The National Boundary Commission in Nigeria says it is working hard to ensure peaceful resolution of all boundary disputes calling for better synergy with the State Governors towards achieving the task.
The Director-General of the Commission Surveyor Adamu Adaji who stated this while interacting with the media in Abuja announced that over 30 inter-state boundary disputes out of 86 cases has been resolved
He noted that; “The NBC Establishment Act (2006) provides for the management of boundary issues at the levels of the three tiers of government At whatever level the problem is being handled, the Commission will ensure that those involved do all that is possible to solve the human problem endemic in boundary disputes to ensure that they do not recur. Since its inception, the Commission has vigorously pursued the objective of handling boundary disputes both at the international, National and Local Government levels.”
According to Adaji, the Commission focuses on dispute prevention, dispute resolution, boundary definition and trans-border relations maintenance.
“Programmes are pursued vigorously through such activities which involve: searches for delimitation records, joint meetings of officials of the States and National Boundary Commission. joint field investigations by constituted field teams, physical boundary testing on the ground, joint sensitization and enlightenment campaigns, ethnographic studies amongst border communities, advocacy/appeal visits to disputing communities, workshops/seminars, etc.
“The Commission in the cause of our various engagements on strategies aimed at resolving boundary disputes, we have noted the need for thorough investigations aimed at shifting facts from claims and counter-claims, education of the independent creation of new administrative units changed from the exploitative colonial motive to the objective of bringing the government closer to the people which is development-oriented.
“It is indeed a clear departure from the emphasis of administrative boundaries as barriers to that of integration and bridge concept to promote the oneness of the entire country.”
Mr Adaji noted that there is a declining trend in the incident of violent clashes arising from boundary disputes as a result of the activities of the National Boundary Commission.
He reiterated that the Commission would remove all the existing frontiers of hostilities and create frontiers of peace and harmony in which inter-community activities flourish along and across boundary lines.
“We want boundary dwellers to interact freely on the basis of mutual understanding and accommodation.
“We at the National Boundary Commission want to put a complete halt to the rather unfortunate trend whereby the creation of new State or Local Government units leads to hostilities along the affected boundaries.”
The Director-General appealed to Nigerian media to down play reports with respect to boundary issues that are capable of causing tensions amongst the border dwellers.
Speaking on international boundaries, Mr Adaji said, the Commission’s activities are conducted in bilateral or multilateral arrangements with neighbouring nations and in some cases with the intervention of Regional or International organizations such as the United Nations, Nigeria Niger Joint Commission for a better resolution.
He promised that the Commission would be more proactive in the coming year, 2022.
PIAK
