach involves organizing and leveraging relations with regional powers to influence and regulate the regional order. West Africa has gained significance in the international order, attracting the attention of the United States. Nigeria, as a key player in the region, plays a substantial role in Africa and West Africa, establishing a strategic alliance with the United States over several decades. This article explores Nigeria's role in the U.S. security strategy within the West African region. Notably, this topic has received limited attention in international relations literature, particularly within U.S.-Nigeria relations. Scholars have not reached a consensus on the impact and implications of Nigeria's role in U.S. security strategy, specifically in addressing regional insecurities. The central argument posited is that to safeguard its geo-strategic, geo-political, and geo-economic interests, as well as manage strategic rivalries in the region, the United States strategically engages with Nigeria. Nigeria serves as a crucial partner for the U.S. in containing the expansion of other powers in the region. The intersection of two key factors in Nigerian geopolitics—its SEA geopolitics in the Atlantic and its geoeconomic significance due to oil production and other strategic resources—establishes Nigeria as a crucial player in the American regional security strategy. In essence, the article contends that Nigeria's unique geopolitical and geoeconomic attributes contribute to its special position in the U.S. regional security strategy, allowing the United States to maintain influence and counterbalance the activities of other powers in West Africa.