DIASPORA DIPLOMACY: EVALUATING THE INFLUENCE OF NIGERIAN DIASPORA COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ON BILATERAL RELATIONS

Abstract

This article evaluates how Nigerian diaspora communities in the United Kingdom influence UK–Nigeria bilateral relations between 2015 and 2025. Diaspora diplomacy is understood as the organized political, economic, cultural and institutional activity through which overseas communities seek to shape relations between their country of origin and country of residence. The study uses a qualitative documentary design and analyses recent official statistics, bilateral policy documents, institutional reports and scholarly literature. Evidence was selected for direct relevance to Nigerian diaspora activity, UK–Nigeria relations and the 2015–2025 period; older works were retained only where they provide foundational theoretical concepts. The evidence shows a sizeable and increasingly institutionalized transnational constituency: 270,768 residents of England and Wales reported Nigeria as their country of birth in the 2021 Census, compared with 191,183 in 2011. Nigeria also received US$20.1 billion in remittances in 2022 and US$20.93 billion in personal remittances in 2024, although these totals are global and cannot be attributed exclusively to the UK. Bilaterally, the 2024 Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership explicitly recognizes an entrepreneurial diaspora and provides for contact between diaspora populations and private-sector groups, while the 2024 Nigeria–UK Strategic Partnership identifies diaspora resources and people-to-people links as a formal area of cooperation. The article finds that diaspora influence is strongest when economic, professional and cultural networks are connected to formal institutions. Political and digital advocacy can shape agendas, but evidence of direct policy causation is more limited. The study concludes that Nigerian diaspora diplomacy has measurable relevance to bilateral relations but requires stronger coordination, institutional access and evidence-based engagement.