Nigeria has not sufficiently improved its capacity towards attaining food self-sufficiency. It is now almost two years since the Muhammadu Buhari administration shut Nigeria’s land borders. The aim of shutting the borders was to achieve food security, curtail importation of drugs and proliferation of small arms that threatens the country’s security.
As the controversy raged over the closure of land borders, a minister from the North where the closure of land borders has the most impact was reported to have views that were contrary to President Buhari’s who’d indicated his intention to reopen the border.
It is unfortunate that a minister would contradict the president’s decision. To insist on the closure even when Nigerians, the electorate, are suffering is undemocratic. As minister he should not be seen to promote policies that unleash hardship on the masses that brought the administration to power. It would be assumed that he enjoys seeing innocent Nigerians being punished by the border closure.
What minister is benefiting from the border closure? Does he want to add another colossal damage to the administration’s already tattered image?
The closure of borders clearly violates the spirit and the letter of the ECOWAS and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which mandates the free movement of goods and people. The bloc is dominated by Nigeria by virtue of the size of its economy and its regional influence. The minister should not forget that AfCFTA is an opportunity for Nigerian business.
Unfortunately, shutting land borders has failed to stop the flow of arms into the country. Insurgents, militants, bandits, kidnappers, name them, carry arms freely and kill at will. Smuggling of rice into Nigeria has continued to thrive. Nigeria has not gained anything from closing its borders. It is far from achieving its objectives.
In fact, some say nothing has changed except that the policy has caused serious hardship and impoverished more than 2/3rds of the more than 200 million Nigerians who are either without food or can’t afford the price of foodstuff.
Nigeria consumes 6.7 million tons of rice annually. It produces 3.5 million tons locally with a deficit of 3.2 million tons. Without looking to its impact on the teeming populace’s wellbeing the closure only provoked increment of prices of most commodities.
For instance, rice, the staple food in the country, is increasingly unaffordable. A 50kg bag of imported rice which used to sell for about N14,000 now sells for about N35,000, while the price of local rice has risen from about N11,000 to about N27,000.
Since the closure, local rice millers have found an opportunity to exploit the market with the masses paying the price of the border closure.
In general, border closure is clearly counter-productive. It is like chasing shadows rather than the substance. The war against smuggled rice should have been fought on mechanized farms and modern rice mills that can process farm produce to international standards.
Last month, the government stealthily gave the Dangote Group and other companies special permission to import maize. With this waiver, it is obvious that the government of Nigeria has mistaken border closure for an efficient path to food security; an objective not achieved and still causing hardship to the masses.
As the policy and its enforcers have failed woefully, the government has no more reason to continue to punish innocent Nigerians with land border closure.
Abba Dukawa
