The European Union’s Engagement with the Nigerian Diaspora: Analytical Perspectives on Policy and Practice

This study analytically examines the European Union's policies and practices regarding Nigerian diaspora communities resident in EU member states, assessing the coherence, effectiveness, and equity of EU approaches to Nigerian diaspora engagement in relation to development co-responsibility, migration governance, and integration. Nigerian diaspora communities in the EU are among the most economically and culturally dynamic African diaspora populations, yet the EU's policy framework for engaging them as development actors and rights-bearing residents remains analytically underexplored. This analytical research draws on EU migration and integration policy documents, European Migration Network (EMN) comparative reports, and academic literature on African diaspora policy in Europe published between 2020 and 2024. Primary data from semi-structured interviews with Nigerian diaspora organisation leaders in the UK, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands provide rich empirical grounding. The study analyses EU policies governing diaspora members' rights to family reunification, long-term residence, labour market integration, and political participation, and examines how these policies interact with Nigerian government diaspora engagement strategies. The research fills a gap in analytical literature on the EU as a policy actor shaping the conditions of African diaspora life and development contribution in Europe. Keywords: EU diaspora policy, Nigerian diaspora, integration, development contribution, migration governance.