Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa is evident in her foreign policy articulation of African Centre Piece. From 1960, Nigeria has championed the project of Africa through different diplomatic engagements across the continent of Africa most especially under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration. Nigeria’s unwavering support against the apartheid regime in South Africa led to the termination of apartheid government in 1994. However, the post- apartheid politics in Africa as well as the post-Cold War politics changed the dynamics of African politics. Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa became more contested and hypothetical with the emergence of notable countries such as Ethiopia and South Africa posing serious challenges to Nigeria’s hegemony in the continent. The most viable and notable threats came from South Africa following the end of apartheid regime in South Africa and coupled with its good governance rating, which had heightened the status of the country as a notable continental leader. This article attempts to explain the leadership roles of Nigeria and South Africa in a peripheral region of Africa with the view of analysing who has the sway to lead the affairs of Africa to the path of prosperity. Through the secondary method of data collection and qualitative method of data analysis (discourse analysis), the study concludes that Nigeria and South Africa roles in Africa were motivated by realist considerations. The study, however, recommends concerted efforts between Nigeria and South Africa in addressing socio-economic challenges in the African continent.

尼日利亚声称自己是非洲巨人，这在她对非洲中心作品的外交政策阐述中显而易见。从 1960 年起，尼日利亚通过在非洲大陆的不同外交活动支持非洲项目，尤其是在奥卢塞贡·奥巴桑乔总统​​的文职管理下。尼日利亚对南非种族隔离政权的坚定支持导致种族隔离政府于1994年终止。然而，后种族隔离政治以及后冷战政治改变了非洲政治的动态。随着埃塞俄比亚和南非等著名国家的出现对尼日利亚在非洲大陆的霸权构成严重挑战，尼日利亚作为非洲巨人的主张变得更加有争议和假设。在南非种族隔离制度结束后，最可行和最显着的威胁来自南非，再加上其良好的治理评级，提高了该国作为著名大陆领导人的地位。本文试图阐释尼日利亚和南非在非洲周边地区的领导作用，以分析谁具有主导非洲事务走向繁荣之路的影响力。通过数据收集的辅助方法和数据分析的定性方法（话语分析），该研究得出结论，尼日利亚和南非在非洲的角色是出于现实考虑。然而，该研究建议尼日利亚和南非共同努力应对非洲大陆的社会经济挑战。