Two years into President Bola Tinubu’s administration, strides are being made to resolve one of Nigeria’s persistent governance challenges – interstate boundary disputes that have lingered for decades.
Thank you for reading this post; don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
The National Boundary Commission (NBC) has shifted from merely resolving boundary conflicts to physically demarcating them on the ground, marking a departure from previous approaches that left resolved disputes vulnerable to renewed tensions.
“We have commenced the demarcation of some boundaries,” Director-General Adamu Adaji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja. “This is because, if the boundaries are not properly demarcated for it to be recognised easily on the ground, you can’t say you have resolved the boundary dispute.”
The commission has already completed demarcation work on the Katsina-Jigawa boundary and begun marking the Ebuen boundary between Edo and Enugu States. Substantial progress has also been made on demarcating the Federal Capital Territory’s boundaries with neighbouring states.
Adaji explained that the commission has adopted a new strategy of immediate demarcation rather than waiting for the entire boundary lines to be resolved. “Once any sector is resolved, we try to commence the demarcation,” he said, noting that this approach prevents encroachment that has occurred on previously resolved but unmarked boundaries.
The shift represents a significant change in approach. “Before now, more emphasis was on the resolution of contested boundaries with little efforts on demarcation,” Adaji acknowledged. The lack of physical markers had led to instances where resolved boundaries faced renewed disputes through encroachment.
However, challenges remain. The NBC chief identified a lack of political will from some local governments, states, and neighbouring countries as a serious obstacle to boundary demarcation efforts.
Despite these challenges, Adaji credited the Tinubu administration’s support for enabling the commission’s enhanced capacity to resolve and demarcate disputed boundaries, marking what he described as improved impact in the commission’s mandate over the past two years.
Follow the AkweyaTV channel on WhatsApp: http://bit.ly/3I7mQVx
Or scan the QR code:
