ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ON NIGERIA'S FOREIGN POLICY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Research Problem: Despite its formal mandate to serve as Nigeria's primary foreign policy think tank, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) is widely perceived to have a limited impact on actual policy formulation. This significant gap remains underexplored in contemporary scholarly discourse. Methods/Theory: This study employs a qualitative design based on secondary data and is anchored in institutional theory to analyze the structural and operational challenges facing the NIIA. Results: Findings reveal that political interference, chronic funding instability, and an operational rivalry with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs significantly constrain the NIIA's autonomy, analytical capacity, and overall effectiveness as a policy-influencing institution. Conclusion: The study concludes that without guaranteed autonomy and sustainable funding, the NIIA's role will remain peripheral to Nigeria's core foreign policy decision-making processes. Key Contribution to Knowledge: This paper provides a contemporary institutional analysis of the NIIA, highlighting the criticality of political and financial independence for think-tank efficacy within the Global South's foreign policy architecture. Recommendation: The study recommends that Nigeria should pursue legal and institutional reforms to formally guarantee the NIIA's operational and financial autonomy from the executive branch of government.