Evidence of subnational government sovereign boundary percolation in Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzes data from 1999–2019, evidencing strategies utilized by Nigerian Subnational Governments (SNGs) for attracting inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). These strategies are unique for several reasons, including the fact that they highlight the evidence of paradiplomacy in Nigeria, a case study that is understudied in the paradiplomacy literature. These strategies are also a deviation from the conventional protocols for FDI mobilization in Nigeria. Drawing on Duchacek's conceptualization of these strategies as a percolation of sovereign boundaries, i.e. the idea that SNGs are permeating inter-sovereign ‘sieves’ designed to restrict their forays into the international plane, this paper conceptually maps and empirically assesses the varied expressions and prevalence of these strategies. Although these strategies are yet to be constitutionally challenged by the central government, they reveal a growing porosity of Nigeria’s sovereign boundaries and necessitate a critical reassessment of the extant intergovernmental frameworks that govern FDI mobilization in Nigeria.