Bayan samun ‘yancin kai a shekarar 1960, Nijeriya ta sanya haɗin kan Afirka ya zama jigon manufofinta na kasashen waje, kuma ta taka rawar gani a yaƙi da gwamnatin wariyar launin fata a Afirka ta Kudu. Wani abin da ya fi mayar da hankali ga Afirka shi ne, dangantakar kut-da-kut da Nijeriya ta ƙulla da Isra’ila a tsawon shekarun 1960s. Theasar ta ƙarshe ta ɗauki nauyi da kuma lura da gina gine-ginen majalisar dokokin Nijeriya.
An gwada manufofin ƙasashen waje na Nijeriya a cikin shekarun 1970 bayan ƙasar ta fita daga cikin yaƙin basasa. Tana tallafa wa ƙungiyoyi a kan gwamnatocin fararen fata tsiraru a yankin Kudancin Afirka. Nijeriya ta goyi bayan African National Congress (ANC) ta hanyar yin tsattsauran ra’ayi game da gwamnatin Afirka ta Kudu da matakan sojan da suke yi a Kudancin Afirka. Nijeriya kuma ta kasance memba mai kafa kungiyar Hadin Kan Afirka (yanzu Tarayyar Afirka), kuma tana da matuƙar tasiri a Afirka ta Yamma da Afirka gaba ɗaya. Bugu da kari, Nijeriya ta ƙirƙiro ƙoƙarin haɗin gwuiwa a shiyyar a Afirka ta Yamma, tana aiki a matsayin mai ɗaukar matsayin ƙungiyar bunƙasa tattalin arzikin ƙasashen Afirka ta Yamma (ECOWAS) da ECOMOG, ƙungiyoyin tattalin arziƙi da sojoji.
Da wannan matsayar ta Afirka, Nijeriya ta tura sojoji cikin sauƙi a Congo, bisa umarnin Majalisar Dinkin Duniya, jim kaɗan bayan samun ‘yancin kai (kuma ta ci gaba da kasancewa memba tun wancan lokacin). Har ila yau, Nijeriya ta goyi bayan yawancin Pan-Afrika da gwamnatocin masu son kai a cikin 1970s, gami da samun tallafi ga MPLA ta Angola, SWAPO a Namibia, da taimakawa adawa ga ƙananan gwamnatocin Portugal na Mozambique, da Rhodesia.
Nijeriya ta ci gaba da kasancewa memba a cikin ƙungiyar ‘Yan-ba-ruwanmu. A ƙarshen Nuwamba 2006, ta shirya wani taron ƙoli na Afirka da Kudancin Amurka a Abuja don inganta abin da wasu mahalarta suka kira haɗin Kudu-Kudu “ta fuskoki daban-daban. Nijeriya ma memba ce a Kotun Laifuka ta Duniya, da kuma Kungiyar Kasashe. An cire shi na ɗan lokaci daga ƙarshen a lokacin 1995 lokacin mulkin Abacha.
Nijeriya ta ci gaba da kasancewa mamba a masana’antar mai ta kasa da kasa, tun daga shekarun 1970, kuma tana ci gaba da kasancewa mamba a Ƙungiyar Ƙasashe Masu Arziƙin Man Fetur (OPEC), wacce ta shiga a watan Yulin 1971. Matsayinta na babbar mai samar da mai a fitattun ƙasashen duniya a wasu lokutan. Dangantaka da ƙasashen da suka ci gaba, musamman Amurka, da kuma kasashe masu tasowa.
Miliyoyin ‘yan Nijeriya sun yi ƙaura a lokacin wahalar tattalin arziki, musamman zuwa Turai, Arewacin Amurka da Ostiraliya. An ƙiyasta cewa sama da ‘yan Nijeriya miliyan sun yi ƙaura zuwa Amurka kuma sun kasance al’ummar Amurka ta Amurka. Mutane daban-daban a cikin irin waɗannan al’ummomin na Diasporic sun shiga cikin kungiyar “Egbe Omo Yoruba”, Ƙungiyar Haɗin Kan Zuriyar Yarbawa a Arewacin Amurka.
A watan Yulin 2019, jakadun Majalisar Dinkin Duniya na kasashe 37, ciki har da Nijeriya, sun rattaɓa hannu kan wata wasiƙa ta haɗin gwuiwa zuwa ga UNHRC dake kare kasar Sin game da cutar Uyghurs a yankin Xinjiang.
Tun daga shekarar 2000, dangantakar cinikayya tsakanin Sin da Nijeriya ta tashi matuƙa. An samu ƙaruwar jimillar ciniki sama da dala miliyan 10,384 tsakanin al’ummomin biyu daga shekarar 2000 zuwa 2016. Ko yaya tsarin dangantakar cinikayya tsakanin Sin da Nijeriya ya zama babban batun siyasa ga ƙasar Nijeriya. An nuna wannan ta hanyar fitar da kayayyaki da kasar Sin ke fitarwa ya kai kusan kashi 80 cikin 100 na jimlar adadin kasuwancin dake tsakanin kasashen biyu.
Wannan ya haifar da rashin daidaiton kasuwanci, inda Najeriya ta shigo da sau goma fiye da yadda take fitarwa zuwa China. Bayan haka, tattalin arziƙin Nijeriya yana dogaro kacokam kan shigo da kayayyaki daga kasashen waje mai rahusa, domin ciyar da kanta, wanda hakan ya haifar da faɗuwar masana’antar Nijeriya a bayyane ta irin waɗannan tsare-tsare.
Nijeriya na iya fuskantar taɓaɓarewar matsayinta a cikin harkokin ƙasa da ƙasa idan an kammala sauyin duniya
zuwa makamashi mai sabuntawa kuma buƙatun duniya na albarkatun mai ya daina. An tsara shi a cikin 149 a cikin ƙasashe 156 a cikin jadawalin Fa’idar Geopolitical da Asarar bayan canjin kuzari (GeGaLo).
