It is well-known that Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other terror networks that have been disturbing the peace of Nigeria find ready adherents not only from within the country but also from the territories of our neighbors. Most of these mercenaries, because they have no stake in our country, quite naturally seem to be more violent and ready to exert maximum collateral damage whenever they strike. But the challenge is not restricted to the northern part of the country where these insurgents operate almost freely. In the southwestern border areas, especially the Seme-Badagry-Idiroko axis, smuggling activities have continued unabated thereby posing serious threats to the nation’s economy.

From the economic standpoint, the textile industry for instance is a major casualty of our porous borders as virtually all the leading local textile mills have been shut down. That is because their products could not compete with the imported but cheaply priced wax and print materials illegally brought into the country. According to most estimates, more than a million direct and indirect jobs have been lost to this menace. But the bigger problem is the contribution of these porous borders to the general insecurity that now plagues the country. Today, there is hardly any criminal act and violence in Nigeria that could not be remotely traced to the relative ease with which armed gangs enter and exit through many of our 149 borders

Some of the notorious borders across the country include those with Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the north and the boundaries with Benin and Togo in the Southwest area. Without exception, all these borders are loosely patrolled, if at all, while illegal movement of people and goods flow almost freely. Meanwhile, the contiguous nature of the border sometimes presents its own challenges. Most of the people in these areas inter marry and share similar cultural and religious practices.

With mercenary activities directly linked to the violence being witnessed in many of the epicenters, especially in the Northwest, the federal government last year hinted of the possibility of floating a border security force. Nothing has been done in that direction. “The most dominant transnational security issue remains the threat of terrorism perpetrated by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs). These terrorist groups continue to exploit the porous border areas to disrupt the livelihoods of innocent citizens in their communities,” theNational Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, said during the eighth session of the Cameroon-Nigeria Trans-Border Security Committee last November in Abuja.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards strengthening border security and stemming the tide of banditry and smuggling activities. As part of the agreement, the NAF is expected to make available, on request, two of its pilots to assist with operation of NCS Bell-427 helicopters and by so doing complement the manpower of NCS Air-Wing. “The MoU will go a long way in building on the already existing cordial and cooperative relationship as well as ensure seamless collaboration between our organisations,” the Chief of the Air Staff, Oladayo Amao, said at the ceremony.

While we consider this to be a positive development, there is an urgent need for Nigeria to properly demarcate the nation’s borders through the setting up of a special agency within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). When the boundaries are clearly identified and delineated it would be a lot easier to monitor them. It is unacceptable that Nigeria’s borders remain the easiest crossing points in the world today. The authorities must do something about it.

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