Regina almost went back to Africa (5)
I believe the answer is:
niger
'africa' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'regina almost went back' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'went back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'regina' with its last letter taken off is 'regin'.
'regin' back-to-front is 'NIGER'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for niger that I've seen before include "W. African country" , "The black" , "Major West African river" , "foreign banker" , "West African republic" .)