Man's name that's an African country if you change the last letter

I believe the answer is:

nigel

(Other definitions for nigel that I've seen before include "Man's name" , "Sir - - Hawthorne, actor" , "__ Mansell, 1992 F1 champion" , "boy" , "We all sign on (anag) -- politician" .)

I've seen this clue in The New York Times.

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