By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In August 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the closure of Nigeria’s borders to enable the country to grow what it consumes, but this action caused inflation to rise later.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), inflation rose by 22.22 per cent in April 2023 from 22.04 per cent in March 2023. This was triggered by the continuous increase in food inflation.
Many have pointed out that inflation may begin to ease if the federal government opens the borders to allow the inflow of food items, as the farmers in Nigeria are unable to plant crops because of insecurity in the country.
But Mr Buhari does not think so, as he said the closure of the borders has been beneficial to Nigeria, stressing that Nigerians have praised him for the action.
Speaking on Tuesday at the commissioning of the new headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Abuja, the President said though the border closure was initially criticised, Nigerians eventually appreciated it.
“I deliberately closed the borders because knowing Nigerians, they order rice, give some to Niger and the rest, and then they bring the rice here,” the President said.
According to him, “With our potential, we have people, we have land, and weather – how many nations are as lucky as Nigeria in the world, very few nations.”
“So, closing that border, 1,600 kilometres, Nigerians insist they eat boiled rice – you eat what you grow, or you die. I tried to make my point, and later Nigerians appreciated it,” he submitted.
