Benin Republic jittery over Nigeria’s threat to shut border - makes overtures to federal government

Funso Olojo |

The Federal Government intention to shut its border with the Republic of Benin over indiscriminate smuggling of rice through the border has sent jitters down the spines of the West African neighbour.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, in Abuja on Monday, disclosed that Nigeria will, in few days time, shut its border with its neibouring country to stem the rising cases of smuggling of foreign rice from the said country.

Even though, Ogbeh did not mention the said neighbouring country, but government sources told our correspondent that the target country is Benin Republic.

The tiny West African neighbour has been a source of worry to successive Nigerian Governments as more than 70 percent of goods smuggled into the country come from the Francophone country.

It was gathered that the minister’s pronouncement has sent the government of the neighbouring country on edge as the closure of its border with Nigeria will send its economy on the spin.

Nigeria is the life wire of the Beninoies economy as it readily provides market for most of its products the country cannot consume.

The country has, over the years, provided a safe haven for smugglers who use the country as their base to flood Nigerian market with foreign goods, especially prohibited items.

The Beninoies government has cashed on some of the unfavourable economic policies of Nigerian government to grow their economy.

Specifically, the West African country has benefitted immensely from Nigeria’s high tariff on “tokunbo” vehicles and rice, which have driven importers out of the Nigerian ports to the Beninoies ports from where these banned items are being smuggled into the country.

The neighbouring Francophone country has deliberately, through favourable policies, encouraged smuggling into Nigeria.

It would be recalled that in August, 2003, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria closed its western border with Benin as a result of rampant smuggling and banditry along the 700 km-long frontier.

For the short period the border was closed, the economy of the West African country was badly hit.

It took the personal intervention of the then President of Benin Republic, Mathieu Kerekou who begged Chief Obasanjo at Seme border where the two leaders met then and promised to take decisive action against smuggling and banditry before the border was reopened.

It was gathered that the current Beninoies government, in a bid to starve off the unpleasant consequences of another closure, may have commenced high level diplomatic moves to pacify the Nigerian government.

Nigeria has accused the Beninoies government of promoting policies meant to deliberately harm the Nigerian economy.

The Minister said the closure was necessary in order to protect and encourage local production of rice and sustain the economy.

He accused the neighbouring country of deliberate intent to destroy the economy of the country and discourage local production of rice, hence the need to shut down the border.

“Our other problem is smuggling. As we speak, a neighbour of ours is importing more rice than China is importing.

“They do not eat parboiled rice, they eat white rice, they use their ports to try and damage our economy.

“I am telling you now because in a few days, you will hear the border has been shut, we are going to shut it to protect you, us and protect our economy.

“You will start seeing all sorts of negative things on the internet.

“Let me tell you why we need to shut the border, I grow rice, I was the first Nigerian to mill rice free of stones, if you plant rice in certain parcels of land, some poisonous materials get into the rice.

“There are three kinds of water in their natural state; there is fresh water from the river, salt water from the sea, blackish water.

“If you go to the Delta in many countries, in South East Asia where they grow the rice, if you plant rice in the same place like four to six years continuously, the quantum of arsenic begins to increase and arsenic causes cancer and that is what they are dumping for us.

“Some people say they prefer Thai rice because they are very sophisticated, welcome to poison,’’ Ogbeh said.

He said that the Federal Government in two years reduced rice importation by 95 per cent and increased the number of rice farmers from five million to 30 million.

The minister said that states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa were doing well in rice production.

“We just have to handwork you to prosperity otherwise, this country will not grow. My wish for you is to have a better time that we had,’’ Ogbeh said.