Digital Silk Road and Nigeria’s Digital Sovereignty: A Critical Technology Governance Framework

China's Digital Silk Road initiative has positioned Chinese technology companies as major suppliers of Nigeria's digital infrastructure, including submarine cables, mobile networks, data centres, and smart city systems. The governance implications of this technological dependence for Nigerian digital sovereignty have been theorised in Western literature primarily through a security and values framework, but an original analytical framework grounded in the African political economy context is required. This study develops an original Digital Sovereignty Governance Framework specifically applicable to Nigeria's engagement with China's Digital Silk Road, drawing on critical technology studies, digital sovereignty theory, and African political economy. The study employs a comprehensive research design combining systematic mapping of Chinese technology company presence across Nigeria's digital infrastructure, analysis of technology governance agreements and regulatory frameworks, and expert interviews with 35 Nigerian technology policy makers, Chinese technology company representatives, and digital rights civil society actors across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Original theoretical contributions include a Tiered Digital Sovereignty Model that distinguishes infrastructure sovereignty (control over physical digital infrastructure), data sovereignty (control over data flows and storage), and algorithmic sovereignty (control over automated decision-making systems), and a Technological Dependence Pathway Framework that identifies the mechanisms through which vendor lock-in, skills dependence, and standards alignment progressively constrain Nigerian digital governance options. Policy recommendations address sovereignty preservation through differentiated engagement with Chinese and non-Chinese digital infrastructure providers.

Keywords: Digital Silk Road, Nigerian digital sovereignty, technology governance, Chinese technology, critical framework