Nigeria Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

Changing the Guard: Tinubu’s Response to Escalating Violence and Political Pressure

On December 1, 2025, the then-Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar resigned, officially citing health reasons. Within 24 hours, President Tinubu nominated former Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa as the…

December 4, 2025Nigeria

National Security Terrorism

Probability and Purpose of a Hypothetical Trump-Era U.S. Military Campaign in Nigeria

While the probability of a direct, large-scale U.S. ground intervention in Nigeria remains low, certain triggers—including counterterrorism escalation, energy security pressures, great-power competition in West Africa, and domestic political incentives—could lead…

November 5, 2025Boko Haram, Nigeria, USA

Democracy Geopolitics War crimes

The use of forced labor involving African citizens in Russia’s military factories reflects Moscow’s colonial approach to the African continent.

Moscow is engaging in human trafficking, employing African women in its defense industry through coercion. According to a report by the Associated Press, Russia has lured women from African countries…

October 11, 2024Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Uganda

Democracy Governance

Any instability in Nigeria will be more consequential than recent takeovers in the region

Events in Nigeria need to be well-handled in a region becoming used to political instability. 1. In the 1960s, when successful coups began in sub-Saharan Africa, the military almost always gave…

March 20, 2024Nigeria

Corruption Democracy Governance

Nigeria could return to parliamentary system of governance to limit presidential power and align interests of regional elites.

Sixty House of Representatives members on Wednesday proposed a bill to amend the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and return the country to a parliamentary system as a replacement for the current…

February 15, 2024Nigeria

Democracy Governance

Tinubu will face difficult decisions amid winning presidential race

If Tinubu’s result is confirmed, the largest African democracy will have passed one of its most important tests since military rule ended in 1999. His victory come true because of main opposition Peoples…

March 2, 2023Nigeria

Conflict Governance

Cameroon could face new atrocity crimes after deploying government forces to counter armed separatists

What began as a political dispute in the Anglophone regions is now a complex armed conflict and a major humanitarian crisis that disproportionately affects the civilian population, particularly women and…

January 20, 2023Cameroon, Nigeria

Conflict Governance

Escalating conflict in Cameroon: civil war looms in the region

The conflict in Cameroon keeps escalating. Chris Anu, a long-time spokesperson for Cameroon's self-declared Republic of Ambazonia, said that he was elected president of the separatist movement on September 10, 2022. His election…

September 28, 2022Ambazonia, Cameroon, Nigeria

Governance Terrorism

Causes of the security crisis in Nigerian Kaduna State

The growing infamy of Kaduna as the most terrorised state in Nigeria in recent times despite the heavy presence of the military and police in the state is raising concerns…

April 18, 2022Nigeria

Terrorism

The Boko Haram leader’s death to empower the Islamic State in the West Africa

The death of Abubakar Shekau means that the Islamic State could concentrate in the region the military capabilities and improve public image by increasing terrorist group recruits. Moreover, we expect…

June 11, 2021Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Nigeria

Nigeria