The recent vigorous campaign by Nigerian government for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council is, like previous attempts, hinged on the country’s ‘track record’ in peacekeeping operations. However, in recent years, particularly since the uprising of the Boko Haram terrorist group, it appears that Nigeria’s commitment to this role has diminished considerably in its foreign policy priorities. This article, against this background, makes three arguments: First, it argues that Nigeria’s reluctance to keep faith with its peacekeeping mission is undermining the critical platform under which the quest for the seat is based. Second, notwithstanding the possession of the realist’s attributes of a regional leader, Nigeria’s poor image and dearth of soft power has created legitimacy crisis for it among regional states and beyond as none of its traditional allies in the Security Council has thrown its weight behind its bid. Finally, the study shows that the preponderance number of Nigerians does not subscribe to Nigeria’s bid in view of the security and socio-economic crises battling the country. Rather than dissipating energy on the quest, such effort should be channelled towards addressing the myriad domestic challenges threatening human security in the country.

尼日利亚政府最近大力争取成为联合国安理会常任理事国，与以往的尝试一样，取决于该国在维和行动中的“往绩”。然而，近年来，特别是自博科圣地恐怖组织起义以来，尼日利亚对这一角色的承诺似乎在其外交政策优先事项中大大减少。在此背景下，本文提出了三个论点：首先，它认为尼日利亚不愿对其维和任务保持信心，这正在破坏寻求席位的关键平台。其次，尽管拥有地区领导者的现实主义属性，尼日利亚糟糕的形象和软实力的缺乏给它在地区国家和其他地区造成了合法性危机，因为它在安理会的传统盟友都没有支持其竞标。最后，该研究表明，鉴于该国面临的安全和社会经济危机，大多数尼日利亚人并不支持该国的投标。与其在探索上消耗精力，不如将这种努力用于解决威胁该国人类安全的无数国内挑战。