Non-alignment was a principle in Nigerian foreign policy that meant not aligning with any major power bloc, especially during the Cold War (1947–1991), when the world was divided between the United States (Western bloc) and the Soviet Union (Eastern bloc).

However, after the end of the Cold War in 1991, the global political landscape changed. The ideological struggle between capitalism and communism ceased to be a dominant factor in international relations, making non-alignment less relevant in Nigeria's foreign policy.