PEOPLES’ FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY OF RUSSIA (RUDN UNIVERSITY) As a manuscript Adebayo Kafilat Motunrayo MAIN DIRECTIONS AND FEATURES OF NIGERIAN-RUSSIAN BILATERAL RELATIONS (1999-2020) Speciality 07.00.15 - History of International Relations and Foreign Policy THESIS for a PhD Degree in history Scientific Supervisor: Ph. D, Associate Professor Elena Mikhailovna Savicheva Moscow – 2021 Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «РОССИЙСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ ДРУЖБЫ НАРОДОВ» На правах рукописи АДЕБАЙО КАФИЛАТ МОТУНРАЙО ОСНОВНЫЕ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ И ОСОБЕННОСТИ НИГЕРИЙСКО- РОССИЙСКИХ ДВУСТОРОННИХ ОТНОШЕНИЙ (1999-2020 гг.) Специальность 07.00.15 – История международных отношений и внешней политики ДИССЕРТАЦИЯ на соискание ученой степени кандидата исторических наук Научный руководитель: кандидат исторических наук, доцент Елена Михайловна Савичева Москва – 2021 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………...4 CHAPTER ONE: FACTORS OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL RELATIONS….............................................................................23 1.1. Historical Background of the Nigerian-Russian Bilateral Relation…………..24 1.2. Russia in Africa and External Factors Affecting Bilateral Relations between Nigeria and Russia ………………...……………………………………………...37 CHAPTER TWO: BILATERAL RELATIONS OF NIGERIA AND RUSSIA IN THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY SPHERES………….........................54 2.1. Political Relations between Nigeria and Russia after the Establishment of Democratic Government in 1999………………………………………………….54 2.2. Military Cooperation between Nigeria and Russia…………………………...74 2.3. Relations between Nigeria and Russia in the Fight against Terrorism in Nigeria…………………………………………………………………………….80 CHAPTER THREE: ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL TIES…………………………...............................................89 3.1. Nigerian-Russian Trade and Economic Relations……………………………89 3.2. Nigerian-Russian Energy Cooperation & Projects: Success and Problems….114 3.3. Relations between Nigeria and Russia in the fiels of Education and Culture ………………………………………………………………………………...…130 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………....155 LIST OF SOURCES AND LITERATURE………………………………...…162 INTRODUCTION The relevance of the study implies range of factors. The period of the late XX - early XXI century is characterized by important changes in world politics and international relations, which led to the formation of a multipolar world and the growing role of developing states, which is manifested in the change of the unipolar paradigm of Western centrism and the emergence of new centers of power in world politics. The author chose to study Nigeria and Russia, which plays an important role in regional and world politics, respectively. Modern Nigeria is one of the leading African states, claiming regional leadership and demonstrating fairly rapid economic growth and foreign policy activity in recent years. Russia in the modern world is one of the great powers actively advocating the further formation of multi-polarity, thereby helping the countries of the developing world, including African ones, to reach a new level of development and positioning in the international arena. The relevance of the study is also due to the mutual interest of Nigeria and Russia in the development of mutually beneficial bilateral relations. Nigeria, as one of the largest economies in sub-Saharan Africa, seeks to fulfill its foreign policy ambitions for regional leadership and to reach the international level of influence, which is rooted in the active cooperation with Russia. In addition to political influence, Nigeria might gain from the bilateral engagement an enormous potential in technology and trade, which Nigeria desperately needs. In turn, Russia, as the heir to the Soviet Union, possessed tremendous influence on the African continent during the Cold War, seeks to regain its lost positions in Africa, thus shaping the African agenda in its foreign policy. Such agenda is relatively new and, in fact, has become widely implemented only since 2019 as a result of the Russia-Africa summit and economic forum in Sochi. 3 All of the factors present the relevance of the study of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Russia, that will contribute to the further formation of a new world order. Literature review. Scientific works of African, Russian and Western researchers devoted to topical problems of international relations and foreign policy became important were applied in the research. The number of scientific studies by Russian experts devoted to the study of Africa is very limited in comparison with Western ones, which can be explained by the long period of passiveness within the bilateral relations between Russia and the countries of the region. Nevertheless, Russian scientists have made a significant contribution to the study of the African continent.1 Among the Russian authors who studied the processes in West Africa, one can single out the leading Russian specialist in African studies, T.S. Denisov, who studied the role of the political factor in the development of the countries of the region, as well as the features and prospects of the political development of Nigeria2. The political and economic factors of the country's development were analyzed by V. Usov and T. L. Deutsch.3 The authors examine the formation of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as a positive factor for future economic relations within Africa with Nigeria`s role in regional economic development, stimulating the need to strengthen the country's economic ties with the BRICS. Despite the fact that Nigeria already maintains bilateral relations with each 1 Балезин А.С. История Африки в Институте всеобщей истории РАН. К 45-летию создания Центра африканских исследований //Новая и новейшая история. 2017. № 2. С. 125-136. 2 Денисова Т.С. Тропическая Африка: эволюция политического лидерства // Институт Африки Российской академии наук. – М., 2016; Денисова Т.С. Нигерия 2015: смена руководства // Азия и Африка сегодня. 2015, № 8, с. 12-17. 3Усов В.А., Дейч Т.Л. Африканский вектор политики БРИКС //Российский совет по международным делам (РСМД), 2015. URL: https://russiancouncil.ru/analytics-and- comments/analytics/afrikanskiy-vektor-politiki-briks/ (дата обращения: 04.01.2020). 4 member of the union, the level of cooperation varies considerably. In this context, the work of T.L. Deutsch on the contribution of China to the transport infrastructure of Africa4 presents the role of the Chinese factor in the development of Africa. Within the study of the African continent and Russian politics, the monograph by L. Fituni and I.I. Abramova was of high value. In their joint research «The Africa`s resource potential and national interest of Russia in the XXI century», the current status of the economic relations between Nigeria and Russia, interests of Russia in Nigeria, as well as possible prospects in this direction within the context of the RUSSAFRICA project aimed at stimulating the development of Russia-Africa relations were considered5. In this context, it is also necessary to note the studies of Soviet and Russian specialists devoted to bilateral relations of African countries, including Nigeria, with Russia. First of all, it is worth highlighting the works of E.N. Korendyasov and A. Vasiliev. In their joint work «Russian-African relations in ten years: a new start» (2013) 6. They as well as another researcher - S.V. Kostelyanets noted that the reason for the slow development of relations bases on the inability of both countries to ratify most bilateral agreements and treaties7. At the same time, E.N. Korendyasov in his subsequent work «Is Russia Returning to Africa?» 8 states that the African vector is becoming increasingly important in Russia's foreign policy strategy, and the activity 4 Дейч Т.Л. Вклад Китая В Транспортную Инфраструктуру Африки / Африка: устойчивое развитие и дипломатия диалога: Ежегодник – 2017 = Africa: Sustainable Development and the Diplomacy of Dialogue: Yearbook – 2017 c. 137-150. 5 Фитуни Л., Абрамова И. Ресурсный потенциал Африки и национальные интересы России в XXI веке. М., 2010. 6 Корендясов Е.Н., Васильев А. Pоссийско-Aфриканские отношения через десять лет: новый старт // РСМД, 21.06.2013. URL: https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and- comments/analytics/russian-african-relations-in-ten-years-a-new-start/ (accessed: 04.01.2020). 7 Костелянец С.В. Страны Африки: проблемы и пути экономического развития // Восток. Афро-Азиатские общества: история и современность. 2014. № 5. С. 189-191. 8 Корендясов Е.Н. Россия возвращается в Африку? // Азия и Африка сегодня № 5, M. 2015. 5 of Russian-African relations is increasingly being observed in the political and diplomatic sphere. The works by G.M. Sidorova, diplomat, doctor of political sciences, leading specialist of the Center for the Study of Russian-African Relations and Foreign Policy of African Countries, such as «Russia and security on the African continent»9 and «Russia and International Initiatives in Africa»10 devoted to the policy of the Russian Federation in Africa and its role in ensuring regional security. The works by S.V. Mazov give an idea of the history of bilateral relations,11 as well as A. Tolstukhina’s paper «Conditions for the bilateral cooperation development between Nigeria and Russia»12 . They are rich in factual material and were also useful within the study of the Nigerian-Russian cooperation. Among the works devoted to international relations in Africa, as