With the recent signal by the Federal Government to re-open the land borders soon after several months of closure, trade sector analysts have urged the Nigerian authorities to ensure the protocol agreements it reached with its West African neighbours are strictly followed.
Vice President Yemi Osibanjo had last week signalled the government’s willingness to re-open the borders, which some sector analysts say may have been part of the preparations before the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement commencement January next year.
Though Osinbajo did not indicate how soon the borders would be re-opened, his media aide, Laolu Akande, while speaking with BusinessDay on the issue, said the process for the re-opening was already ongoing.
“As the Vice President said, the border will be re-opened once all the issues which are already being tackled are settled,” according to Akande.
But those who spoke with BusinessDay say it is important that those conditions already outlined by the government are strictly adhered to.
Ken Ukoha, a trade sector expert, notes that the government must put its feet on the ground and ensure that the 15-point agreement reached with other West African neighbours is strictly adhered to.
“The starting point before the government opens the borders is that the 15-point protocol agreement reached by ECOWAS member countries must be well documented in a memorandum of understanding, so that such agreements would become a template for measuring the implementation of other transactions within the sub region.
“This commitment by member countries should make each parties hold each other accountable to the commitment they have made,” Ukoha states.
He says further that the most important protocol is the intra-state transit protocols, which make the MoU becomes very critical, noting that all the 15- member countries have signed on to an electronic signal, which ECOWAS has developed to assists Custom administration in tracking and facilitating transparency and accountability.
Speaking further, he notes that the warehousing around the buffer zones be destroyed as it has been established that it serves as a conduit pipe for smugglers.
He expresses concern that Nigeria’s ‘big brother’ kind of approach has not paid off, noting that the country is suffering from insurgency, banditry, insecurity and smuggling.
“We need to be strict. Customs must stand up strongly to man the borders; there should be strong security presence at the border site, strict implementation of the rules on Nigerian side. That would help in checking other criminal activities, like the influx of people and goods into the country,” he states.
Tony Ejinkonye, a former president of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, notes that the government needs to strengthen surveillance to avoid influx of smuggled goods.
“The government needs to get emphatic commitment from our West African neighbours and specific penalties if the protocols are violated.
No country should become a conduit for smuggling into Nigeria. Nigeria must stand up on this,” he stresses.
The current president of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Adetokumbo Kayode, on his part observes that “nothing has changed since the borders were closed.
“Why do we always like to blame our problems on others? Even as we speak, our border post at Seme is demarcated with a rope.”
Kayode, who notes that it is the responsibility of the government to secure the borders and protect its citizens against harmful practices, states, “Government must take the blames for its failures,” noting, “it was not smart of government to have closed the borders in the first instance.
“The questions we ask government are, 13 months after the border closure, what have we done differently? What has changed? Have we successfully reformed the Customs, is our border more secured now, or can we confidently say that we have checked the incidence of smuggling?
“In our honest opinion, the government should not have closed the border in the first instance.”
Kayode, who served at various times as minister of culture and tourism, Defence, Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, dismisses government claims that the border was closed to check the possible dumping of foreign goods on Nigeria markets by her West African neighbours.
On dumping, he notes, “For dumping to be successful, it means that someone is producing something you need in your country cheaper than you can do. Have you heard that garri or yams are smuggled in or dumped on Nigeria? No, because we produce them cheaply here.”
He appeals to the Federal Government to create conducive environment for Nigeria’s industrialists to produce goods that can effectively compete with foreign products.
“All we need to do is produce enough at competitive prices. As at today, we are still net importers of rice, despite the huge amount government claims it has used to support the agric sector.
“If we produce quality goods, Nigerians will buy. They need to work with the private sector to grow more food. We do not have enough to feed ourselves with yet. In Lagos alone, they consume about 3,500 cows daily, yet we cannot support high quality ranches,” he points out.
HARRISON EDEH & TONY AILEMEN, Abuja
