On Tuesday, June 3, General Christopher Musa said in a forum in Abuja that the deepening of the security crisis of Nigeria demands the construction of fences along the borders of the country with its four neighbors – Cameroon, Niger, Benin and Chad.
Gen musa with its 2,611 kilometers of border with Afghan border and Saudi Arabia and the 1,400 km border of Saudi Arabia and the 1,400 km border from Saudi Arabia and the 1,400 km long border:
This is not the first time that the CDS hovers the idea. On March 4, 2025, Gen Musa, represented by the Defense Policy, AVM Sayo Olatunde, members of the House Committee for Small Weapons and Easy Weapons that the porosity of the borders of Nigeria requires their fences to contain small weapons and light weapons proliferation. “Yes, we have to contain our limits. Porous limits are one of the critical drivers of uncertainty in Nigeria. We have neighbors and countries that are not stable in Nigeria,” he said.
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However, Nigerians, who live across borders with neighboring countries, share strong cultural, ethnic and linguistic affinities and often share characteristics beyond the artificial colonial boundaries that underline the frequent cross -border interactions and a feeling of solidarity between communities. And that is exactly what criminals exploited by transforming the boundaries for weapons and ammunition into terrorists, bandits and other armed groups.
On November 2, 2016, the then staff of the Chief Army, Lt Tukur Buratai, said that 60 percent of the members of Boko Haram terrorized the northeast that crossed foreigners through the porous border points to Nigeria. And that was the reason for the call to the borders to be tins.
But at Daily Trust, we believe that this call is a distraction at that moment, since the construction of fences alone is not a healing against the influx of terrorists and other criminals. Although the proposal may be brave and well meant, we have to be careful not to be led into a blind alley, as it seems impractical or even extremely to be built. The financial costs for the construction of around 4,047 km of Nigerian land boundary with its four neighbors would be sumgical considering the socio -economic challenges of the country.
The collapse includes Benin Republic (773 km), Niger Republic (1,497 km), Chad (87 km) and Cameroon (1,690 km). And these consist of huge land and dense vegetation, which made it difficult to establish effective physical barriers and patrol routes, especially along the northern borders, which lead through the Sahara desert and the Cschadsee basin.
It must be noted that the federal government has undertaken weak attempts over the years to stop illegal migration, considering that Nigeria only has 84 approved land limit control posts, while there are more than 1,400 illegal unmanned border routes over 4,047 kilometers of kilometers.
In addition, fencing the borders is hasty, since the defense and security forces of the nation have not exhausted their skills to deal with the existential challenges of terrorism and the bandlie. And they haven't thrown into the towel yet.
Therefore, Daily Trust believes that more than fences, which Nigeria urgently needs, and patriotic security and border employees who would avoid temptation to transform the boundaries into a living without taking care of the criminal activities that take place there.
The defense and security authorities should use their drones and other technologies such as border monitoring systems, electronic sensors and intelligent surveillance devices in order to effectively monitor and secure the limits. There should also be persistent and improved intelligence meetings along the border communities. There should be a replacement for outdated and inadequate border infrastructure when recruiting additional employees.
We should also improve diplomatic and military cooperation with neighboring countries such as Ecowas, multinational joint Task Force (MNJTF) and African Union (AU) to improve intelligence exchange and joint border patrols and illegal migrants who help to improve the infiltration of terrorists, criminals and illegal migrants.
In addition, there should be deliberate participation of the local border population in surveillance and early warning efforts. And the question of good government and security focusing should not be glossed over in the border communities, since their absence is a safe structural driver of uncertainty that can be attributed to poverty, unemployment and lack of state presence. In this direction, the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) did not fulfill its mandate in this direction, since it is still available as “the means of providing people, sustainable and fair development projects in the border communities, which guarantees their complete integration, commitment, patriotism and loyalty in Nigeria”.
In the long term, fence parts of the boundaries for high -risk zones would be considered, especially for targeted security purposes. However, as a direct solution, this would be too simple for the dissolution of a complex, multi -dimensional security crisis. It can simply turn out a symbolic, costly undertaking that would be operational ineffective and only affects the intended goals.
Far from fences, which Nigeria urgently needs, is the urgent transformation of our border protection strategy, which maintains the integrity of our territorial limits through the implementation of international standards and good practices of such, modern, integrated and cooperative border management.
This should be accompanied by an effective use of military and security goods Nigeria for dealing with terrorists, bandits and other non -state actors, which would make a stopover that the nation is striking. This is the way to preserve the sovereignty, public security and the economic security of our nation, not to be a gigantic fence project that has no guarantee.