Nigeria’s Border Porosity and Implications for National and International Security

Abstract

The evolution of modern borders can be traced to the partitioning of Africa during the Berlin Conference negotiations from November 15, 1884 to February 26, 1885. The artificial borders so created are accompanied with extreme porosity leading to myriads of transnational and cross-border criminalities which threatens the peace, security and stability of the region as a whole and Nigeria in particular. This study therefore seeks to examine the causes of Nigeria’s border porosity, emerging cross-border related security threats, government and other stake holders efforts at curbing the menace and to interrogate the implications Nigeria’s Border porosity on peacebuilding, national and international security. Talcott Parson’s Theory of Functional Prerequisites served as the framework while the mixed method research design was adopted for the study. A total of eighty (80) respondents were sampled for the study while purposive sampling technique was employed to select participants who could provide valuable insights into the topic. This research has been able to highlight various factors responsible for Nigeria’s porous borders, the emerging cross-border related security threats, various efforts by government and other stakeholders in addressing the menace of border porosity and the various implications for peace, stability and security of the country. While the various efforts of government and other stakeholders are duly acknowledged, it must be stated that a lot more needs to be done to secure Nigeria’s borders. It is evident that addressing Nigeria’s border porosity is crucial for ensuring peace, stability, national and international security and mitigating the various security threats associated with illegal migration, proliferation of fire arms, trafficking (drug and human), transnational crimes, smuggling, banditry and terrorism holistically requires comprehensive strategies that focus on strengthening border control measures, enhance regional cooperation and collaboration, promote information sharing, develop joint strategies to combat transnational crimes, terrorism, cross-border conflicts, addressing root causes of insecurity, promoting development and governance in the region.