Strengthening Nigeria’s Border Security through Policy Restructuring

Abstract

This paper examines the security situation in Nigerian borderlands. Border
communities of Nigeria differ significantly in the sense that the
composition of people in western borderlands of the Yoruba as they
share cultural identity with their cross-border neighbours, communities
in the northern boarders share a lot with the Chadians and the citizens
of the Republic of Niger on the ground of religion and other cultural
elements. Using the descriptive approach, the paper reveals that transborder
cultural affinity mainly fosters insecurity of lives and properties,
being the problem this paper addresses, results from the activities of
cross-boarder religious fundamentalists who assist their Kiths and Kin
within northern Nigeria, on one hand and to the more realistic views
that trans-border smuggling of contraband goods have more to do
with people contiguous to Nigeria-Benin border on the other hand.
While all these views hold on the subject, that is the nexus between
insecurity in Nigeria and trans-border interactions, the paper aims at
addressing the present problem of insecurity through re-structuring
border-related policies and proffering measures for their adherence. It
was discovered that while Nigeria spends huge amount of money to
tackle problems posed by the porous borders, both border communities
and national security operatives have frustrated this effort.