Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Under Muhammadu Buhari: A Critical Assessment, 2015 to 2023

This study critically assesses Nigeria's foreign policy orientation and outcomes under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, with particular attention to relations with African neighbours, economic diplomacy, and security cooperation. Nigeria's foreign policy has historically been guided by the doctrine of Afrocentrism, which prioritises African continental interests as the centrepiece of diplomatic engagement. Using a descriptive analytical design, the study reviews primary diplomatic communiques, bilateral agreement documents, state visit records, and National Assembly foreign affairs committee reports, supplemented by secondary academic literature published between 2020 and 2024. The Neoclassical Realism Theory provides the analytical framework, examining how domestic political constraints and elite preferences mediate international relations outcomes. Findings reveal that the Buhari administration pursued a largely continental security-focused foreign policy centred on counter-terrorism cooperation within the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram. However, economic diplomacy performance was weak, with limited bilateral investment treaty outcomes and persistent xenophobic tensions with South Africa undermining ECOWAS solidarity. The administration's initial withdrawal from the African Continental Free Trade Area negotiations is identified as a significant strategic error. Recommendations include the development of a coherent economic diplomacy strategy aligned with Nigeria's continental leadership aspirations. Keywords: Nigerian foreign policy, Buhari administration, Afrocentrism, ECOWAS, economic diplomacy.