The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Adamu Adaji, has urged African countries to prioritise negotiation and the interests of border communities in resolving boundary disputes.
   
Citing the Nigeria-Cameroon experience as a model for peaceful cooperation, Adaji said border demarcation should be guided by the spirit of African brotherhood rather than confrontation. He stressed that the concerns of local communities must be considered in the efforts to settle disputes between neighbouring countries.
   
Adaji, who spoke yesterday at the 2026 Abidjan Border Forum in Côte d’Ivoire, said the Nigeria-Cameroon border settlement was evidence that diplomatic engagement could help move countries away from tension and litigation towards cooperation and peaceful coexistence.
   
The forum, with the theme, “People at the Borders: Culture, Integration, and Security,” called on African countries to stop viewing borders merely as dividing lines and instead treat them as spaces for cultural exchange, regional integration and collective security.

Meanwhile, participants emphasised the importance of community dialogue, cultural exchanges and joint initiatives in building trust among border populations and reducing security threats.
   
Among the key resolutions was a call for African countries to ratify the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation and institutionalise local cross-border cooperation to improve responses to emerging threats.
   
The gathering was declared open by the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Robert Mambé, while the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Youssouf, delivered the inaugural address.