Follow Us on Google
From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, yesterday, tackled the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, over his plea for the reopening of borders with Niger Republic with a view to allow importation of food and alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians.
The statesman, in an interview with Daily Sun, observed that the governor’s appeal to President Bola Tinubu was premised on a wrong foot as Nigeria had never depended on Niger for food importation.
He said on the contrary, it is the people of Niger Republic that have been depending on us for food importation to augment their needs.
“For the record, we supply food to Niger Republic and have been doing that ever since. We are not importing from them and do not need to open our border because of that.
“We have a higher population of farmers and a bigger size of cultivable land than them,” he said.
Yakasai, however, agreed with the governor on the need to reopen the border between both countries, saying: “It is not in our mutual interest for our border to be closed. The people of Niger are our brothers. Many families up North have relatives in Niger and families in Niger have relatives in Nigeria,” he said.
During a visit by the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, on Sunday, Governor Abba had appealed to President Tinubu to open the border to allow for the importation of food so as to alleviate the suffering of the Nigerian masses.
The governor’s Director General (Media), Sanusi Bature, in a statement, said the governor had expressed worry over hunger and starvation in the land, especially during the sacred month of Ramadan, while underscoring the need for the border to be reopened.
The governor also expressed satisfaction with the service’s initiative to commence the distribution of food items to the citizens of the state while urging them to ensure the food items reached those most affected and in need.
