Around the World: Nigeria

The 2016 Brexit referendum has created political chaos as pro-European Union and British independence movements fight over what the future of the United Kingdom will look like. There are a variety of diplomatic and economic decisions that will be made, specifically regarding immigration and the sovereignty of the UK’s territories. One of the most pressing issues the country needs to address is its trade relations with the rest of the world. With the free trade agreements attached to EU membership soon to be gone, the UK is looking elsewhere for trading partners. The British government will renegotiate trade deals with the rest of Europe, but they are also taking steps to engage more with the developing world. As a growing African economic power, and potential global competitor in the near future, Nigeria is looking to diversify its economy and increase trade with the UK.

The most recent development in this relationship comes as the UK announced earlier this month that Nigeria will be added to a growing list of countries with pre-approved currencies. Pre-approved currencies can take out loans and buy foreign goods only available on the british pound. This will provide a significant flow of money to new businesses in Nigeria which purchase British goods.

Nigeria, which struggles from being dependent on oil exports, will purportedly gain access to previously difficult markets. Nigeria is projected to grow in population to the world’s third most populous country by the mid-21st century, and along with the rest of sub-saharan Africa, will become an increasingly important member on the world’s stage. The UK sees this as an opportunity to give itself other options outside the west, and to develop a potentially strong trading partner for the future. They will have considerable competition as China has also taken to focussing their efforts in Africa, and is already the primary trading partner for most of the continent.

For political reasons, the UK does not want to be beholden to European interests and needs the ability to say “No” to Germany and France if they want the upcoming Brexit to work in their favor.

Source: CNN