The Role of Cultural Attachés and Diplomacy in Promoting Nigerian Music Abroad: An Institutional Assessment

This study assesses the role of Nigerian cultural attachés and diplomatic missions in promoting Nigerian music on the international stage, evaluating their effectiveness as institutional agents of cultural soft power. Nigeria's music, particularly Afrobeats, has achieved remarkable global recognition; however, the extent to which government diplomatic institutions contribute strategically to this success, as opposed to organic market-driven growth, remains underexamined. This research investigates the mandates, activities, and impact of Nigerian cultural attachés in five selected embassies across the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, South Africa, and China. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews with cultural attachés, Nigeria's diplomatic representatives, music industry professionals, and diaspora community leaders. Document analysis of embassy cultural programme reports and Nigeria's foreign cultural policy frameworks from 2020 to 2025 supplements interview findings. The study draws on cultural diplomacy theory, soft power scholarship, and recent comparative studies of music export policies from Ghana, South Africa, and South Korea. Findings will evaluate the institutional effectiveness of Nigerian cultural diplomacy for music promotion and recommend a more structured, music-industry-informed cultural export strategy. Keywords: Cultural diplomacy, Nigerian music, soft power, cultural attaches, Afrobeats.