Nigeria’s ‘Border Diplomacy’: Rhetoric or Substance for Regional Hegemonic Leadership?

ABSTRACT

Following independence in 1960, Nigeria intentionally crafted a ‘big brother' honorific title for itself inspired by a Pan-Africanist Afrocentric ideology which it pursues through altruistic sharing of its human, military and economic resources. Successive governments have internalized this Africa-focused foreign policy thrust to establish a putative regional influence in Africa. However, despite belatedly signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which seeks to increase intra-African trade and introducing a novel visa-on-arrival policy for African passport holders, the porosity of Nigeria's boundaries continues to pose a threat and has led to the closure of land borders with its West African neighbours in August 2019. This article examines the implications of Nigeria's schizophrenic ‘border diplomacy' for its continental leadership and argues that the substance and rhetoric of the country's border diplomacy represent a foreign policy interest which prioritizes its people, economy and national security while normatively extending Nigeria’s hegemonic leadership in Africa.

KEYWORDS:

• Border diplomacy
• economic diplomacy
• ECOWAS
• hegemony
• Nigeria

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A good example is the way in which Nigeria approached and amicably resolved the boundary dispute with Cameroon over the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula in 2008. Its peaceful withdrawal of troops from the Bakassi region was indicative of its willingness to play a mediatory role in conflict resolution in Africa (Okeke-Uzodike et al. 2013).

2 A case in point is the policy on importation of milk which aimed to promote local production of milk in Nigeria.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Olusola Ogunnubi

Olusola Ogunnubi is a Research Fellow with the Centre for Gender and African Studies based at the University of the Free State, South Africa. He is also Visiting Scholar at Carleton University, Ottawa. Previous, he held lectureship position at the School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal between 2011 and 2014.

Oladotun E. Awosusi

Oladotun E. Awosusi teaches International Relations and Strategic Studies at Legacy University, The Gambia. He holds M.A (Hons) in History and Strategic Studies and B.A (Hons) in History and International Studies from University of Lagos and Ekiti State University, Nigeria, respectively. He has published several articles in reputable international journals. His research interest covers; African geopolitics, border diplomacy/studies, Peace and Strategic/Security Studies.