‘Let’s Fence Nigeria’: CDS Musa Pushes Radical Border Security Plan

In a bold and controversial statement aimed at addressing Nigeria’s deepening security crisis, Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa has called for the fencing of the country’s borders to curb external threats and cross-border criminality.

Speaking during a national security forum, General Musa argued that neighboring countries do not share Nigeria’s ideological stance on governance and security, making the nation increasingly vulnerable.

 “All the countries around us do not share our ideology. For us to be secure, let us fence our borders,” the Defence Chief asserted.

Nigeria, which shares land borders with Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin—all grappling with their own security and governance issues—has faced waves of transnational threats, from arms smuggling to extremist infiltration.

General Musa’s proposal has stirred widespread debate, with some analysts welcoming the call as a bold step toward national defense, while others warn of the logistical and diplomatic complexities involved in walling off one of Africa’s largest and most porous borders.

The Defence Chief’s comments come amid escalating insecurity across the country, including insurgency in the northeast, banditry in the northwest, and separatist agitations in the southeast—many of which are believed to have foreign links.

As security agencies intensify efforts to restore peace, Musa’s fencing proposal signals a shift toward more radical containment strategies, raising urgent questions about feasibility, cost, and regional cooperation.