Hameed
Ibrahim Ali , the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service said in
an interview that the decision to close the border is an important gesture to
grow the Nigerian economy.
Hameed
said:
“This
border closure has created pressure or the suffering of the Nigerian citizens
is dumbfounding before now we have poor people before now we have people who
could not afford three-square meals before now we have people who couldn’t find
jobs,”
“So,
for anybody to believe that the border closure is the reason for the hardship
in the country is completely dumbfounding. There are no statistics to support
that claim. The border closure is a win-win for Nigeria”
“Farmers
in Abakaliki who could not sell a truck of millet a week, now do so in a day,
Go to Kebbi and ask those farmers how business is now. People are beginning to
invest in our agricultural system”.
“Why
do we need to be fed by foreigners? At what point do we begin to truly feel
independent? Any country or nation that can not feed itself can not claim
independence. Because the crux is that once there is a diplomatic
misunderstanding, they will close the gap, what happens then?
“Hence,
we must grow Nigeria, we must eat and drink Nigeria. Even China closed its
borders to the whole world for 40 years and today it is considered a great
nation. Don’t you want to be a great Nigeria?” he added.
He
urged all citizens to remain patient as the closure of the border is indeed in
our interest.
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