As part of an effort to stop trafficking, Nigeria has closed its land borders to all movement of goods and has no plan to reopen them for now, said the head of the nation’s customs service. For now, all goods are prohibited to be exported or imported across our land borders to ensure that we have complete control over what comes in, said Hameed Ali (General of the Nigerian Customs Service).
Africa’s largest economy launched a partial border closure in August, and a wider closure had been reported in local media in order to stop the trafficking of rice and other commodities. This policy was commenced to strategize the best way to handle the goods when they eventually get to the point where this operation will relax for the influx of goods.
Farmers and traders are now currently expressing their opinion after the Nigerian government closed all neighbouring borders around the country with a plan to put an end to Nigeria’s economic dependence on contraband goods.
The Losers
These measures taken by President Muhammadu Buhari have had disastrous consequences mostly on Beninese farmers, many of whom sell their farm produce to the Nigerian market. They’ve suffered significant losses since the closure.
“These tomatoes are rotting in the field because the border is closed and our customers have stopped coming to buy them. Everything is rotten in the field and this means we end up being in debt,” said Parfait Glokpo, a Farmer.
According to a source who spoke to The Observer, they sold them about 15 tons of vegetables a month, which represented about 75% of our total production. “They were especially fond of our lettuces and our carrots. But it has been really hard since Nigeria closed its borders. We are really struggling to sell our produce. Here in Cotonou, there is much less demand. People aren’t buying, so we’ve suffered enormous losses.”
The Expected Gainers
According to the Nigeria Customs Service, the closure of the Benin-Nigeria border is described as the most successful and effective measure so far adopted, in terms of curtailing the influx of smuggled rice and other goods to the country.
Hence, this will encourage the rural areas to return back to their farming and will save the country an enormous sum of money that would have been spent on food importation.
Before the closure of the border, it was easier for traders to import and export foodstuffs at cheaper prices. The huge losses to the petty traders and manufacturers that ply the route have been estimated by some to be in billions of naira, thus turning out to be very devastating to these traders who are, in any case, mainly Nigerians.
The Difference in Pricing and Demand before the Border Closure
In the wake of the Nigeria-Benin Republic border closure at Seme, foodstuffs such as frozen meat, vegetable oil, tomatoes, and other staple food are now almost double the prices.
For instance, a basket of tomatoes from Benin which was usually sold between N7,000 and 8,000 before the closure, now sells at N11,000 from the traders until the next harvest by local farmers.
Whether negative or positive, this increase in pricing is having a huge effect on Nigerians.
Now, in your own opinion, can the people - and the government- best make the best of this situation and move forward?