As Africa takes on increasingly important roles in global governance, Eghosa Osaghae, director general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), said that the continent still struggles with preparedness, strategy, and the institutional guardrails needed to succeed.
During the MTN Media Innovation (MIP) cohort four fellows’ visit to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), the DG pointed out that African states, and Nigeria in particular, are ready to shoulder global responsibilities with clarity and competence.
He said that the recent election of Philemon Yang, a Cameroonian diplomat, as President of the United Nations General Assembly has reignited discussions about how well African leaders enter global arenas equipped with a roadmap.
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“It is not enough to occupy the position,” he said. “The question is, what agenda do you carry for Africa, and how well prepared are you to defend it?”
He added that the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) should be grooming the country’s leaders with the knowledge, strategies, and foresight to perform effectively on the world stage.
South Africa’s exceptional case
The DG emphasised that, unlike most African states that experienced extractive colonialism, South Africa went through settler colonialism, which embedded it more deeply in global systems. The country became a member of the League of Nations in 1914 and a founding member of the UN in 1945, decades before the end of apartheid.
“It’s an apartheid system, rooted in ideology, religion, and even science, that coincided with industrialisation which fostered a culture of planning and scientific discipline. This produced a nation better integrated into the global order and more capable of long-term strategy,” he said.
Osaghae added that when apartheid crumbled in the early 1990s, the transition was marked by painstaking negotiation between Afrikaner leaders and liberation movements.
“Unlike other African liberation struggles, South Africa’s settlement included sophisticated constitutional safeguards and strong local government structures, some borrowed from Nigeria’s own federal experience,” he explained.
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National pride as strength
Beyond institutions, South Africa’s resilience rests on something less tangible: a powerful sense of national pride. Citizens across racial lines view their country as “paradise on earth” and place learning about their nation above foreign validation. Its youth are unapologetically nationalistic, convinced there is “no place like home.”
Nigeria, by contrast, he said, continues to wrestle with weak patriotism and a search for external approval, often symbolised by the overwhelming preference for the U.S. dollar over the naira.
Nigeria’s readiness question
Osaghae argued that Nigeria must take urgent steps if it is to avoid being seen as a weak link in continental leadership. That means preparing leaders with proper briefing papers, SWOT analyses, and strategic guardrails before they step onto global platforms.
“South Africa’s planners once listed Nigeria as a risk factor in their own democratic transition,” Osaghae noted. “That should tell us everything about how far we still need to go.”
