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Obviously, Nigeria is not left out of the excitement that the newly inaugurated Joe Biden administration is bringing. While Nigeria remained a trading partner of the United States, the strategic importance of the relationship between the two countries should be re-examined. Amidst excitement trailing the inauguration of the 46th presidency of USA, how the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration will augur for Nigerians or the Nigerian government is worthy of note. Firstly, there are at least 3 persons of Nigerian origin who will be serving in different capacities in the Biden administration. This set of Nigerians became Americans via the few routes immigrants take advantage of to become citizens. While a few of them might even be 2nd generation Nigerian-Americans, it is still a high point which the Nigerian government officials such as Abike Dabiri of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission take pride in. No doubt the number of Nigerians in the Biden campaign/administration have contributed to the large support base which Biden and the Democrat Party received internationally and from Nigerians before and after the Nov 3rd American elections.
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But there are even more implications which will culminate from a Biden presidency for Nigeria and Nigerians. Towards the end of the Barack Obama administration, world crude prices fell significantly from record highs as soon the United States achieved some level of energy efficiency. With the ramping up of Shale oil production, local oil production increased within the United States and demand for Brent Crude and other variants from supplier countries such as Nigeria fell drastically. The Donald Trump administration closely maintained some part of the Obama energy policy while boosting more of the downstream sector. The prospect for Nigeria’s economy remained manageable as it looked for other buyers of its crude oil production. But with the Democrat party’s ideology about climate change and the Green Economy, Biden is already instituting policies which will have both positive and negative impact on Nigeria and Nigerians at large.
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