Nigeria’s Foreign Policy Under Tinubu: Assessing Continuity and Change in the First Two Years

This study provides a systematic assessment of Nigeria's foreign policy under President Bola Tinubu during his first two years in office from May 2023 to May 2025, examining the extent of continuity with and departure from the foreign policy trajectories established under President Muhammadu Buhari. Foreign policy transitions in Nigeria have historically produced shifts in priority areas, diplomatic style, and bilateral relationship management that warrant systematic scholarly analysis. Drawing on foreign policy analysis and the agent-structure debate, this research examines Tinubu's foreign policy in five domains: ECOWAS leadership, economic diplomacy, counterterrorism cooperation, energy diplomacy, and multilateral engagement at the AU and UN. The study employs a qualitative comparative methodology, drawing on presidential speeches, bilateral visit communiques, National Security Strategy documents, and secondary analysis from the NIIA and Chatham House Africa Programme. Interviews with senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and presidential communications staff provide primary data. Findings are expected to reveal significant continuity in Nigeria's multilateral commitments alongside notable stylistic and priority shifts in economic diplomacy and ECOWAS engagement, shaped by Tinubu's different coalition base, economic liberalisation agenda, and assertive leadership style. The research fills a gap in the contemporary Nigerian foreign policy literature. Keywords: Nigeria foreign policy, Tinubu, political transition, ECOWAS, economic diplomacy.