Implications of Irregular Migration on National Security in Nigeria
Jummai Ometere AYENI, Irmiya Thomas USMAN, Manasseh Paul MAICHIKI, Shadrack Terengson DANBABA
Keywords: Ilegal migrants, human security, borders, threats, political will
Abstract
Nigeria faces severe security threats particularly link to the activities of illegal migrants. These have attracted attention from scholars, policy makers and security analysts. These threats to national security include activities of Boko Haram, as well as incidences of piracy and maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea. This paper discusses irregular migration and its implication on national security in Nigeria. The paper relied on relevant secondary sources of data collection. The securitization theory forms the theoretical framework wherein analyses in this paper occurred. The theory assumes that threats and vulnerabilities can arise in many different areas, military and non- military, but in order to count as security threats, such threats must meet strictly defined criteria that distinguish them from the normal happenings of mere politics. The study’s findings recognized that irregular migrants in Nigeria do cause both national and human insecurity and the Federal Government seldom imposes ad hoc measures through which entry points are blocked and illegal immigrants are expelled from the country. The paper concludes that irregular migration persists in Nigeria because there is no political will to impose adequate security across Nigeria’s international borders; and also, there is the lack of political will to effectively implement the national security strategy. The paper recommends that the Federal Government should securitize the issue of irregular migration beyond the normal happenings of mere politics. Thus, border security threats should be treated as existential threats to both national and human security in Nigeria.
Author Biography
Jummai Ometere AYENI
Department of Political Science and International Studies
Amadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria
Irmiya Thomas USMAN
Department of Political Science and International Studies
Amadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria
Manasseh Paul MAICHIKI
Distance Learning Centre,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria-Nigeria.
Shadrack Terengson DANBABA
Department of Political Science,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
Gombe State University