An overused strategy by the Federal Government to instil order into the chaos at the land borders by closing and reopening them unilaterally lays bare the entrenched superficial method of conducting public affairs in Nigeria. Without notice, the ruling regime shut the borders in August 2019, citing the need to curtail the smuggling of rice, arms, cars and frozen foods and protect domestic goods. After much vacillation, four of the borders in the North and South were flung open on December 16. While the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and his team are celebrating the gains of the closure, a close review of the policy reveals wider procedural issues and serious economic losses.
Undeniably, the reopening has exhumed old concerns. One, there is evidence that smuggling is still thriving. In the past week, among other reports, Nigeria Customs Service officers raided Ayetoro in Ogun State in search of rice smugglers. This led to a fatal clash between them and some youths resulting in injuries and deaths. It suggests that at the end of the lengthy closure, the borders are still porous and dangerous.
Officially, there is an air of resignation at the highest level of government about how to secure Nigeria’s permeable borders. Buhari laughably hinted at this to his Nigerien counterpart last week, saying “only God can supervise the Nigeria-Niger border” of 1,400 kilometres. The national security challenges and the economy make critical thinking on border control imperative. It is acknowledged that the Boko Haram insurgency has been exacerbated by Nigeria’s porous borders with Cameroon (1,690 kilometres) in the east, Niger (1,497 kilometres) in the north, Benin (773 kilometres) in the west, and Chad (87 kilometres) in the northeast. Most of these border areas are either mountainous, arid or in the jungle. Parts are ungoverned, seeing little or no government presence.
The protection of a country’s borders is vital to its national security and the economy. Experts say this includes protection and prevention of threats to national security through illegal entry of undesirable persons bent on causing mischief and harm to the country and the protection and prevention of loss of revenue through smuggling and improper filing of trade documents. There is also the protection of the health and well-being of the community through preventing illegal entry of harmful medicinal products and other psychotropic substances. Others are the protection of flora and fauna and preventing entry of the same, which would be detrimental to the agricultural interests of the country and prevention of illegal entry and exit of arms, explosives and other materials of like nature.
In extreme cases, cities, kingdoms and nation-states have had reasons to build physical barriers to mark their territory, protect their inhabitants and control who and what enters and exits. The Donald Trump wall is 669 miles of “primary barrier” – the first structure people heading from Mexico to the US will encounter – and 65 miles of “secondary barrier” – which usually runs behind the primary structure as a further obstacle, according to the BBC. These days, technology drives border security. In extreme cases, border closure is not out of place. But in Nigeria’s case, not only was the closure sudden, it spanned 16 months, long enough to disrupt the sub-regional trade relations in West Africa and instigate high inflation, according to the Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed.
Nigeria evidently gained various benefits during the closure, which must have deluded the government to elongate the closure more than desirable. Among others, the NCS increased its daily income from about N4 billion to more than N5 billion. By mid-December 2020, the joint task force team had seized 1,957 vehicles, 895 motorcycles, 10,447 bags of fertilisers, 18,630 kegs of vegetable oil, 74,307 kegs and 5,653 drums of petrol, 90 pump-action guns and 5,676 cartridges/ammunition worth N12.36 billion.
In the modern age, prolonged border closure is a sign of backwardness. It negates international trade, as Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS treaty on the movement of goods and services and the African Free Trade Agreement.
Buhari should turn things around, infusing the best global border management practices. These days, countries do not close their borders interminably, but put in place efficient solutions to prevent infiltrators. There is no excuse for Customs to be operating manually. Because of this anomaly, contraband and illegal migrants are infiltrating Nigeria’s shores: Boko Haram and bandits can still be found with high calibre weapons; smuggled goods seep in uncontrollably through the borders. At the seaports in Lagos, manual operations by Customs is instigating undue delay in cargo clearing. Therefore, the reform should be total, particularly the use of technology, including scanners to detect the movement of contrabands.
Currently, there is a high level of distrust between the border communities and the Customs. On the pretext of chasing smugglers, Customs shoot indiscriminately and kill people. This is a crude way of law enforcement. The Customs will be better off preventing goods from entering into the country at the borders rather than running riot in the hinterland and wreaking havoc on the people.
Corrupt practices at the country’s borders should be addressed.
Effective management of our borders while ensuring security at the same time will facilitate legitimate trade and travel with our neighbours. Well-trained staff and inspection technology are needed to increase border patrols and checkpoint effectiveness. Effective border patrols require constant surveillance by agents, high tech sensors, aircraft, and drones. Public bodies involved in border management should be empowered accordingly to discharge their duties effectively.
The Buhari regime should appoint capable leaders to head these agencies. The regime should strike a balance between the encouragement and facilitation of physical movement of persons and goods across the borders while at the same time ensuring that security of the country is not compromised.
