Boundaries Between Nigeria, Neighbours ‘Artificial’, Says President’s Chief Of Staff

The Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has described the boundaries between Nigeria and her neighbouring countries as artificial.

Gambari, who also described Buhari’s foreign policy as concentric, spoke on Monday at a reception he organised in honour of the two principal aides to the President recently honoured by the President of Niger Republic, Mohammed Bazoum.

The presidential aides upon whom the Nigerien highest national honours were recently conferred were the State Chief of Protocol (SCOP), Lawal Kazaure, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Household and Domestic Affairs, Sarkin Abba.

According to Gambari, those countries sharing borders with Nigeria, namely Cameroon, Benin Republic, Chad and Niger Republic, share same interests and cultural affinities with Nigeria, which bind them together.

He said, “All these boundaries are very much artificial. The Europeans in Congress of Berlin just took a piece of paper and were drawing lines across places where they have never been; they never intended to be, separated people who should be united and uniting people, perhaps, who should be separated. But the leaders of Africa decided that it’s wise to keep those boundaries artificial as they may be, because to change them other than peacefully, will be creating even more problems than they can solve. But in any case, whether by those lines, whether artificial or not, Niger and Nigeria share common boundaries, common interests, common concerns they are families across the borders.”

Commenting on President Buhari’s foreign policy, the CoS said: “in his (Buhari’s) earlier incarnation, as Head of State, the defining feature of his policies was concentric circle of Nigerian foreign policy.

“That our interests, our efforts, will be concentrated on promoting Nigeria’s interests in concentric circles at the epicenter; the defense of Nigeria’s integrity, the prosperity, the welfare of its people. But next is the neighbouring countries, then West Africa, then Africa, and then the rest of the world. And he has proved the continuity of Nigeria’s foreign policy in this sense by the fact that the first countries he visited after being sworn in, were the neighbouring countries.”

For his part, the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, congratulated the honourees, adding that the challenge of COVID-19, climate change and lately, the Russian/Ukraine war, have impacted the population negatively and as such, it has become important for countries to watch each other’s back.

He stressed that the honour conferred on the presidential aides has further strengthened the bonds between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

The SCOP, Kazaure, who spoke on behalf of his fellow awardee, said the international award was in recognition of the enviable strides made by the President even as he lauded Buhari for exposing them locally and internationally.

He thanked the Chief of Staff to the President for organising the reception in their honour.