Francis Ngannou found that attempts to cross the border had to be carefully planned. There were many considerations and calculations that had to be made. For example, judging the weather, the tide, patrol times, hours of daylight, time of day, etc. A successful crossing was dependent on taking these factors into account and using them to your advantage. The immigrants would scout the border for days in advance, looking for weaknesses in the fence that could be exploited. This often required lying still for hours in the sand to avoid detection by the authorities. Everything had to be planned to the letter. After being captured it would be a long time before he could re-attempt another border run.
If driven out to the desert the immigrants could expect no mercy. They were not provided with any rations or water, just left to die. If they went near the Algerian border they could expect to be shot, so that was not an option. The only option was to begin the whole journey again. So they would follow the distant lights of airports in the cities to the North. Gradually making his way back to the border to start all over again. This occurred several times to Francis Ngannou. Eventually, he realized another approach was needed if he were ever to make it into Europe.