This paper examines the theory and practice of American foreign policy and how
Nigeria, from the lens of the author perceives it. The paper establishes that Nigeria‟s perception
of the US and its role conceptions in the world is a combination of awe, admiration and envy.
Yet there are similarities in the national character of the two nations. As the “African giantâ€
aspires to become in the future a global power, it considers the American standards as its
benchmark for that. The experience and impressions of the author before, during and after a
recent Study of the United States Fellowship at the Walker Institute/Department of Political
Science of the University of South Carolina, offered useful insights into the politics of American
foreign policy, which provided the platform to evaluate the real import of American a ctions in
the global system. The paper is thus able to submit that as a result of leadership dynamics or
shortcomings, US behaviour in the world is, often misconstrued as altruistic, overbearing, and
discriminatory. It therefore recommends, among other things, that the American nation requires
much soft landing after the Iraq and Afghanistan disasters as well an image damage control for
the country to regain the confidence of the world. The method of analysis is descriptive and
analytical, and the data are largely drawn from participation-observation and some secondary
literature.