The imperatives of national security in Nigeria (1)

Since time immemorial, man has lived with changes in climatic conditions. These changes which were largely natural or caused by natural factors, brought about changes in seasons and times, and were   essentially harmless to man. But as man progressed in the quest for survival, he engaged in several discoveries, inventions and innovations, so as to be able to harness nature to the fullest for his benefit. This trend however, has resulted in the injection of chemicals hazardous to man himself into the atmosphere. These in turn, has sometimes brought about unfavorable changes in climatic conditions, all of which has led to scenarios like greenhouse effect, Tsunami, earthquakes, drought, deforestation etc, effect of which has been the mass movement of people from one place to another.

These movements or migration which has been essentially trans-border, has also attempted to undermine nations rights to be secured. It is in the face of these circumstances, that this writer takes a look at Nigeria Immigration Act, climate change, citizenship question at the border and the imperatives of national security in the face of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria today vis-a-vis other legal instruments in arresting the danger to national security, brought about by climate change-inspired trans-border migration. It follows that migration does not just happen but it is made to happen. 

Greater resource scarcity, desertification, risks of droughts and floods, and rising sea level could drive many -millions of people to migrate. Climatic disasters are on the increase as the earth warms up. At the same time, more people are being affected by disasters because of poverty, powerlessness, population growth and the displacement of people to a more favorable climatic environment. Natural disasters mostly floods and storms has quadrupled in the last two decades. When affected by natural disaster, movement is instant, spontaneous; many times people are evacuated half conscious, unconscious or as dead bodies because some environmental changes, such as hurricanes and earthquake, occur with little or no warning and require that the people move quickly. In this instant, planning the journey is out of the options available to such person. But according to section 1 sub section (1) of the Nigeria Immigration service Act Cap 171 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, (here after referred to as the Act) stated that “… this Act shall apply to persons entering or leaving Nigeria… “’ and such persons are liable to examination by security official (immigration officials.) Section 2(1) of the act states also that.

“it shall be the duty of every person entering or leaving Nigeria to report to an immigration officer for examination and to furnish such information in his possession as that officer may require for the purposes of this Act and the immigration officer may refuse admission in any proper case”

From the foregoing, any human movement across Nigeria border requires the examination by the immigration officials. From personal experience, any human movement across Nigeria border through the unapproved routes where immigration officials are not available to examine the person, are illegal. Human movements across Nigeria border through unapproved routes are responsible for flooding Nigeria with a lot of illegal immigrants, whom immigration officials can hardly account for their presence in Nigeria.

Section 3, of the Act requires passengers list and medical examination certificate presented to the officer. Climate change is a disaster induced movement, most cases the journey unplanned, maybe, having lost everything to the disaster, no time to get to the authority for the issuance of another travel document or no means to do so, he or she has to run for survival but the Act says the travelers travelling documents must be presented to the immigration officials for examination and clearance. Here, national security is presented with serious challenges. Where such production of travelling document in accordance with S.4 of the Act is not possible, the person seeking entering into Nigeria is a prohibited immigrant and should be ‘refused entry in accordance with Section 4(2) of the Act which stated that “… No person who is, a prohibited immigrant, shall enter Nigeria without consent of the minister…

And where entry is refused, section 17, requires the removal of such persons by the vessel he travelled into Nigeria with or the owner, agents of such ship, or aircraft shall make arrangement for his/her removal immediately. In the course of this paper, I discovered that, there is no legal framework like a treaty, policy or any Act nor Government directive in respect of trans-boundary natural disaster induced movements of foreigners into Nigeria or any international movement at all. They are treated as normal travelers. And all necessary international procedures or protocols must be strictly observed.

Take a look at the natural disaster and international challenge of the ravaging Ebola virus disease creating alarming cross-border effect in West Africa like it did in Zaire and Sudan thereby playing up the relationship between the ecosystem and its’ environmental effect that does not respect national boundaries but humanity. According to Adewale Kupoluyi (2014) in The Punch newspaper of 05/08/2014 www.punchng.com stated that, in 1976, (38years ago, African continent is helplessly fixated on help across the ocean) Ebola was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), where it got its name from the Ebola River Valley with five different international strains out of which three variants; Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus and Sudan ebolavirus have been associated with the notorious outbreak in Africa. 

The refugees commission and asylum provision, in our laws or protocols envisaged movements across the international boundaries induced by political and economic conflicts and not disease as witnessed in West Africa due to EVD currently or natural disaster induced movement as seen in year 2007 which was fraught with climatic crisis of an unprecedented nature wherein the UN CARRIED OUT 17 FLASH POINTS IN 2007 ALONE, DRAWING THE WORLD ATTENTION TO THE DANGER/CHALLENGES POSED TO HUMANITY BY THE CHANGING CLIMATE. The 2007 climatic crisis included Africa’s worst floods in decades, flooding in Mexico, and South Asia, Hurricane Catherina, heat waves and forest fires in Europe, Australia and California. All these led to displacement of people. In this displacement, the affected people have to move to safety having lost everything sometimes children and spouses but according to the Act, in section 3,4 and 17 they must produce their travelling documents and obtain necessary approvals for admission into Nigeria. Failure they should be refused entry. 

Daniel Daudu Makolo