Can Nigeria get a UN Security Council seat?

This paper analyses the prospects and problems of Nigeria's aspiration for a seat on an enlarged UN Security Council. Some of the factors that strengthen the country's candidacy include its past experience, e.g. its service as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for three terms, its impressive peacekeeping profile at multilateral and bilateral levels, and its unparalleled African leadership role. The return of the country to the path of democracy after years of successive military regimes has also increased its legitimacy in international affairs. If these credentials are to yield the desired result, the country must contend with the worsening state of national security, the slow pace of economic recovery despite ongoing reforms, the challenges posed by other serious African contenders particularly Egypt and South Africa, and Nigeria's continuing image problem, despite advances in the struggle to address it. This is the paradox for Nigeria's candidacy of the Security Council Seat. The paper concludes with recommendations to address these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]