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Border Closure, Matters Arising

Border Closure, Matters Arising

By Adetokunbo Abiola
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In August, a joint-border security exercise code-named ‘Ex-Swift Response’ was ordered by the Federal Government to secure Nigeria’s land and maritime borders.

The exercise, which was coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, involved the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Army.

The closure of Nigeria’s borders by Federal Government was undertaken to strengthen the nation’s security and protect its economic interests, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), retired Col. Hameed Ali,  said.

He said that the closure was not intended to hurt anyone but to protect the nation’s interests, and that the nation’s  interest was to make sure that the country was secure.

But since the border closure, there has been a litany of complaints over the issue, but it isn’t the complaints that worry many Nigerians, it’s the response of stakeholders to the border closure.

Three of the responses could easily make nonsense of the border closure. The first comes from the political class.

Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation, described the border closure till January as the ‘biggest con’. According to him, the closure of Nigeria’s southern borders was ill-motivated and presented a very real economic challenge to  neighbouring countries.

Other political stakeholders are on the neck of the federal government to open the borders,  and one of such is President Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin, who  visited Nigeria last week,  in a move to avert the closure of the Nigeria-Benin Republic Border.

It was gathered that Talon visited President Muhammadu Buhari and the two leaders met behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja over the issue.

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Another response that can prove dangerous in the long run is the response coming from smugglers, custom officials and speculators.

Following the closure of land borders by the Federal Government, most smugglers of banned items have devised a new method to beat the security authorities.

According to a Sunday Tribune investigation,  more than 100 illegal routes are now being used by the smugglers to bring banned items such as rice, vegetable oil and even second-hand clothes, among others, into the country at Illela, Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State, a border town between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

Another newspaper reveals that the illegal dealers in commodities now engage the services of motorcyclists and canoe operators to convey bags of rice and cartons of vegetable oil from Benin Republic to Nigeria.

On the sea, undercover reporters from The Telegraph newspapers witnessed how a team of smugglers paddled their canoes in very dangerous manner along the Cotonou- Badagry beaches, passing through places like Gbetrume and Inagbe, to beat the eagle-eyed customs officials.

Some of the smugglers were armed as they ferried their illegal products in a combat-ready manner.

Despite the closure, smugglers have not ceased their operations.

The Nigeria Customs Service last month said it had intercepted 1,879 bags of foreign rice illegally smuggled into the country through Niger, Kogi and Kwara States.

The Custom Area Controller-in-charge of Kogi and Niger States, Yusuf Abba-Kassim, told journalists that all the seizures were in October.

He said one DAF diesel tanker with registration number RBC-05 ZS suspected to be concealing imported foreign rice was intercepted.

Smugglers loaded it with 950  50kg bags of imported rice and  nine bales of used clothing (second hand), while four  Toyota Corollas conveying cumulatively a total of 135 50kg imported bags of rice were also stopped.

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This reporter learned through online sources that even more shameful are the activities of some custom officials  who are supposed to ensure the success of the federal government policy on border closure.

In spite of the closure, a twitter user, quoted by the Vanguard Newspapers, alleged that customs officers at the Nigeria-Seme border collect bribes to allow people pass with their imported goods.

The user, Abubakar A. Aliyu, in a post that has since gone viral, said: “If Buhari did not know, he should know now that borders are not closed. I was at Seme Border, you give custom money and pass, depending on your car. Big car, N100,000 and the smaller ones in price is N50,000 and no receipt. All these customs at borders are making huge money daily”.

The third negative response comes from the members of the public, many of whom groan due to the effects of the border closure.

In Ondo State, residents are not persuaded by the propaganda of the government, as they complain about price increases of foodstuffs occasioned by the border closure.

During a market survey carried out by Daily Post across some markets in the state, the price of rice continues to skyrocket.

At Oja Oba market situated in the heart of Akure, those selling the foodstuff lament the  lack of patronage, which they ascribe to the high price of the commodity, hovering between N29,500 and N30,000 for foreign rice.

Also, during the survey, it was gathered that well-polished local rice goes for N21,300, while the not-so-polished one called ‘Buhari rice’ is being sold for N17,000.

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The price range of the commodity is also not different at Shasha market situated at Oba-Ile in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

According to one of the sellers of the grain, who simply gives her name as Titilayo, the business has dropped drastically, as no one patronizes her as it used to be before the closure of the border.

At Lolo in Bagudo Local Government Area  of Kebbi State, locals say they have been denied access to their families due to the border closure, because they can’t return home from Niger and Benin Republics, where they are either farming or trading.

Marriage ceremonies between some Kebbi indigenes in Lolo and those in Niger and Benin Republics have been made almost  impossible.

Those who had fixed dates for their marriages could only do so weeks after by going through River Niger, which links Nigeria and the two countries in parts of the communities.

Federal Government officials  are already crowing about the gains of the border closure.

The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the closure of Nigeria’s land borders by the Federal Government was yielding positive economic results for the country.

He said “there must be concrete engagements with countries that are involved in using their ports and countries as landing ports for bringing in goods that are smuggled into Nigeria.”

Whether he will be crowing at the end of the day is a matter better left for the future.

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