Post-Colonial Memory and Contemporary EU-Nigeria Relations: An Analytical Framework

This study develops and applies an analytical framework for understanding how post-colonial memory and historical legacies of European colonialism continue to shape contemporary EU-Nigeria diplomatic relations, trade negotiation dynamics, and development cooperation discourses. Post-colonial theory has substantially advanced the academic understanding of Africa-Europe relations, yet systematic application of post-colonial analytical frameworks to the specific EU-Nigeria bilateral relationship remains limited in recent scholarship. This analytical study draws on post-colonial theory (Fanon, Mbembe, and Ndlovu-Gatsheni), EU-Nigeria diplomatic history, and empirical analysis of contemporary EU-Nigeria policy texts and diplomatic statements. Primary data from elite interviews with Nigerian diplomats, academics, and EU Delegation officials in Abuja and Lagos explore how post-colonial memory frames are articulated in contemporary EU-Nigeria engagements. The study examines how colonial memory surfaces in specific bilateral disputes, including EPA trade negotiations, governance conditionality debates, cultural property restitution, and migration management. The research fills an analytical gap by providing a Nigeria-specific application of post-colonial IR frameworks to the EU-Africa relationship, moving beyond the generalised 'Europe-Africa' analysis that dominates existing literature. Findings are expected to contribute a theoretically grounded perspective on the constraints and possibilities for more equitable EU-Nigeria partnership. Keywords: post-colonial memory, EU-Nigeria relations, colonial legacies, post-colonial theory, Africa-Europe diplomacy.