Border closure: Nigeria loses billions of naira to illegal importation of used vehicles daily- Expert

Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta

When In August 2019, the Nigerian government took border communities and West African trading partners by surprise by announcing the closure of its land borders with several neighbouring states, a retired Superintendent of Customs, Alhaj AbdulFatai Aremu Adegbite has said no fewer than 500 vehicles are illegally shipped into the country daily.

Speaking to Journalists at Iwe-Iroyin, Abeokuta, Ogun State, a former Superintendent of Customs, AbdulFatai Adegbite called on President Muhammad Buhari- to reconsider his stand on the banning of the second-hand vehicle into the country and go back to the tripartite pact with Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Niger, saying that the policy, rather than assist Nigeria, it has added to the suffering of the masses and loss of revenue for the country.

It could be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari while announcing the closure of the border, said the policy was to prevent the smuggling of rice and other food items into Nigeria, which the government claimed diminished local agricultural production.

The government said the policy will encourage Nigerians to purchase local agricultural products, especially rice, in a boost for long-suffering domestic farmers.

But in December the government finally reopened border posts, while keeping in place some restrictions on rice, secondhand vehicles, and other goods, after it became clear that the closures had not achieved any of their goals.

The reopening came shortly after Nigeria ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which is designed to tear down trade barriers across Africa and usher in a new era of continental free trade.

The border control policy failed in several ways. While the primary aim of the closures was to curtail food imports into Nigeria, they blocked other vital imports and exports from and to Benin, Niger, and Cameroon. Communities along with the border and small and medium-sized businesses that trade over the boundaries lost their livelihoods overnight and saw their operations hampered by bureaucracy.

AbdulFatai Adegbite, a former member, a joint committee of commerce, between Nigeria and the Benin Republic, claims that smugglers merely rerouted their operations to avoid the closure of formal border posts, emboldening the black market at the expense of legal traders.

He opined that the policy rather than it achieving its aims has added to the incessant face-off between the Customs Servicemen and the people.

“Corrupt security officials were helping in the movement of vehicles into the country illegally through the porous borders, and found evidence of continuing smuggling activities on the Nigeria-Benin border.

“The closure removed that stop-gap or margin that importation has always satisfied. When that happens, you begin to see shortages and Nigeria begins to lose billions of naira to the illegal importation of vehicles.

The solution to this was to go back to the 2003 agreement between Nigeria and the Benin Republic when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Mathieu Kerekou of Benin were Presidents.

The agreement gave room for any vehicle coming into Nigeria to pay full customs duty, thereby given the revenue that may be been diverted into the Federal government purse. There was no room for diversion then, and no crisis between Customs Service and the people.

“We were able to convince the people that the game has changed, it is no more like what you use to do then, no more bush”.

“Go to Seme, you pay your duty, go to Idiiroko, you pay your duty. This was done for some time before it was stopped. Now we are losing a lot of money, the money generated from duty from Tokunbo vehicles was very high.

“Though the border is open now, the people are seriously suffering, the government should be responsive to the yearnings of the people, most especially those at the border towns and other stakeholders.

“As I am talking to you now, the Beninoise people are ready because President Talon is fighting corruption to zero levels. We should face how to improve our economy, and stop smugglers, Customs clashes which oftentimes result into the killing of innocent people”.