Huhuonline.com can authoritatively report that President Bola Tinubu is facing growing internal resistance over a controversial proposal by Nigeria’s military leadership to build a massive border fence aimed at preventing cross-border insurgency, with sources close to the presidency describing the plan as “deeply flawed,” “technically unserious,” and “economically reckless.”
At a high-level security conference held in Abuja earlier this month, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, publicly floated the idea of erecting a fortified border wall spanning Nigeria’s frontiers with Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin – totaling more than 4,000 kilometers. He claimed the move was essential for “border management” and cited Pakistan’s fence with Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia’s border wall with Iraq as successful models. “Other countries, because of the level of insecurity they have, had to fence their borders,” Musa stated, arguing that Nigeria must follow suit given the rising threat of terrorism across the Sahel.
However, multiple senior aides within Aso Rock told Huhuonline.com that President Tinubu’s reported approval of the plan was, at best, “reluctant” and meant to placate military chiefs who have grown increasingly vocal about the government’s inability to contain transnational terror movements. “The President is not convinced this is the best way to spend billions of dollars, especially at a time when hunger, inflation, and insecurity are ravaging the country,” a source with direct knowledge of recent security meetings said. “He okayed the Defence Chiefs to explore ideas, not to commit Nigeria to an unworkable vanity project.”
An Expensive Distraction
Initial internal estimates suggest the construction and maintenance of such a border wall could cost upwards of $10 billion – far more than Nigeria’s annual combined budgets for education and health. The figure would cover construction across vastly differing terrains, including forested areas, rivers, deserts, and conflict zones, as well as the deployment of surveillance equipment and patrol personnel.
Opposition to the plan is building quickly.
Huhuonline.com understands that a coalition of National Assembly lawmakers is already lobbying to block any budget allocation to the project in the next appropriation cycle, citing both fiscal irresponsibility and strategic ineffectiveness. “This is a security gimmick wrapped in a financial trap,” one prominent senator from the North West told Huhuonline.com. “We will not allow taxpayers’ money to be siphoned into concrete that will be useless in two years. Fencing Sambisa won’t stop the terrorists; governing properly will.” Some lawmakers, particularly from border communities, who also elected anonymity, argue that local engagement, intelligence coordination, and regional cooperation, not static walls, are the only sustainable approaches to ending insurgency.
Growing Disquiet Within the Presidency
Privately, sources told Huhuonline.com that there is frustration within the inner circles of Aso Rock over what is perceived as a failure by the Defence Chiefs to produce innovative or intelligence-led strategies to combat insecurity. One senior aide described the border wall plan as “2010 thinking in a 2025 world.”
“The President was clear from the beginning – this administration will focus on pragmatic, cost-effective solutions. What we’re seeing is nostalgia for Cold War militarism, not modern counterterrorism,” the aide said. Sources also confirmed that Tinubu was not briefed on the cost implications before General Musa’s public pitch, and that the public rollout caught several cabinet members and even the Ministry of Finance off-guard.
Regional Tensions and Strategic Risks
Security analysts warn that erecting a border wall could also send the wrong signal to Nigeria’s increasingly fragile neighbors. The Sahel region is reeling from widespread insurgency, military coups, and rising anti-Western sentiment. “Walls isolate. They do not build trust or regional intelligence networks,” said Dr. Mfon Uko, a West African security analyst. “We need joint operations, not joint walls.” This comes at a time when ECOWAS is struggling to heal its rift with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – countries that withdrew from the bloc earlier this year and remain estranged.
The Real Solutions Being Ignored
Ironically, the announcement of the wall coincides with more grounded reforms: Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar recently revealed that Nigeria is ramping up domestic military production and working to end its dependency on imported arms. The new Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) bill is seen as a long-overdue step toward self-sufficiency. Security experts argue that investing in local defense capability, training, surveillance drones, satellite intelligence, and boots-on-ground strategy offers more return on investment than a fence that insurgents can bypass, tunnel under, or destroy.
Conclusion: A Wall of Contention
With growing opposition in the National Assembly, quiet resistance within the Presidency, and skepticism among the public, the proposed border wall now looks less like a national security solution and more like a controversial miscalculation.
Unless drastically revised, the fence may join the long list of Nigeria’s abandoned mega-projects—overpromised, overfunded, and ultimately overwhelmed by reality.
Exclusive: Doubtful Tinubu Okays Border Wall to Keep Out Insurgents
The government wants to build a border fence to keep out insurgents. Defence chiefs are preparing the ground for major changes on border security and domestic procurement. At a security conference in Abuja in the week-ending 7 June, Chief of Staff General Christopher Musa became the first top official to propose the government should put up a border fence to protect it against Islamist militants and other insurgents attacking from neighboring countries
‘Border management is very critical,’ said Musa, adding that ‘other countries, because of the level of insecurity they have, had to fence their borders’. He cited Pakistan’s 1,350-kilometre (839 miles) fence with Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia’s 1,400km barrier with Iraq as successful precedents.
Nigeria borders Niger Republic, Cameroon, Benin and Chad, which are all grappling with escalating militant campaigns across the Sahel. In 2024, the Sahel suffered 3,885 terrorism-related deaths, more than half of the world total, according to the Global Terrorism Index produced by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace.
At the same time, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar revealed that Nigeria is steadily moving from dependence on foreign military equipment to local production, as part of efforts to ‘boost efficiency and reduce reliance on imported hardware’. The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, which has just come into force, is also intended to transform Nigeria’s defence capabilities.
Above all, civilian governments in the regional bloc want cooperation with the military leaders against jihadist insurgents. Through his visits to the military rulers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in the week ending 14 March, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama may have helped thaw the froideur between the three Sahelian states and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc they quit on 29 January.
