Across Borders

In the first nine months of 2021, data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) shows a decline in piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea. Although the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) describes the downward trend as a temporary phenomenon, it is easy to link it to increased maritime security efforts. Furthermore, the decline is also attributed to the cooperation between regional authorities and the shipping industry.

Already declared the world’s piracy hotspot, the news is a welcome development. Even more so, the cooperation of regional bodies and the shipping industry in responding to the threats of the pirate action group (PAGs) in the Gulf region. Nextier SPD data shows that only one crew member was kidnapped in Q3 2021, compared to 31 crew members taken in five separate incidents during Q3 2020. Manifesting as ransom kidnap, smuggling, and attacks on ships, piracy portray one of the varied security issues confronting Nigeria. Moreover, it is also an indication of the many unchecked entries and exit points in the country that undermine internal securitisation efforts to stem the tide.

Although adjudged a temporary phenomenon, Nigeria must take a cue from the maritime security efforts in managing porous border challenges. In 2013, the then Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, disclosed that Nigeria has 84 regular entry points and over 1,499 irregular entry routes. This means that while efforts were made to regulate known entry routes, illegal entry points were still accessible to smugglers, arms dealers and armed groups. In affirmation of the assertion, on 19th March 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari held that despite closing Nigeria’s borders for over a year, the country has failed in its attempt to stop the illegal inflow of arms and ammunition. For obvious reasons, the effectual management of the porous border challenges is pertinent for effective and efficient internal security mechanisms. Without effectively regulated borders, Nigeria will struggle to tackle the movement of non-state armed groups, violent conflict and the influx of small arms and light weapons into the country.

Porous borders are a call for regional commitment towards security. Illegal entry points have created an easy passage for armed groups to operate across the region. For instance, the Boko Haram conflict that has dragged on for over a decade, with its menace spilt over to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, is enabled mainly due to porous borders.  The Multinational Joint Task Force exists to counter-terrorism and insurgency across the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) countries. Beyond that, there is a need for increased multi-agency and multi-country collaboration on managing shared borders in the LCB. The LCB countries will gain more from pulling resources and efforts in managing borders to respond to insecurity in the region.

For four decades after the ratification of the Protocol on Free Movement for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and related Protocol on transhumance, it has contributed to the indirect promotion of non-state violence, according to a Nextier SPD publication. In light of the current security realities, there is a need to amend the ECOWAS free movement protocol to meet the current security exigencies troubling the region. Like the Gulf of Guinea, where multi-pronged cooperation is argued as one of the causal factors of reduced piracy, transnational cooperation among the LCB towards porous borders and its discontents may address the issues. Additionally, transnational border management should be preceded by improved efforts by relevant agencies of the respective countries.

Finally, the international community efforts in managing violent conflict in the Lake Chad Basin should involve increased capacity development of relevant state-level institutions with the statutory mandate of managing borders across the LCB countries. Robust programming and policy development towards border management in the LCB will contribute to current efforts to manage insurgency, armed conflict spillover due to geographical proximity, management of transhumance migration and other issues that threaten the stability of countries.