Boundary - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Philip Daniel Yatai
May, Fri, 2025

How NBC is addressing needs of communities affected by boundary alignment

166 total views today

By Philip Yatai

The National Boundary Commission (NBC) says it is addressing concerns of communities affected by boundary alignment and resolutions through its Resettlement Project.

The NBC Director-General, Mr Adamu Adaji, stated this on Friday in Abuja, while assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after two years in office.

Adaji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) a number of communities were adversely affected during the definition and demarcation of disputed boundaries, especially international boundaries.

He explained that the resettlement project was designed to relocate people who live in areas that were being redefined or ceded as part of a boundary dispute resolution.

He added that the process sometimes involves relocating individuals and communities, providing compensation for lost property and livelihoods, and ensuring their socio-economic recovery.

According to him, this became necessary because sometimes the boundary line pushed them to the side of the neighbouring country.

“Most times we try to relocate the affected people back to the indigenous side, resettle them and provide them with basic amenities.

“Though the Border Community Development Agency also intervenes but before they step in, we have to properly get the affected people resettled as Nigerians that have been affected by the boundary alignment.

“We resettle them, providing the basic needs of perhaps boreholes, solar lights, and perhaps basic amenities of market stores and other basic amenities.

“When they are settled, the other agency will now continue to assess their needs and provide what is required.”

He said that the goal was to make the affected people and communities to have a sense of belonging and feeling that yes, they were Nigerians, and their country is making them feel comfortable.

He explained for the Nigeria-Benin border, the 1960 boundary description places some Nigerian communities in the Benin side and some few Benin communities on the Nigerian side.

Adaji said that for the ones that the commission had to bring back to Nigeria, like in the axis of Ogun State, the commission had provided some basic amenities to make them comfortable.

“The Gamuye community for example, some of them have been relocated back to Nigeria in the Kwara State sector, and we have provided them with facilities like market stalls, schools, and boreholes.

“In many cases where you find foreigners that fall on the Nigerian side, they are happy to say they want to remain on the Nigerian side, but our Nigerians would be glad to want to come back to settle within the Nigerian side,” he said.

He also said most of the communities that were affected by the judgement of the International Court of Justice over the Nigeria Cameroon boundary dispute in the Bakassi area have been resettled.

He said that the people who chose to come back to Nigeria have been significantly relocated and settled.

“For those who decided to stay in the Cameron territory because of their economic activities, the commission had given them necessary support and made sure that their rights and privileges are secured,” Adaji said.

Noting that the challenge of getting the affected people to fully cooperate with NBC, the D-G said that continuous sensitisation of affected communities was helping to get the people to work with the government to address their concerns. (NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

FG deploys technology in boundary management

Philip Daniel Yatai
May, Mon, 2025

Metro

FG deploys technology in boundary management

177 total views today

By Philip Yatai

The National Boundary Commission (NBC) says it is entrenching the use of research, technology including drone, in boundary management

The Director-General, Mr Adamu Adaji, stated this on Sunday in Abuja, while assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after two years in office.

Adaji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the commission had advanced from analogue systems to digital and electronic systems in boundary management.

He said with the support of President Tinubu, the commission had made significant progress in managing Nigeria’s boundary issues.

“For those of us who are into the profession of mapping and surveying, we now know that we have advanced from the usual analog system to electronic system.

“Now, we have satellite imaging, aerial mappings and drones and with these modern technology, you can assess areas that ordinarily would have been difficult, if you were to go on foot.

“So, we’re really embracing technology,” he said.

He reiterated the commission’s commitment to tap into available technology to get adequate and real time data for efficient definition of boundaries.

The D-G also said that research was assisting significantly with data gathering to support the delineation of internal and international boundaries, including maritime boundaries.

He added that the commission’s Research and Policy Analysis Department was equipped to provide relevant data for decision making for effective management of the country’s boundaries.

“Going forward, we will capitalise on Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” to deepen the adoption of technology and research in the definition and demarcation of internal and international boundaries.

“This, in the long run, will bring the dividends of democracy to the people, especially those living in border communities

“We are going to emphasise on the physical definition of these boundaries, particularly those areas that we have resolved.

“Thank God, we have improved budgetary provisions that will enable us to double our efforts in boundary demarcation and organise workshops to sensitise people to how to manage boundaries,” he said.

Adaji further noted the difficulty in accessing some boundary locations, but expressed confidence that with modern technology, the commission would overcome some of the challenges. (NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

NBC making progress in resolving Nigeria-Benin boundary dispute – D-G

Philip Daniel Yatai
May, Mon, 2025

Metro

NBC making progress in resolving Nigeria-Benin boundary dispute – D-G

142 total views today

By Philip Yatai

The National Boundary Commission (NBC) says it has made significant progress in resolving the Nigeria-Benin international boundary dispute.

The Director-General of the commission, Mr Adamu Adaji, stated this on Sunday in Abuja, while assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after two years in office.

Adaji said that the commission had reactivated intervention on the boundary which was at some point stalled by the Benin Republic as far back as 2012.

He, however, said that the commission had been able to get the Benin team back to the discussion table for a quick resolution of the dispute.

“We are in the process of trying to resolve the different positions of the disputed areas with respect to the southern sector, which is the Ajara River sector and also the northern sector, which is the Ilo-Borogu sector,” he said.

He added that a joint committee had been set up to revisit the areas, search for more documents, and involve experts to help interpret some of the documents.

He explained that the disagreement stemmed from the different understanding of the description of the boundary in the two sectors.

The D-G said that in the Ilo-Borogu sector, which involves the states of Kwara, Niger up to Kebbi, the issue involved the use of legal instruments.

He said that the confusion was between the treaty of 1906 and the later description of 1960.

“We tend to differ, but we have agreed that we are going to study the two documents critically and see what we as Nigeria can make of the two documents.

“The idea is to determine which one of the two will be more beneficial to Nigeria because the interest of Nigeria is always apparent in our operations and activities,” he said.

In the case of Ajara River, Adaji said the two countries disagree on which channel of the river to use.

He said that the Benin Republic was laying claim to a particular channel, while Nigerian was also laying claim to a different channel.

“We are going to look at the documents critically, if need be, explore the colonial administration’s archives to see which of the two documents is really the correct one to define the boundary,” he said.

Speaking on challenges, the NBC boss said: “We’ve had instances where political will on the part of some governments have been quite discouraging.

“It is very disappointing when we reached agreements and resolutions but some of the governments concerned lack the political will to enforce them”. (NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi