Sen. Shehu Sani, others urge President Tinubu to reopen land borders

By Cecilia Ijuo

Sen. Shehu Sani has called on President Bola Tinubu to reopen all land borders across Nigeria.

Sani, a dilapidated lawmaker representing Kaduna Central, talked about this in an interview with the News Company of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

He talked about reopening of the borders changed into obligatory to permit without cost replace essentially essentially based on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol.

He opined the closure of borders over the years, “killed the Nigerian financial system”.

Per Sani, the advance plunged a lot of Nigerians into abject poverty, namely these on the border communities.

Sani talked about the policy while impoverishing a imply Nigerian, enriched the prosperous.

“The closing of land borders has no longer resulted in ample production of food for higher than 200 million Nigerians as envisaged.

“It is anxious to existing that the previous government closed down land borders and gave preference to the prosperous by opening sea borders for rice importation,” he talked about.

Sani also talked about “the policy also did no longer cessation terrorism.

“Now we have had more complications of terrorism, which presentations that it changed into simply futile.”

The dilapidated lawmaker talked about in addition to the commercial challenges being encountered, the shutting down of borders towards other African countries changed into anxious.

“As Africans, we should no longer shut our borders to our neighbours.

“Enable us to be conscious that over half of 1,000,000 Nigerians are there as refugees in Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

“So, how accumulate we shut our borders to them when they did no longer shut theirs to us.

“As Africans, we should be our brothers’ keepers,” he talked about.

Per him, as antagonistic to closing borders, they should be birth to free replace while associated agencies of presidency manned the borders neatly.

“To look at smuggling, now we have the Nigeria Customs Service, Immigration Service and security agencies.

“You can no longer have these agencies and on the same time shut down our borders.

“If we’re paying them, they should be ready to utter because we are able to no longer shut down our borders eternally,” he talked about.

Prof. Job Nmadu, an Agricultural Economist, Federal College of Technology Minna, talked about reopening of land borders would ease circulate of legit items and services and products.

He talked about it could perchance perchance also generate further income for government while offering employment for border communities.

“The reopening of land borders will decrease illegal activities across the borders.

“It is a ways also in the fervour of Nigeria as allotment of ECOWAS protocol on circulate of things and other people within free borders of member states to reopen our borders.

“This traipse will equally elevate down the costs of things and services and products which has skyrocketed in the wake of the border closure.

The don, who is also President, Nigerian Affiliation of Agricultural Economists, talked about the explanation in the succor of the closure changed into no longer critically concept out by the previous administration.

Per him, the closure brought hardship to frame communities which livelihood and sustenance count upon trading across borders on day-to-day foundation.

Nmadu talked about the closure “created synthetic shortage on Nigerian aspect and surplus on our neighbors’ aspect, thereby increasing illegal activities.”

He called on the Federal Authorities to accompany the reopening of the borders with some insurance policies that would assemble it a success.

He further talked about there changed into a necessity for downward overview of levies, costs and commissions.

Per him, this would possibly per chance per chance decrease the tendency to have interaction in illegal activities across borders.

Mr Amodu Achema, the Fundamental Supervisor, Arewa Cottons and Allied Merchandise Restricted, talked about it changed into obligatory to birth the borders.

Achema, who is also Chairman of a social neighborhood, Iko Udama, talked about as antagonistic to frame closure, more factories should be made competitive.

“I accumulate no longer search for the wisdom in closing borders.

“Whatever the border closure, we accumulate no longer have the self sufficiency in food production as canvassed.

“Also, the things borders had been closed towards had been restful finding their plot into the nation.”

The National Public Family Officer, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Chief Superintendent of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, talked about some borders had been restful closed.

“There would possibly per chance be no longer any new development simply regarding the opening of borders across the nation.

“No longer all borders are opened as at at present.

“There changed into an initial opening of some borders by the previous administration and later four further borders had been opened.

“That’s Idiroko, Kamba, Jibiya and Ikom,”he talked about.

He talked about all land borders in the North East had but to be reopened owing to insecurity.

On experiences in some quarters that Seme border had been reopened to importation of vehicles, Maiwada talked about he changed into no longer responsive to such development.

Primitive president, Muhammadu Buhari, had in August 2019, shut all land borders to relief local production of rice and to establish smuggling.