By SINL Reporter
Senator Tolupe Odebiyi representing Ogun West has said borders has assumed complication and intricacies that require its institution, studies and reaearch, saying the establishment of the Nigerian Institute of Border Studies, Imeko, Ogun State will serve the entire Africa.
Odebiyi spoke on Monday during the public hearing on a bill to establish the Nigerian Institute of Border Studies, which he sponsored.
According to the lawmaker, it has became compelling for border studies now that Nigeria has over 2000 legal and illegal border entry points.
He said: “The rationale for this bill therefore, is no different as it seeks to replicate the establishment of similar institutions, dedicated to the study of borders in Nigeria, for Nigeria and by extension for Africa.
“This is even more compelling for Nigeria with over 2000 border entry points, legal and illegal and the country’s total land borders measuring over 4,477 kilometers.”
He explained that the nation need to raise its human capital to manage its international boundaries and borderlands.
He was optimistic that the institute, if established, would further proffer solution to illegal influx of arms into the country.
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETfund Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita stressed that the Committee was ready to add value to the nation’s border management and education.
He called on the stakeholders to cooperate to ensure that the bill is passed into law in the interest of Nigerians.
“The establishment of the Institute for Border Studies would certainly go a long way in calibrating the spread of educational infrastructural needs while balancing access to education among diverse demographies” Kaita said.
