Nigerian Border Security Management and Role of Personnel

Abstract

That Nigeria straddles across a large expanse of land and waters is known. What is contentious is the nature of the challenges the country experiences in securing her national frontiers. The country naturally find herself sandwiched between mostly French and Portuguese speaking neighbours, which weakens inter-group communication in some border areas. Ironically, some other border areas are very porous due to the high degree of cultural inter-connectedness between the Kanembu, Yoruba, Shuwa Arab and many other cultural groups that are settled in the borders between Nigeria and her neighbours. The study accounted for the role of a number of security personnel in border management. It interrogates the state of Nigeria`s transborders and the litany of measures adopted to redress the challenges since independence. It found that the transborder relations is weighed down by multiple security challenges and that the porous and widespread nature of the borders create multiple forms of national security problems for Nigeria. It presents strategies for the containment of the menaces of insecurity in Nigeria`s borders and recommends strategic management processes for inter-state diplomatic and security transformations.