When news broke of an attempted coup in Benin Republic on December 7, 2025, the subregion held its breath. Reports swiftly followed that Nigeria had dispatched a fighter jet to restore democratic order. Just as quickly, the threat receded: the coup was foiled, and the jet turned back. The lesson, however, remained.
by Adebayo Abubakar
When news broke of an attempted coup in Benin Republic on December 7, 2025, the subregion held its breath. Reports swiftly followed that Nigeria had dispatched a fighter jet to restore democratic order. Just as quickly, the threat receded: the coup was foiled, and the jet turned back. The lesson, however, remained.
Nigeria is almost always the region’s Big Brother Who Pays the Bills—and gets little in return. Too often, the expected dividends of leadership fail to materialize.
This latest episode reflects Nigeria’s long-standing foreign policy instinct: heroic, reflexive, and costly. For decades, Nigeria has been West Africa’s first responder, paying for regional stability in blood, treasure, and time. From Liberia to Sierra Leone, from the boots of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to the banners of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria has borne the burdens of leadership. Yet the returns have been scant. History applauds; the balance sheet tells a different story.
Nigeria is no small change in West Africa’s purse. It is the subregion’s economic engine, demographic giant, and diplomatic centre of gravity. When Nigeria speaks, ECOWAS should listen. Yet too often, Abuja reaches for the megaphone of military might when the scalpel of diplomacy would suffice. The result is influence mistaken for interference, sacrifice mistaken for charity, and leadership mistaken for impatience.
Consider the coup in Niger Republic. In July 2023, General Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power, ousting elected President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS, under the chairmanship of President Bola Tinubu, responded with a threat of military action. The new junta called the bloc’s bluff, allied with Mali and Burkina Faso—both of which had broken from ECOWAS for being under military rule—and formed the “Alliance of Sahelian States” (AES), effectively moving beyond the regional body’s control.
The strain is palpable. A recent example is the detention of a Nigerian military aircraft in Burkina Faso, along with its crew, over alleged airspace violation—a claim Nigeria disputes. Regardless of the truth, this hostility might have been avoided had Nigeria played its diplomatic cards more deftly. Nigeria deserves better from the region, given its immense contributions to its stability.
But let us be blunt: nothing is free. The limbs lost, lives buried, and billions spent in Liberia and Sierra Leone were not abstract sacrifices; they were invoices paid by Nigeria. Many may not recall the 1991 Gulf War oil windfall, a multibillion-dollar opportunity that was extravagantly spent on peacekeeping under Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, rather than invested in national infrastructure. Nigeria reportedly bankrolled up to 70% of ECOMOG’s operations—funds that could have transformed the country’s development trajectory. That historic chance was sacrificed on the altar of altruism.
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A similar pattern played out in Nigeria’s pivotal role in ending apartheid in South Africa. Instead of enduring solidarity, Nigeria has faced recurring xenophobia against its citizens, with inadequate protection from South African authorities. Beyond moral capital, the strategic returns have been negligible.
Contrast this with Washington’s playbook. The United States does not ship its dollars abroad on goodwill alone. Every foreign engagement is tethered to trade, security guarantees, market access, or geopolitical leverage. Altruism may open the door; national interest furnishes the room.
Nigeria must learn this language—fluently and unapologetically. We were taught in the secondary school as students of “Government” that, “Africa is the centrepiece of Nigerian foreign policy.” It is hightime we changed that to “Nigeria is the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy.” This is not cynicism; it is a plea for strategic prudence. The age of bayonet-first diplomacy and unquestioned big-brotherism is over. It must be replaced by a muscular diplomacy anchored in national interest—one that works the rooms before it works the runways, and drafts communiqués before it dispatches fighter jets.
ECOWAS is fertile ground for this recalibration. Democratic backsliding rarely arrives unannounced; it tiptoes in through legal amendments, term-limit manipulations, captured courts, and weaponized constitutions. Nigeria should be in those rooms early—deploying envoys, leveraging aid, coordinating sanctions, and shaping consensus long before sirens wail. Influence, properly applied, prevents emergencies. Force merely manages them.
Nigeria is uniquely placed for this role. Its diplomatic corps is experienced, its economy consequential, its cultural reach unmatched. Nollywood softens borders where soldiers harden them. Trade persuades where threats provoke. A coordinated strategy linking diplomacy, development finance, trade incentives, and security cooperation would turn Nigeria from a fire brigade into a city planner.
Leadership is not noise; it is timing. It is the quiet phone call that averts a loud explosion. The region does not need a neighbour who kicks down doors to stop fires that could have been prevented by fixing faulty wiring.
None of these negates the need for credible deterrence when all else fails. But deterrence works best as a punctuation mark, not the entire paragraph. Abuja must make clear that democratic norms are not optional in ECOWAS—they are load-bearing beams. That clarity must be backed with tools that bite without bleeding: targeted sanctions, visa bans, asset freezes, and principled mediation.
Moving forward, Nigeria must insist that its sacrifices translate into structured gains: preferential trade terms, security cooperation frameworks, infrastructure contracts, and regional policy alignment. Call it enlightened self-interest. Call it maturity. Call it overdue. Who cares?
The fighter jet that turned back from Benin’s skies did more than save fuel; it signalled a crossroads. Nigeria can keep leading with muscle memory, or it can lead with memory—remembering what it has paid, what it has earned, and what it is owed. The United States learned this long ago. West Africa is waiting for Nigeria to do the same.
The crown is already on Nigeria’s head. It is time to rule with a pen as steady as its sword.
- Abubakar writes from Ilorin, Kwara State. He can be reached via 0805 138 8285 or marxbayour@gmail.com.
