Abuja, Nigeria – June 8, 2025
As the national conversation on security deepens, the Tinubu-Uba Leadership Network (TULN) has declared unwavering support for the proposal to secure Nigeria’s borders through fencing and strategic surveillance. This bold initiative, championed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, is gaining momentum across the country, with citizens, civil society, and advocacy groups declaring it an urgent national priority.
In a unified statement released on Sunday, the leadership of TULN, led by its Chairman, Abubakar Bello, alongside prominent members including Hon. Victor Mathew Bobai, Olayinka Adeosun, and Joy Godwin Chom, emphasized that border security is no longer a matter of policy preference but one of national survival and sovereign integrity.
Abubakar Bello, speaking on behalf of the network, described the CDS’s initiative as “visionary and deeply patriotic,” noting that Nigeria can no longer afford to treat its territorial borders as open doorways for terrorism, arms smuggling, and foreign criminal infiltration. “The call to secure our borders is not a military idea alone—it is a national mission,” Bello stated. “TULN stands firmly with General CG Musa and is deploying all our civic platforms to amplify this message.”
Hon. Victor Mathew Bobai, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Kaduna State on Public Affairs and a prominent voice within the TULN forum, echoed the urgency. “Our sovereignty is under threat daily, especially across Northern Nigeria,” he said. “Supporting the fencing of our borders is not just about defense—it is about economic stability, regional peace, and restoring citizens’ trust in government’s capacity to protect them.”
Adding her voice, Joy Godwin Chom, a key youth mobilizer and grassroots engagement strategist within TULN, emphasized the need for inclusive public sensitization. “This is the time to unite across ethnic, religious, and political lines. What we are defending is the future of our children and the soul of our republic. We will take this message to every state, every platform,” she declared.
Olayinka Adeosun, a respected media practitioner and digital strategy advisor to TULN, highlighted the importance of strategic communication in the campaign. “We must counter misinformation and ensure Nigerians understand that border fencing is not isolationist—it is protective. It’s what serious nations do in times of threat. We will use every available medium—online, radio, TV, community dialogues—to push this narrative.”
The TULN statement emphasized that Nigeria’s borders with Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin—spanning over 4,000 kilometers—have for too long remained vulnerable corridors for the movement of insurgents, weapons, and contraband. General Musa, during a recent security conference in Abuja, proposed a phased fencing strategy, citing global precedents such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Civil society groups have already begun to align with this vision. In a joint press release on Saturday, key Northern Nigerian organizations—including the Northern Coalition of Socio-Political Groups, Arewa Media Practitioners, and the Northern Online Media Reporters and Publishers—called for national adoption of the CDS’s proposal.
Comrade Musa Mohammed, Comrade Femi Adi, and Alhaji Balarabe Lawal, who signed the coalition statement, described the fencing initiative as “timely and necessary,” warning that Nigeria’s military is overstretched and in dire need of structural reinforcement through border protection.
TULN further appealed to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to adopt the CDS’s proposal as a matter of urgent national importance, stressing that border security is the first layer of national defense.
“This is a national assignment. This is about survival. We must all rise beyond our differences and echo one message: Nigeria must secure her borders. Our sovereignty is not negotiable,” the statement concluded.
With TULN’s entry into the advocacy movement, momentum continues to grow around what is shaping up to be one of the most consequential national security campaigns in Nigeria’s democratic history.
