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Preamble
African is the second largest continent with vast resources and inhabits more than 12 percent of the world’s population (Encarta, 2002). Although the continent has plenty of resources, Africa remains the world’s poorest and most undeveloped continent. Poverty iswidespread and according to a Human Development Report of 2006, nearly half of theAfricans live below poverty line. Communicable diseases such as
HIV/AIDS
, malaria, andtuberculosis are prevalent in the continent thereby contributing to the reduction in lifeexpectancy levels which now linger at about 40 years on average (Human DevelopmentReport, 2006).Politically, the continent is associated with instability. Since 1960s, most Africancountries have experienced civil and liberation wars. In contemporary times, for instance,Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan Uganda, Eritrea,Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and many other countries have experienced greatinstability that has caused millions of people to lose their lives and other millions to haveno homes.The lack of development in Africa is closely linked to the phenomenon of state weaknesswhich underlines the need for improved governance as a prerequisite for development inAfrica. Thus, in many African countries, democracy is greatly eluded. Corruption iswidespread and human rights abuses are a norm among many governments in Africa.Considering the hegemonic positions and the pro-African foreign policies of Nigeria andSouth Africa, it is therefore the aim of this paper to examine the leadership roles that Nigeria and South Africa play in socio-economic and political development of Africa.Being hegemonies, South Africa and Nigeria have a lot of influence on African affairsand it is indeed their responsibility to lead Africa into prosperity.However, questions may arise: can South Africa, a country that brutalised and exploitedits own people, and those of surrounding countries, go on to become a credible championof human rights, democracy, and sustainable development on the African continent, even1
 
after a remarkable political transformation? Can Nigeria, a country that experiencednumerous coup d'états provide political leadership in Africa? Can it afford to help Africancontinent socio-economically when its large population suffer endemic poverty?To understand the leadership roles of both Nigeria and South Africa in Africa, the paper gives a wide range of classic and classical examples that portray both countries as playinga pivotal role in political and socio-economic development of Africa.The paper is divided into four parts. After this introduction, the second part looks at Nigeria’s role in socio-economic and political development of Africa by looking at,among other things, its contribution to the formation of the Organisation of African Unity(
OAU
), its pro-southern African foreign policy, the peacekeeping missions, and theimportant role it played in creating the New Partnership for Africa’s Development(
 NEPAD
). The subsequent part examines South Africa’s hegemonic role in leading Africato socio-economic and political development. This stretches to its strong socio-economicand political dominance in Southern Africa Development Community (
SADC
) region andits overall economic dominance in Africa. The last part of this paper gives a recapitulatedconclusion about the leadership roles of both countries; Nigeria and South Africa.
Leadership Role of Nigeria in Africa
 Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with about 130 million people andaccounts for over half of West Africa’s population. Estimates indicate that one in everyfive Africans is a Nigerian (http://www.state.gov, 2007). Just like South Africa, Nigeriahas been influential in the continent. Its unique human resources and vast oil reservescreate the capacity for enormous prosperity and regional leadership. Its successes or failures resonate far beyond its immediate neighbours in West Africa because of its greateconomic power as it represents 55 percent of West Africa’s gross domestic product(
GDP
) (http://www.africaaction.org). Nigeria’s significant influence in several African affairs is not surprising. Since itsindependence in 1960, Nigerian foreign policy has been characterised by a focus on2
 
Africa and by attaching to several fundamental principles such as African unity andindependence; peaceful settlement of disputes; nonalignment and non-intentionalinterference in the internal affairs of other nations; and regional economic cooperationand development (http://www.en.wiki.org, 2007). To understand better how Nigeriaimplemented and fulfilled these foreign policy objectives, the following paragraphs givea detailed discussion and classic examples that illustrate its political muscle andeconomic capability to influence African affairs.
Nigeria’s Role in Political Development of Africa
Three years after its independence, Nigeria exercised its pro-African foreign policy whenit helped to found the Organisation of African Union (
OAU
). It was through thisorganisation that Nigeria channelled its major foreign policy objectives. The organisation(
OAU
) aimed at promoting unity and solidarity among African states, coordinating political, economic, cultural, medical, scientific, and defence policies; defending theindependence and territorial integrity of member states; and eliminating colonialism fromAfrica (http://www.en.wiki.org/Nigeria, 2007).After 
OAU’s
transformation in 2001, Nigeria still commanded a broad influence within theAfrican Union. For instance, Nigeria’s former president Olesegun Obasanjo served aschairman of African Union from May 2004 to September 2005. Because of Nigeria’sunique military muscle, the Force Commander of the African Union, Major GeneralCollins Ihekire, is a Nigerian and many of the African Union’s peacekeepers come from Nigeria (Shoup, 2007). Nigeria’s primary African commitment was to liberate the continent from the last vestigesof colonialism and to eradicate apartheid in South Africa. Thus, Nigeria was in close tiesand at one point funded the African National Congress (
ANC
) that fought the apartheidregime. With its pro-Southern African foreign policy, Nigeria played a role in theindependence of Zimbabwe and in the late 1980s assisted Namibia to achieveindependence by contributing about US$20 million to assist the South West AfricaPeople’s Organisation in the 1989 elections and other preparations for independence. It3
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