Globalization And Nigeria’s Sovereignty

Project and Seminar Material for Political Science

Abstract

This work is centred on an in-depth examination and analysis of the impact of globalization on Nigeria’s national sovereignty, using a case study of the Nigeria- Benin border. It also describes globalization and technological advancements not only as agents of positive change but also as the major forces contributing to the occurrence to transnational threats as a result of their ability to diminish state borders. The networking which now exist between most criminal organizations in the world are now much stronger than ever known in the past as a resulting effect of technological advancements. The research work also identifies the different ills associated with these threats, their impact on individual and national level, goes further to stress on the need and ways for providing the state with adequate border sovereignty control or management so as to fend off all manners of smuggling and illegal migration which at the end will have catastrophic consequences for our national sovereignty.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

While the international order among states is quite strong, the world is not peaceful. In the wake of globalization and the explosion in communication technologies, new sovereignty related threats have Emerged that are to a great extent independent of national boundaries. As a result, a new kind of war is being waged in every country all over the world; this is because the primary threats to national sovereignty have changed fundamentally. They no longer spring from territorial and ideological disputes among nation states but from how far globalization, technological threats and criminal networks have grown to challenge nation states (Zalur & Zeckhauser 2002).

In Nigeria today, conflict seem persistent and intractable, moreover after a decade of complacency, we seem to be finally grasping the fact that we are fighting for survival under the shadow of catastrophic dangers. Hence, discussions on Nigerian National Sovereignty concept has evolved rapidly because the sovereignty environment in which we live is dynamic and uncertain, replete with a host of threats and challenges which are trans-national in nature that have potential to grow more deadly (Pandya & Laipon, 2008:39).

Emerging scenario of these trans-national threats which are irrespective of national border and which comprises of a list of different risk factors that seem unending spanning from different trans-national crimes like terrorism, human and drug trafficking, money laundering etc, to widespread environmental degradation, diseases, climate change and even political policies which might threaten our nation’s sovereignty (Brainard & Halon, 2004), has further challenged the concept of national sovereignty which now pertains to people rather than territories on one hand and development rather than military on the other hand. Now, the notion of national sovereignty captures the traditional sovereignty and human sovereignty. National sovereignty is now perceived as total sovereignty – sovereignty of life and property, sovereignty of the economy and the economic resource areas of the country, sovereignty of food and raw materials resources, of general health of the people, of environment and national integrity, and preservation of all that society considers to be important and valuable (Imobighe, 2000).

Globalization and increased technology has led to the decline of our borders which has led to the increased vulnerability of Nigeria to there threats and endanger our national sovereignty. The Nigeria – Benin border, which is located in the west of our country, is particularly notorious for all sorts of illegal trans-border activities. For this reason, this research work will attempt to discuss Human and drug trafficking, smuggling of goods and arms proliferation and the dangers they pose to Nigerian national sovereignty because these activities are the most common across the Nigeria – Benin border.

The dilemmas that Nigeria faces with insecurities call for critical investigation of border entry points whether they are performing their strategic functions (Willie, 2008).

1.2 statement of the Problem

Globalization, have important sovereignty implications. Most dangerously, a variety of threats have become global in scope and more serious in their effects as a result of the spread of knowledge, the dispersion of advanced technologies, and the movements of people. These same developments, combined with expanding global economic interactions, contribute to some of the problems and resentments that lie at the root of these sovereignty threats. But paradoxically, many of those same aspects of globalization offer new opportunities to achieve economic growth and democracy, thereby ameliorating the threats as well as some of their underlying causes.

The dangers were clearly manifested in the September 11th terrorist attacks, which showed how the Al Qaeda organization was able effectively to exploit new communications technologies, global financial networks, and the ease of movements of people. The response by the international community has also benefited from some of globalization’s effects, primarily in technological advances in communications and in military weaponry. While it is too soon to say definitively, the result of these attacks may be to dampen some of the globalizing trends, as financial interactions receive greater scrutiny and sovereignty steps limit the mobility of people. Exploring the many issues raised by the September 11th terrorist attacks is not this paper’s task, nor is assessing the relationship between terrorism and globalization.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

The specific or the main objectives of carrying out this research work includes:

To examine the nature and dynamics of transnational threats.
To examine the peculiar transnational threats pronging the Nigeria – Benin border.
To explore the impacts of transnational threat to Nigeria’s national sovereignty
To inform policy that will isolate Nigeria from transnational threats.

1.4. Research Hypothesis

Hypothesis is a tentative generation, the validity of which remains to be tested. In its most elementary stage the hypothesis may be any hunch, guess, imaginative idea, which becomes basis for action or investigation.

To achieve the desired objective, the research has the following declarative hypothesis to validate or invalidate at the end of the research.

Globalization trends increases incidence of transnational threats
The weakness of the state tends to engender transnational threats
Nigeria border sovereignty tends to be hampered by transnational threats
The higher the level of globalization and transnational threat the poorer the state of national sovereignty.

1.5. Scope and Limitations of the Study

This research will be limited to the major transnational crimes along the Nigeria – Benin border. They include smuggling and trafficking in arms and weapons, drugs, humans and goods such as cars and petroleum products. The study will analyze and examine these transnational threats and how they affect our national sovereignty. However in the course of this research, the researcher may exceed the boundary of his study as an instrument of explanation. A study like this will have limitation such as time constraints, finances, mobility to acquire adequate materials and literature on the subject matter under study.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1. Summary

5.2. Conclusion

Generally speaking border, territory, identity and human sovereignty are the corner stone of national sovereignty. The defence and sovereignty of Nigeria has done much with our borders. When the border fails to perform its required functions as barriers it creates space for different crimes to find their way into the country and disrupt our national sovereignty. Criminal organizations and gangs constantly device new strategies at a rate which law enforcement agencies are not able to meet up to with addition to globalization and ECOWAS protocols on free movement of anything or person, goods and services, the border has become a line on a map highly abused all round the clock.

5.3. Recommendations

The following recommendation is proffered as a strategy to gain operational control of Nigeria’s vast and porous borders:

Nigerian government should focus on building means to constrain illegal and unauthorized crossing at points of entry and exits. Such measures must be able to interdict smuggling over land, sea and air. These strategies must entail strong legislation with no escape clause for criminals. The strategies must be dynamic, competitive and flexible to allow constant re-engineering to counter new threats.
Conflict prevention, management, rule of law, human rights, poverty reduction, youth and female gender empowerment are also palliative strategies.
The adequate and education of the sovereignty agents is very necessary as some of them appear to be school dropouts with no proper sovereignty training.
Tackling cross border crimes through enforcement and legislation will not be sufficient to ensure sustainable development this is because the underlying causes to nearly all cross border crimes have links to economic disparity, bad governance and poverty. These three key elements are the bedrock of state failure and global terrorism. Also rather than popularly seeking ways on what measure to adopt to ensure to secure the border, an alternative strategy should focus on what should be done to counter transnational criminalities. An admixture of trans-border intelligence-led policing and combat operations on land, sea and air is necessary stem these dangerous threats.
- LAND: Rather than focus attention on checking points, fences and routine grounds attention should be shifted to reconnaissance, surveillances, intelligence gathering and interdiction.
- SEA: Serious attention must be paid to the maritime borders which of recent have become hospitable to human traffickers, drug smugglers and dealers.
- AIR: The nation must be able to determine what takes place in its air space. This can be done through effective radar tracking systems and air border patrols.
Interior enforcement: Interior sovereignty networking can be of immense benefit to border sovereignty. It can effectively check illegal unauthorized entries, work permit abuse, alien control and destruction of dumped drugs and other contrabands.
Human capital development/ training: Background checks should be conducted with an independent manpower survey to determine the caliber of manpower held. Training and development should be a progressive in sovereignty services to keep them abreast of modern trends. All officers and men must be computer literate and technically sound.
A combination of these strategies will go a great extent in delivering our country from a wide range of transnational criminal activities and therefore encourage overall development. The state will continue to be the main international actor and unless people have peace in their daily lives, peace will continue to elude the world. Rethinking and reformulating the notion of sovereignty requires a more comprehensive conceptualization of issues that are capable of addressing fears, hunger and the death of human beings.

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