Poland in Nigeria

Political cooperation

Historical outline

The Polish Embassy opened in Lagos in 1963. During the period of Biafra's secession (1966-70), Poland actively supported the federal government. Polish military personnel participated in the International Observation Group in Nigeria. This had a positive impact on the development of bilateral relations. In the years 1972-81, Poland and Nigeria maintained lively political and economic relations. There was an exchange of visits, including visits at the level of heads of state (O. Obasanjo's visit to Poland in 1978), ministers of foreign affairs and economic and military delegations. The slowdown in the dynamics of mutual relations in the first half of the 1980s was caused by political and economic difficulties in both Nigeria and Poland. The Embassy of the Republic of Poland was moved from Lagos to Abuja in 2002, and at the beginning of 2008 the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Lagos and the Department of Economics and Commerce operating within its structures ceased to exist.

 

Political cooperation in the period of the Third Republic of Poland

In the 1990s, sporadic political contacts were maintained. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, S. Lamido, participated in the international conference "Towards a Community of Democracy", which took place in June 2000 in Warsaw. At the conference in Cotonou in 2000, devoted to the issue of democracy, the Polish delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Sikorski held talks with Minister S. Lamido. In 2001, President O. Obasanjo paid an official state visit to Poland. In 2004, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, W. Cimoszewicz, visited Nigeria. On 3 February 2011, the Polish-Nigerian Parliamentary Group was constituted in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, as part of the Polish Interparliamentary Union Group. In the Sejm of the seventh term, the group was transformed into the Parliamentary Team for Africa. In the Sejm of the eighth term, on 14 December 2017, the Polish-Nigerian Parliamentary Group was once again established. From 28 June to 1 July 2012, B. Stelmach, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was in Abuja, chairing a regional meeting of Polish ambassadors accredited to sub-Saharan African countries. Min. B. Stelmach also held bilateral consultations with the Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. M. I. Uhomoibhi. In April 2013, Prime Minister D. Tusk visited Nigeria. During the visit, an agreement on strategic dialogue was signed. In May 2014, the Minister of State of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. V. Onwuliri, paid a working visit to Poland. She had a courtesy conversation with Min. K. Kacperczyk. On 4 July 2014, the Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Foreign Ministry, M. I. Uhomoibhi, visited Poland in connection with bilateral political consultations. On the Polish side, the talks were chaired by Undersecretary of State K. Kacperczyk. On 3-7 November 2015, the EU-Nigeria Business Forum in Lagos was attended by a delegation of Polish entrepreneurs from the sectors of agriculture, industry and energy, construction, IT and medicine. The delegation from the MFA was chaired by the political director at the MFA, J. Bratkiewicz. From 23 May to 3 June 2016, high-level officials and military personnel from the National Institute for Politics and Strategic Studies in Kuru (NIPSS) visited Poland (Warsaw, Kraków, Tri-City (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) and Łódź). On 27 March 2017, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, G. Onyeama, met in Poland with the Minister of Foreign Affairs W. Waszczykowski and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development K. Jurgiel. On 20-22 August 2017, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs J. Wronecka paid an official visit to Abuja. During the visit, the Minister held political consultations at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with the Deputy Minister of Defence and representatives of local authorities. In December 2018, during the COP24 climate summit in Katowice, President of Nigeria M. Buhari met with President A. Duda and Prime Minister M. Morawiecki. In March 2019, the Deputy Minister of the Environment, M. Kurtyka, visited Lagos. In September 2022. President A. Duda paid a state visit to Nigeria. In November 2025, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs W. Zajączkowski visited Abuja. He held meetings with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Amb. D. U. Ahmed, and four Federal Ministers (Finance; Defence; Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and Industry, Trade and Investment). Discussions covered a wide range of topics, including political dialogue, security and economic cooperation, among others. In January 2026, the Nigerian-Polish Parliamentary Friendship Group was constituted in the Nigerian House of Representatives. In February 2026, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, B. Tijani, paid an official visit to Poland, and held, among the others, a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Digitalization M. Gramatyka.

 

Economic cooperation

The legal basis for bilateral economic relations between Polish and Nigeria are among the others:

• Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Tax Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and the Sale of Wealth, signed on 12^th February 1999;
• Agreement on the Establishment of the Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of Poland and the Federal Military Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, signed on 9^th June 1978.

 

Trade turnover between Poland and Nigeria has remained stable, albeit low, in recent years. Nigeria ranks 64^th in terms of the value of exports from Poland (0.08% of total exports) and 60^th in terms of import value (0.12% of total imports). In 2023, products with a total value of €452.3 million were exported from Poland to Nigeria, and in 2024 – €273 million. The main products exported to Nigeria are wheat and grain mixtures, turbojet engines, turboprops and other gas turbines, as well as second-hand clothing and other second-hand items. Imports from Nigeria, on the other hand, reached €728.3 million in 2023 and €409.7 million in 2024. The commodities with the highest value of imports from Nigeria are petroleum oils and crude oils derived from bituminous minerals, oilseeds and fruits, with the exception of: soybeans, peanuts, dill, flax, rapeseed, rapeseed, sunflower, and mineral or chemical and nitrogen fertilizers.

In December 2014, the "Łucznik" Arms Factory concluded a contract for the delivery of 1000 pcs. Beryl carbines for the Nigerian army and law enforcement forces. Another contract was concluded in early 2015 and included the sale of 500 Beryl carbines and 10 Mini Beryl sub-carbines. Polish Arms Group (PGZ Group) companies also supplied training systems dedicated to Beryl carbines. On March 26, 2018, at the headquarters of the "Łucznik-Radom" Arms Factory, an MoU was signed between PGZ and the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) on the transfer of technology for the production of Beryl M762 carbines in Nigeria. Vehicles of the "Honker" Automobile Factory are also delivered to Nigeria. In addition, in June 2018, the Polish company Level 11 Sp. z o.o. won a tender for the supply of ammunition for the Nigerian Navy. Activities for cooperation between the defence industries of Poland and Nigeria are continuing.  The Polish and Nigerian sides also promote cooperation in the maritime sector. In Nigeria, the Polish company Asseco, which supplies software in the ICT, financial and insurance sectors to the local market, is operating with success.

In 2018, the Foreign Trade Office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency with its headquarters in Lagos was officially opened, which in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Abuja organized in September 2025 the first Polish-Nigerian Economic Forum in Lagos. The event brought together representatives of local business, the authorities of Lagos State and representatives of the Federal Authorities of Nigeria, as well as numerous entrepreneurs from Polish.

 

Academic Collaboration

Nigerians are one of the largest groups of international students in Poland. Scientific cooperation between Poland and Nigeria is being developed at the level of universities. For over 20 years, Africanists from the University of Warsaw (Department of African Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, formerly: Faculty of Oriental Studies) have been cooperating with the Bayero University in Kano. Over the past decades, in connection with conferences and guest lectures, the University of Warsaw has hosted numerous visits by representatives of academic staff from Nigerian universities, i.a. Bayero University in Kano, Usmanu Dan Fodio University in Sokoto and Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. The Department of African Languages and Cultures periodically employs Hausa language teachers delegated by the above-mentioned universities. So far, several Nigerians, currently professors and lecturers at Nigerian universities, have defended their doctoral theses in the field of oriental studies (linguistics and literary studies) promoted by Polish professors from the University of Warsaw. Cooperation in this area continues. For many years, Nigerian specialists have been regularly publishing in the journal "Studies in African Languages and Cultures" edited by the staff of the Department of African Languages and Cultures, published by the University of Warsaw. Nigerian academics are also members of the scientific board of the journal.

As part of the Erasmus+ staff and student exchange program, Nasarawa State University in Keffi maintains relations with the University of Zielona Góra and the University of Economics in Katowice while the University of Ibadan with the Bialystok University of Technology. At the Nasarawa State University in Keffi, the first institute of European studies in Nigeria was established, named after the Polish researcher Bruno Hołyst, and at the same university Prof. Paweł Boski lectures on psychology.

In May 2025 a delegation from the National Defence College in Abuja (a prestigious military university) visited Warsaw  (visiting i.a. the Academy of War Arts, Łazarski University, Polish Institute of International Affairs, the Polish Arms Group, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Gdańsk (the Maritime University and the Port of Gdańsk). In October 2025, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,  Prof. E. E. Osaghae from the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs gave a lecture  as a special guest of a conference co-organized by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw.

 

People-to-people Relations

Many Poles of Nigerian origin are engaged in artistic or sports activities, positively influencing the development of Poland’s social life. Emmanuel Olisadebe, a member of the national football team, is recognized among the great Polish athletes. Singers, such as the talented Ifi Ude, or the finalist of the "America's Got Talent" program and the winner of the second place at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Sara James, as well as the winner of debuts at the festival in Opole – Daniel Godson – the son of the former member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Prof. John Godson, are gaining more and more popularity. Osi Ugonoh gained recognition by winning the Polish edition of the "Top Model" show, while her brother Izu is successfully developing a career in combat sports and appearing in television shows.