Abstract
Cameroon and Nigeria are neigbouring nations that share a common border, people and history. Both nations relied on this propinquity to create opportunities that benefited them in the economic, social and the political domains. But considering the ethnic character of and the stakes involved in controlling the natural resources of the borderlands, these opportunistic benefits were intermittently perturbed by incidences of conflict and hostility typified by the Bakassi territorial dispute, pirates’ actions and the transnational insecurity orchestrated[NVP1] by Boko Haram and, hence placing the relationship on the balance of a paradox. However, this paper, based on written data, argues that the geographical and historical proximity - and therefore interdependence between Cameroon and Nigeria has been beneficial for both countries and has reinforced their willingness to work together in seeking lasting solutions for their conflicts and the growing trans-border insecurity threats.
Key words: Paradox, interaction, proximity, connection, edge, opportunity, benefit, quandary, Cameroon, Nigeria.
