Thursday, October 31, 2013

A thought on security


There have been suggestions that Boko Haram members are non-Nigerians who are recruited to wreck havoc on Nigeria. Proponents are yet to show what  the external architects of Boko Haram would benefit from the siege in Northern Nigeria. Yet, this line of argument is supported by the discovery of 1487 illegal entry routes earlier in the year. The issue is not that these routes were discovered but what is being done to address unauthorized entries into the country even at legal routes. My thoughts is nothing is being done

Here is a picture of the Seme border- the entry from Benin Republic to Lagos.
Seme (Lagos-Benin) border
At the border, Custom, Immigration and NDLEA officials (they either come into your bus if you are in a bus or you walk to the container-office that houses them) check you,your passport and yellow card. If you "pass"(smile well, play dumb or tip well), you fill a higher education note book with your details, your passport is stamped and you can proceed. If  you find this process stressful, you can pay a bike rider to carry you across after bribing the appropriate officials.  At the borders and airports, no biometric information is captured and you can be who you want to be. Yet, the country wants to tackle insecurity and Boko Haram. With this state of laxity at the commercially busy Seme border, imagine what other border posts look like.
Compare Lagos-Seme border with the Hilla Condji border (Togo- Benin border)




and the Bietbridge border (Zimbabwe- South Africa border) 


or Candian border
Source: http://blog.firstreference.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Border.jpeg              
Finally the US border
Source: http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/list-of-border-crossings/new-york/champlain-lacolle/

The negligence towards the Country's security has little to do with corruption. It is inefficiency and incompetence. What would it cost to construct gates, train staff and computerize entry and exit points into the Country? Just wondering (and I am willing to learn), apart from smugglers, are there any other groups that benefit from this carefree approach of the government?

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