Analysis reveals Nigeria faces significant competition from Kenya and South Africa for a UN Security Council seat, suggesting challenges in its ambitions.
This paper argues that Nigeria’s continental rivals in the quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council can challenge Nigeria’s aspiration. The paper further argues that Nigeria’s challengers appear better placed to clinch the seat in the event of an expansion of the UN Security Council. The central research question of this paper is why Nigeria’s quest for a United Nations Security Council seat may not be realized. Using both primary data and secondary sources, the authors analyzed the often neglected continental angle of the ongoing debate over the need for African representation. The authors contend that pivotal states, such as Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa, posed a serious challenge to Nigeria’s aspiration for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council
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Ponsah et al. (2026) studied this question.
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