Photo credit: Mapoftheworld.com
Nigeria became the latest African country to close its borders after similar actions by other African countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan in recent months.
African countries have been closing borders for various reasons, which include health, diplomatic, security and economic reasons. Nigeria who is Africa’s biggest economy recently closed her borders, stopping free access by other countries, and this is of course a big setback to the continent’s integration efforts, where there was a hope for a free trade amongst African countries.
There has been a recently signed African Continental Free Trade Agreement which enables the free movement of goods and people across African countries. The action by Nigeria and other countries like Kenya and Sudan also means a break in the agreement
Nigeria’s customs agency confirmed that it has closed its borders definitely, barring all movement of goods and persons,they struggle to curb smuggling activities.
All goods are now banned from being exported and imported through our land borders and that is to ensure that we total control of what comes in” said Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs Service to reporters in Abuja.
His announcement was the first official confirmation of a total shutdown in trade across Nigerian land borders which had been reported by the local media back in August this year.
We are strategizing on how best the goods can be handled when we eventually get to a point where the operation will relax for the influx of goods “, he said adding that it would still be possible for goods to cross at point equipped with special scanners.
The closure does not seem to have any impact on Nigeria’s economically crucial oil exports, which are shipped out almost entirely to through the nation’s seaports and offshore oil platforms.
According to Ali, reopening the borders will only depend on the actions by neighboring states , and as long as they and Nigeria were not in accord on what goods should imported or exported overland, the frontier would remain shut.
This move is likely to up the prices of food items like rice, tomatoes, poultry, sugar and many more. Exports are restricted, which will prevent the movement of cocoa and sesame seeds through land borders, Nonso Obikili , director at the Turgot Centre for Economic and Policy Research in Abuja said.
