Porous borders, poverty hindering fight against insecurity – CDS

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has decried the extreme poverty in Nigeria and the porous state of the country’s borders, attributing them to the rising incidents of banditry, kidnapping, and other related crimes.

Speaking as the Guest Speaker at the Institute of Development Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, on Friday, the CDS highlighted the significant challenges these issues pose to national security.

General Musa explained that the porous borders facilitate the cross-border movements of criminals into the North. “Nigeria shares 1,600 km of total land border with the Republic of Niger, 1,975 km with the Republic of Cameroon, and a total of 85 km with Chad Republic. Nigeria also shares a total distance of 809 km with Benin, most of which are in the North,” he noted.

He emphasised that the porous nature of these borders encourages the movement of criminal elements, including Boko Haram terrorists, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), bandits, kidnappers, armed militias, and violent herdsmen.

He pointed out that many citizens in the North share cultural and tribal ties with border countries, making it challenging to enforce restrictions on unauthorized cross-border movements. The CDS also linked the effects of climate change in the region, such as increased desertification and the shrinking of Lake Chad, to the insecurity in the North.

“This has led to the quest for water and grazing areas, resulting in clashes and killings, especially across the North-West and North Central Regions of the country,” he said.

From a social perspective, General Musa identified illiteracy, ethno-religious factors, hunger, and lack of social infrastructure as key contributors to the problem. These issues have culminated in the emergence of terrorism, armed banditry, and violent militias, kidnappings, and herders-farmers clashes, among other security threats in Northern Nigeria.

The CDS noted that the security challenges in the northern part of the country are influenced by both external and internal factors such as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, political instability, and socio-economic factors like poverty and inequality.

“Nigeria is of great socio-political importance to Africa and the world at large. Thus, the contemporary security situation in the country and the North is influenced by both external and internal factors. This is largely because Nigeria is a major actor in the sub-region. These, among several other parameters, are testaments to the importance of Nigeria in the continent and across the world,” he stated.

“On the external scene, the situations in our contiguous nations and their other neighbors have also contributed to the insecurity in Northern Nigeria. For example, the political crisis in Libya and other sub-Saharan countries aggravated the security situation in Nigeria through the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons into the country through Chad and Niger,” the CDS added.