Nigeria does not so much attract foreign direct investment as concentrate it. Capital does not flow across the federation; instead, it pools in a handful of safe harbours and evaporates almost everywhere else.
The numbers are stark. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in the first nine months of 2024, 32 of Nigeria’s 36 states recorded zero capital importation. This was not a marginal decline; it was a total blackout. Investment flowed into just five jurisdictions, creating a fractured map of economic viability.
Lagos, t
