Mapping Protection: How geospatial technologies can transform migration management in Africa
In an era where migration patterns are increasingly shaped by climate change, conflict, and economic disparity, African governments must adopt modern tools to meet complex border challenges. From the dusty trails of the Sahel to the bustling corridors of West African trade routes, the integration of geospatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing is no longer optional. It is essential.
I have had the privilege of observing migration dynamics firsthand through research and fieldwork in Morocco and Spain, particularly around the high tension border zones of Ceuta and Melilla. These enclaves symbolise both hope and hardship. Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, driven by poverty, conflict, and worsening climate conditions, endure harrowing journeys through the Sahara and forests of northern Morocco, where many fall prey to traffickers or become victims of border violence, as seen in the tragic events of June 24, 2022.
The core lesson from that experience is clear: without proactive, data driven systems to track and protect vulnerable migrants, Africa’s migration challenges will intensify.
Geospatial Tools: The future of smart border management
Geospatial technologies, when integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI), offer unparalleled potential for smarter surveillance, predictive risk modeling, and humanitarian planning. Satellite imagery and drone surveillance can map migration corridors, detect unusual border activity, and flag high risk zones for trafficking. GIS can enable authorities to track displacement trends due to floods, droughts, and land degradation and these are challenges that push thousands to the brink of forced migration. In Ghana, Nigeria, and across ECOWAS states, such tools could revolutionise how migration is governed. For example, ECOWAS’s Free Movement Protocol while well intentioned lacks adequate digital infrastructure to monitor legal migration pathways. With enhanced geospatial systems, these borders can remain open to legitimate movement while remaining secure against criminal exploitation.
Human Trafficking Prevention: Data that saves lives
According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (UNODC, 2022), West Africa remains a hotspot for cross border trafficking, especially of women and children. Yet border responses are often reactive rather than preventive. By leveraging GIS data to map hotspots and track trafficking routes, we can empower law enforcement with timely intelligence while also supporting NGOs to deliver victim assistance more efficiently.
In Nigeria for instance, AI integrated GIS platforms could complement the work of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) by offering early warning systems to detect trafficking networks operating along border communities such as Seme, Jibia, or Illela.
Regional Collaboration is non-negotiable
My research argues for the creation of an African Border Surveillance Alliance, a regional data sharing initiative modeled on the Schengen Information System, tailored for African contexts. Such a system could enable joint surveillance missions, shared heatmaps of migrant movements, and coordinated humanitarian interventions, especially during climate crises like the 2022 flooding that displaced over 1.4 million Nigerians (NEMA, 2022).
From Walls to Warnings: A shift in border philosophy
Instead of militarising borders with physical walls, Africa must invest in digital walls (virtual fences) driven by ethics and real time data. As emphasised during my summer course at the University of San Francisco, the goal is not to block movement but to guide, protect, and prepare for it. Border surveillance, when used correctly, can balance national security with migrant dignity. We must also ensure transparency and oversight. Technologies must not become tools of exclusion or racial profiling, as experienced by many migrants in North Africa. AI models should be audited regularly, with human rights protections embedded into system design.
Conclusion: A call to action
Africa stands at a crossroads. We can either remain overwhelmed by irregular migration and trafficking or lead the way in humane, tech enabled border governance. Let Ghana, with its legacy of Pan Africanism and digital innovation, be a trailblaser. Let Nigeria, the region’s largest economy, scale its pilot programmes in digital ID tracking and migration intelligence systems. Let ECOWAS anchor a unified strategy. We have the tools. We have the knowledge. Now, we must act before the next disaster forces even more of our people into desperate migration journeys, undocumented and unprotected.
BY OLUSOLA AKANNI
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