Historicising Superimposed (Artificial) Boundaries and National Security: Focus On Nigeria’s Eastern Borderlands

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamism of artificial boundaries as creations of physical spaces by the 1884/1885 Berlin West African  Conference which has given rise to an atmosphere of insecurities, threats and instability of Nigeria’s eastern international boundary,  thereby making that region a harbinger of conflict and threats to peace and national security. It argues the complexity of colonial  demarcation (physical and ideological) of the boundaries and the seemingly intransigent immigration controls, which physically prevents  the inhabitants who were hitherto a united people from crossing the boundaries. The scenario bears its origin from the colonial era and  slots into the post-colonial independence nation-building which has become a vortex of insecurity. Although boundary-related conflicts  have been driven by inter-state contests, the poorly demarcated international boundary still serve as a sanctuary for criminals and terrorists as well as conduits through which cross border crimes spill across the border region. The paper concludes that proper  management policies and control of the boundaries are not only a prerequisite for achieving peace and security on the borderlands. This  could be achieved through implementing strategies, legal frameworks with links to regional and multilateral security architecture as a  catalyst for socio-economic development of the border region.