Emir Of Kano,Gov.Fayemi Back Buhari On Border Closure

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State have said that the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari on border closure was to stop neighbouring countries from violating the ECOWAS Protocol given and Nigeria was fast becoming a dumping ground.

They made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of the maiden Foreign Policy Journal by the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN).

Sanusi said that the closure of the border was not inconsistent with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), adding that countries should learn to live by the rules.

“Last time, I was critical of Nigeria’s refusal to sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and recently I have been in support of the decision to close the border which now looks like two contradictory positions but they are not.

“The understanding that you have a free trade zone must come with the understanding that everybody must play by the rules. If the rules don’t work, the free trade does not work.

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“Nigeria is 70 per cent of the population of West Africa and If we have an industrial policy that is aimed at protecting the productive sector of Nigeria it is a fair competition.

“We cannot allow our neighbors to open their doors to this unfair competition and through the back door undermine our industry.

“It is not about smuggling petroleum or rice but in 2017, the Republic of Benin was the world’s second largest importer of Tramadol to the United States.

“All those drugs came into Northern Nigeria and now we hear that there are also arms coming in.

“So closing the borders, I hope is not a permanent solution but what I hope is that is an opportunity to sit down and agree on rules and then open up the borders.

“It is extremely important to have a Foreign Policy that is ready to take very firm decision to protect the national interest against dangerous trade activities”, Sanusi said.

Fayemi said that the border closure is a foreign Policy measure that promotes the interest of the people because free trade has its rules and countries must adhere to those rules.

He said that the ACFTA was not a ground to allow for trade activities that would be detrimental to Nigeria and its citizens.

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