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Cross River State shares international boundaries with the
Republic of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The proximity of these countries to
Nigeria makes it possible for foreign nationals to want to enter Nigeria
legally or illegally for legitimate or illegitimate business.

Over the years, most have taken advantage of our porous borders
to enter our country illegally and thus become illegal aliens. There are
maritime and land boundaries between Nigeria and the aforementioned countries.
Many illegal routes also abound.

But this scenario is changing. The Nigerian Immigration Service
(NIS) Cross River State Command has tightened all borders into Nigeria from
that axis. Thus, in the last eight months, the command denied entry to 150
foreigners. Not all of them were nationals of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea,
though.

Mr Ada Ogbejunwa, comptroller of the NIS, Cross River State
command, who revealed this in an interview, said foreigners refused entry into
Nigeria were those without valid data, of dubious character and on wanted lists
of their governments or Interpol.

According to him, it is now difficult for foreigners without
valid visas to enter Nigeria. Whereas, in the past, they exploited porous
borders to get into the country to foment trouble and engage in smuggling, oil
bunkering and general economic sabotage activities.

“The porous nature of our borders is, however, relative. Within
our limited resources, we have been able to check illegal immigration. No Cameroonian
or nationals of other African countries without the required papers enter the
country again,” he stated.

Voting kinsmen

Ogbejunwa explained that the decision to tighten control on the
borders under the state’s command may not be unconnected with the 2011 general
elections, as the federal government has instructed that under no condition
should foreigners be imported to participate in the exercise.

This is because same ethnic groups in Nigeria are spread across
international boundaries but separated only by colonial administrative
boundaries. The tendency to invite kinsmen of voting age on the other side of
the colonial divide cannot be ruled out.

Consequently, all foreigners with tribal links in Nigeria who had
used such connections in the past to vote will not do so this time around.

The comptroller said the donation of an additional patrol boat by
the new Comptroller General of the NIS has helped in monitoring the country’s
territorial waters to checkmate the movement of illegal aliens, stressing that
though the two boats were inadequate, they are better than having none. He
appealed to the Cross River State government to assist the command with
vehicles and boats to facilitate their jobs, given that the federal government
has so many responsibilities to shoulder. The few vehicles available to the
command cannot help in monitoring all the borders points to the state, he said.

Ogbejunwa revealed that they have been combing companies for
expatriates who violate Nigeria’s labour laws and advised Nigerian workers to
report to his command any expatriate who engages them in slave labour,
shortchanges them or pays them peanuts.

Most importantly, he wants workers to expose any expatriate who
misbehaves but who they are more qualified than, as the era of bringing in
ill-qualified foreigners to lord it over Nigerians is gone.

“Any worker or group of workers maltreated should report to us so that we
can investigate to ascertain the truth or otherwise,” he added.