A recent proposal by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, that Nigeria’s borders with its four neighbours should be fenced to curb the incessant invasion of the country by cross-border criminals, terrorists and other armed groups has elicited diverse opinions from security experts.
The Nigerian military has been battling a 16-year insurgency led by Islamist militant group, Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the North-East region of the country. Of recent, the Lakurawa, another insurgent group joined the bandits in violent attacks on communities in the North-West region, while armed Fulani herders have been ravaging the agrarian communities in the Middle-Belt region.
In the face of this escalating insecurity, Musa, who spoke at a security conference in Abuja, said effective “border management” had become very critical, citing Pakistan’s 1,350 km (839 miles) fence with Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia’s 1,400 km barrier with Iraq as successful precedents.
“Other countries, because of the level of insecurity they have, had to fence their borders,” he said. This is the first time a top Nigerian official has publicly suggested such a measure.
In a swift reaction to the proposal, a former Provost Marshall of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Idada Ikponmwen (rtd), has hailed the move, describing it as a necessity and an imperative for the country.
Ikponmwen, a security strategist and consultant said that though fencing Nigeria’s vast borders with neighbouring countries would be an expensive venture, it would be worth the price considering the several anomalies, weaknesses and failures that Nigeria had recorded along these borders.
“There have been so many weaknesses and failures and all these together combine to make fencing of our borders imperative. I must say that this problem of border porosity which is also the cause of so many trans-border border crimes, has been identified for a long time. It was fully identified and analysed during the 2014 National Conference (Confab). We that were in the Security Committee x-rayed this anomaly with serious attention and prescribed solutions.
“Since then, nothing has been done in a serious manner to address the problem of border porosity. Well, at this juncture, I must say that the fact that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), an important member of the present administration came out to highlight this problem at this point in time is a welcome development in more ways than one.
“I think it shows that the present administration headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be well disposed to addressing the problem of insecurity and particularly the problem of border porosity and the need for fencing our borders. For a core member of the administration to come out publicly and admit that there is a problem means that the administration wants to address the problem,” he said.
Ikponmwen observed that while it could be a very expensive business to embark upon, Nigeria can afford it. “Nigeria is a rich country, thanks to Almighty God. If we can cut down seriously on the level of corruption in our system, it is doable. Our monies have been disappearing into thin air and into the pockets of some privileged individuals. But if we can judiciously harness our resources , we can embark on this kind of expensive venture. A lot of our money fly out through corruption. If we can curb corruption among our leaders and political office holders, we will have enough money to spend on useful undertakings like the proposed border fencing,” the ex-military officer submitted. .
However, Director of Africa Counterterrorism and Security Academy, England, United Kingdom, Dr Joseph Ifedimma, has opposed the proposal to fence Nigeria’s borders Ifedimma, a research expert on Counterterrorism and Critical Crimes, argued that apart from the cost implications, other factors such as the topography, regional nativity, ancestral fraternity with other West African brothers will not allow such a project.
“Studying and passing through the terrains of Niger, Burkina Faso, Beninm Niger, Chad, and the rest will make you to keep quiet on the call to fence Nigeria.
“I have been to all the nooks and crannies of West Africa, you can’t fence Nigeria. Anyone calling for that will be creating another avenue for wastage. We must as a matter of urgency reunite with our regional fractions to achieve a safe border based on frontier coalition,” he said.
Nigeria, Ifedimma said, is a country that will never be entirely fenced, regardless of the amount budgeted, warning that to kick start such a project could lead to some undesirable results including corrupt enrichment of contractors, government officials and their cronies.
“I am still worried by the inadvertent extremism across our borders that heralds daily violence and bloodbaths. I am more frightened at the endless nature of these wars, being ferociously prosecuted devoid of exit dates.
Before we consider border fencing , let us take note of the herculean tasks of fighting an enemy who is wearing a death tag on his face, suicide terrorist and the current scenario of endless budgets on endless wars with no definite exit period.
“Death is very democratic, no one knows his own election date in the politics of eternity. We must take a firm stand, to fight terrorism or join them, because in terrorism, you can never sit on the fence, ” he said.
Ifedimma said that counter terrorism operations cannot yield the desired results with one arm if the country’s security forces maintaining a monopolistic approach to it but can become more effective with a think and do policy for and with experts. He said that Nigeria needs to establish a Presidential Weekly Brief desk solely for the President to receive important security updates on the fight against terrorism,
In addition, he said, the National Assembly must get involved in its daily and routine operations, by dedicating a committee for the same purpose as the United States of America dedicated a single committed agency for Al Qaeda when the dreaded terrorists group swooped on that country.
In his reaction, Brigadier General John Sunday Sura rtd noted the fencing of the Nigerian borders is one of the measures that can be used to stop terrorists or maybe the belligerents from coming into Nigeria.
Speaking to Saturday Telegraph in Jos, Gen. Sura said, apart from fencing the borders there must also be drones that will patrol and monitor those routes, because terrorists can use any means to jump over the fence and enter — unless there are measures like electrification and other ways to checkmate them.
“There should also be a command centre where these drones report to, so that the command or operational centres can act quickly if anyone tries to infiltrate. Fencing alone cannot solve the problem.
“Secondly, there are certain portions where terrorists are likely to come through, so those areas should be manned — both through human presence and even hunters — to checkmate them when they try to jump the fence and come into our country.
“Otherwise, if it’s just to put up a fence and leave it, it will only delay them for a few minutes; it won’t stop them from crossing into Nigeria.
“So that’s what I think we should look at: first, adding drones; second, human surveillance at likely crossing points; and third, a command centre where the drones report to. There should also be standby forces stationed in those likely areas where people may try to cross into Nigeria”, he said.
