ECOWAS Free Movement, Threat to National Security- Nigeria’s Defence Chief

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, stated that the complexities in managing Nigeria’s borders pose a challenge to national security.

Speaking on the topic "Assessing the Current Security Situation in Northern Nigeria" at the Institute of Development Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, General Musa noted that Nigeria has 364 approved international border points and 1,497 illegal migration points.

"Further to this, Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services within the West African sub-region. The obligation to abide by the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement coupled with the nature of our border management, further instigates the challenges to our nation’s security. This has manifested in increased insurgency, terrorism and religious extremism, as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human and drug trafficking amongst others," he alleged.

He attributed the underlying causes of these border management complexities to inadequacies in implementing border management frameworks and adapting to systemic changes.

"Equally, the impact of these complexities on Nigeria’s national security, particularly in the Northern parts of the country, highlights the need to improve our border control measures and overall architecture to provide a more effective system that would improve the check of illegal entry through our borders. Thus, we need to continue our collaboration with political leaders and relevant stakeholders in the implementation of essential protocols and action plans towards strengthening our border management systems for improved national security."

The CDS’s lecture covered the background of the current security situation in Northern Nigeria, approaches to addressing these challenges, identified obstacles, and suggested ways forward.

He acknowledged that although the Armed Forces of Nigeria has faced some challenges, significant effort and resources have been expended to address them.

He explained that currently, "the military is engaged in various kinetic operations all over the North and the nation through its Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Operations, Internal Security Operations, and combined operations. Some of these operations include Operation HADIN KAI covering three states in the North East Zone, Operation HADARIN DAJI in the North West, and Operation WHIRL PUNCH covering Kaduna and Niger States. Others are Operation SAFE HAVEN covering Plateau, parts of Southern Kaduna and Bauchi States, Operation WHIRL STROKE covering Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, and Operation Accord II covering Kogi and parts of Nasarawa state."

Despite the successes achieved, several challenges still affect the Armed Forces’ efforts towards curbing the various security threats in Northern Nigeria.

"Currently, there is an erroneous perception that security is the responsibility of only the military. This has greatly affected the ability to address security concerns in the north. Similarly, some unpatriotic citizens continue to undermine the unity and security of Nigeria."

"To ensure adequate security, all citizens must be involved. Until this is internalized, the security agencies, which are significantly less than one percent of the population, will struggle to fill the massive gaps in the security architecture. The curriculum in our schools and institutions of learning, as well as nurturing from parents and guardians, must continually stress the importance of individual and collective civic responsibility to the safety and wellbeing of all. Individuals, therefore, need to watch out for the good of others and pursue well-defined national security interests."

"Accordingly, people must be conversant with actions to be taken and who to report unusual occurrences to as part of their responsibility to national security. It is also important that institutions guarantee the safety of whistle-blowers and reward individuals who show high levels of patriotism and love for the country. As I have always said, those unpatriotic citizens fail to realize that there must first be a country before the issue of who governs where can be discussed. It is therefore important for us to always see Nigeria as our country and continue to show patriotism."

"Low human capacity index is another major factor affecting the security situation in the north. Human capacity index refers to the level of investment of a state in its people in terms of education, health, and social services. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the current average Human Capacity Index for Nigeria is 0.548, with the states having the lowest Human Capacity Index being from Northern Nigeria. This indicates that the attention given to education, health, and social services in this part of the country is quite low."

"This trend, in turn, could be linked to the requirement for good governance and people-centric policies to enhance the socio-economic conditions of the people in the north. Achieving a high Human Capacity Index would therefore be underpinned by transparency, non-discrimination, minimized corruption, and efficiency of governmental policies."

"The seeming distrust in the relationships between government and the people negatively affects patriotism and willingness to place the common good over personal interest. It is in this regard that accountability to citizens across all strata of government remains paramount to ending insecurity in Northern Nigeria."

"Slow judicial processes and a perception of lack of justice, fairness, and equity among citizens within the country are also major challenges. Although essentially contested, it is a multifaceted issue that has grown over time with delays in cases leading to frustration, disappointment, and challenges in addressing systematic issues. For instance, the armed forces have thousands of apprehended terrorists and bandits whose cases are still not yet concluded in the courts."

"Other issues such as seeming favoritism and inaccessibility to justice, particularly for the poor, are also perceived to have affected the dispensation of justice in society. These issues breed apprehension and dissatisfaction, which in turn could cause unnecessary tensions. Therefore, it is essential to restore efficient processes to resolve disputes that may arise from the perception of injustice, especially across the teeming youth population of the north."

"This will largely assuage the citizenry to provide a feeling of belonging to the society. The perceptions of lack of justice, fairness, and equity in the allocation of national resources have also been advanced as reasons for some threats to our collective security in several instances."

"Having highlighted some challenges militating against the effectiveness of current approaches by the Armed Forces to combating security threats, we shall now shift our focus to steps that can be taken to support the contributions of the military to address the mentioned security threats."

"These include bilateral and multilateral arrangements as well as sensitization and reorientation of the citizens. Others are investment in human capital development as well as judicial reforms and public engagement and building the capacity of other security agencies. These are discussed subsequently."

"The fluid nature of transnational criminal activities has made states seek security from each other by entering into alliances. These military alliances and cooperation take the practical form of bilateral or multilateral operations. Such arrangements aid the exchange of personnel and facilitate liaison, intelligence sharing, and standardization of organization, training, and equipment."

"The Armed Forces of Nigeria is already involved in some multinational operations. Notable among these is the Multinational Joint Task Force, which was operationalized by Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to jointly combat the mutual existential threats of terrorism in the region. Considering our porous borders and the negative effect it has on security, there is a need to expand the scope of such arrangements to cover other countries, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Central African Republic, among others."

"Nonetheless, we will continue to take necessary steps to ensure our diplomatic relationships are not completely strained, as this is a major prospect to tackle insecurity. Such bilateral and multilateral arrangements will continue to enhance the security of the nations across our Northern Borders and our dear nation," he said.