ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the politics of the U.S. aid to Nigeria from the donor and recipient perspectives. Since its independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has been a strategic ally of the U.S. in Africa. By focusing on the U.S. aid to Nigeria, we unveil the nature of foreign aid and explain why aid to Nigeria has had little impact on fostering a self-supporting economy within a framework of sustainable development policies in the country. We describe and explain why the U.S. aid to Nigeria fluctuates depending on the issues on the U.S. agenda that she considers important to its foreign policy goals. Given Nigeria’s immense natural resources, albeit poorly managed, we argue that foreign aid as an influence tool, targeting Nigerian leaders, has had limited impact because of the Nigerian government’s access to private loans and large foreign reserve earnings from oil exports.
