By Deborah Musa
The United Kingdom Government needs a new and more strategic plan to strengthen its development partnership with Nigeria, a report by the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee has said.
The report, sighted by Sunday PUNCH, noted that the committee said the partnership risks being undermined by “multiple obstacles,” including humanitarian needs, insecurity, instability, governance challenges and low investor confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
The UK Government entered into a strategic partnership with Nigeria in 2024, bringing together various areas of bilateral cooperation.
The government had described the agreement as a framework for jointly pursuing shared objectives and strengthening relations between both countries.
However, in its report on the UK’s development partnership with Nigeria, the committee described the arrangement as “a grand strategic bet for the UK,” based on the expectation that targeted support would help Nigeria modernise its economy, increase its Gross Domestic Product and reduce its reliance on humanitarian assistance.
It warned that the expected mutual benefits could remain out of reach unless the UK Government adopts a broader strategy to support Nigeria in reducing humanitarian needs, displacement and instability.
The report stated, “Multiple obstacles risk undermining the partnership. If the government does not present a more wide-ranging and strategic plan to assist Nigeria in achieving significant reductions in humanitarian need, displacement and instability, there is very little chance that it will reap the desired mutual benefits of the strategic partnership.”
The committee noted that Nigeria, Africa’s third-largest economy and most populous country, has the potential to assume greater responsibility for addressing its humanitarian needs.
It, therefore, called on the UK Government to provide details of the measures it is taking to support the Nigerian government in assuming responsibility for meeting those needs.
The report also urged the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to establish a clear monitoring framework for assessing the implementation of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus in Nigeria.
It further called for a review of the factors that could undermine the strategic partnership, including humanitarian needs, instability, insecurity, governance issues and low investor confidence, as well as measures to mitigate the identified risks.
The committee said the scale of Nigeria’s humanitarian situation was so severe that one witness who appeared before its inquiry described the country as a “forgotten crisis.”
Commenting on the report, Chair of the International Development Committee, Sarah Champion, said the UK’s long-term partnership with Nigeria was welcome but warned that its success was not guaranteed.
“Our committee welcomes the long-term, strategic partnership established between the UK and Nigeria.
“But in our report, we are clear that this partnership represents a grand strategic bet – and one which is far from certain to pay out,” she said.
Champion added, “As things stand, the government has put its money on a host of mutual benefits resulting from the partnership.
“The gamble is that targeted support will help Nigeria to modernise its economy, increase its GDP and end its reliance on humanitarian aid.”
She said the UK Government needed to adopt a more strategic approach to Nigeria’s needs and those of the wider region.
“However, we found that the government needs to take a more strategic view of Nigeria’s wants and needs, and those of the surrounding region,” Champion said.
She warned that without a new plan, the expected benefits of the partnership might not be achieved.
“Without a new plan that does this, there is unfortunately very little chance that the gamble will pay off and the desired mutual benefits of the UK’s strategic partnership with Nigeria will be realised,” she said.
The committee said it would also examine the wider region in future inquiries.
