President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that the nation’s land borders were closed in order to encourage Nigerians to grow food for their own use.
He said that although the action was first criticized, Nigerians gradually embraced it.
Inaugurating the new customs headquarters, situated in the federal capital territory’s (FCT)
which was estimated at the cost of N19.6 billion on Tuesday, Buhari said that
there are more than 1,600 kilometers between Lake Chad and the Benin Republic, but only God is capable of effectively securing the boundaries.
He said that to that effect, the nation needs someone who can manage it with enthusiasm and skill.
President Buhari said that knowing Nigerians, he closed the borders on purpose because they would order rice, send some to Niger, and then bring the rest here.
He stated that few countries in the world are as fortunate as Nigeria in terms of their potential, population, territory, and climate and that closing the border enables Nigerians to cultivate more rice for consumption.
Nigeria ordered the closure of all of its borders with Benin and all other nations on October 14 , 2019 effort to tackle smuggling and associated corruption, and also to spur the domestic agricultural industry.
At the time there was an increase in domestic food prices, which was already high and it also affected Benin’s economy. Benin Republic was a staging ground for smuggling into Nigeria.
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