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.