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By Steve Agbota
Nigerian’s quest to recover transit cargoes lost to neighboring countries and consolidate its status as the transit hub of West Africa may suffer further setbacks with the Federal Government’s decision to close its border with Niger Republic.
The Federal Government last Friday officially announced the closure of all land borders linking the country with Niger Republic following the recent coup d’état in Niger. Two days after the closure, the government also directed the Customs to stop all transit cargoes heading to Niger Republic through all land borders and seaports across the country.
According to the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adeniyi Adewale, the strategy is in the best interests of both nations.
Daily Sun had earlier reported that Niger Republic was one of the first three landlocked countries thatindicated interest to transit their cargoes through Nigeria following the commissioning of Lekki Deep Port and the newly inaugurated Dala Dry Inland Port in Kano.
Commenting on the development, a security expert who doesn’t want his name in print, said that nobody can fault the Bola Tinubu government’s decision to close the border considering the present situation in Niger.
He said the closure of the border may cause some setback on the nation’s quest to become transshipment hub or cargo transit hub in that region because it would have economic implications for both nations.
“I don’t think the traders and stakeholders around the border community were formally notified before the border was shut. We need to consider the economic implications it would have on the businesses around the border communities.
“I think what the government should have done is to beef up security personnel around the border to monitor what goes out and comes in that area. The security personnel will comprised all the security agencies of the government to maintain peace and orderliness around the border. I don’t want to say more than this but I believe both countries will come to an agreement later on,” he added.
Meanwhile, the National President of National Council of Managing Director of Licenced Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, said that the closure of the border has security implications, which we cannot comment on.
For sometimes, Nigeria has been removed from the transit nations. We don’t even know if that transit has started. “Negotiating transit is not an easy thing because we still have encumbrances when it comes to factors that limiting the within our countries to these landlocked countries. I don’t know if those areas have been rectified,” he added.
He said it is an economic issue because Nigeria has been delisted from the list of transit nations, saying that negotiating for transit status would be been an economic avenue to pursue.
“In a real sense of it; if it is done, it is going to affect Nigeria’s place in the transit nation. Transit module is not in persistence yet in the country. Ghana has its transit that is satellite driven while Nigeria’s own is still manual. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have an edge over Nigeria. Becoming a transit hub is more than making noise about it,” he said.
