Border Astride Nigeria-Benin: Effect on Ogun State Economy, 1976-2015

Abstract

It is a settled position both in scholarly literature and ordinary intelligent observation that geographic proximities can and does intensify international interaction. A nation state geographically contiguous to another nation-state or an ethnic group is either faced with potentially high risks of attack or provided with potential opportunities for cooperation. This was the case of Ogun borderlands people of Nigeria, whose affinity with the Peoples’ Republic of Benin has impacted both positively and negatively on the economy of Ogun State. This paper discusses the various economic activities in Ogun State and to the extent that they have attracted other peoples of Africa through the expanse border astride Nigeria and Benin Republic between 1976 and 2015.Using the descriptive method, the paper reveals the degree of challenges and prospects this movement of persons and goods across these borderlands have brought on the land and people of Ogun, particularly, their economy. The paper concludes by offering useful recommendations that could transform the economy of the land and Nigeria by extension.