Why borders must remain closed, by Ogun Assembly Speaker

By : Azeez Olorunlomeru, Abeokuta

Date: 5 March 2024 4:30am WAT

NIGERIA-NIGER-ECONOMY-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

A water vendor crosses the barrier at the closed Niger-Nigeria border in Jibia on February 17, 2024. - Nigeria, which shares 1,600 km of border with its neighbor, was until now one of Niger's main trading partners with $193 million in exports in 2022 according to the United Nations (electricity, tobacco, cement, etc). Since the border closure, it has even been a double whammy for the local population, who have seen food prices explode under the combined effect of new movement restrictions and galloping inflation after the Nigerian president , Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in office since May, implemented economic reforms which plunged the country into crisis. (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP)

Ogun State House of Assembly Speaker, Daisi Elemide, has backed the Federal Government on closure of borders.

He emphasised the necessity of such measures to record economic development.

Elemide, who said that countries like India and Singapore prospered by closing their borders, expressed concerns about smuggling, citing instances where restrictions were circumvented, leading to challenges, such as imported rice through ports instead of closed borders.

“In Great Britain, there is a cry for food. In India, the people are grappling with rising food prices, while the Cubans are demonstrating for reasons related to food.