* Immigration service denies border closure as travelers, traders lament
* Shippers’ Council hosts sub-regional summit
By Kenneth Jukpor
Last week was hell for travelers, traders and freight forwarders as the impromptu closure of Nigerian land borders saw thousands of people stranded while traders were frustrated at several border posts, including Seme and Idiroko borders.
The restriction of movement around the country’s frontier with neighbouring countries followed the joint border security exercise ordered by the Federal Government which is aimed at securing Nigeria’s land and maritime borders.
The exercise, code-named, ‘Ex-Swift Response’, was being jointly conducted by the customs, immigration, police and other military personnel and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), which had advanced security report as the reason for the restricted movement.
While the government’s decision to prioritize national security is sacrosanct, the spontaneous closure of the borders left traders and travelers in jeopardy.
Speaking with MMS Plus on this development, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of West African Road Transport Union (WARTU) Alhaji Salami Nasiru said the problem is that the government ought to have informed the citizens before taking such actions.
“Most Nigerians have friends and relatives in Cotonou, Ghana and neighbouring countries and travel to see them by road. If we have to review our policy we should take this into cognizance” he said.
Narrating the ordeal at Seme border last week, he said; “I was at the border on Wednesday when they said they were closing the border and went ahead to close it immediately. People should have been informed about this so that they can prepare. At the moment, if you have a genuine passport you can travel out but it took the intervention of the Nigerian ambassador to Benin before this window was opened”
Noting that the government is keen to curb smuggling, influx of arms and dangerous goods, the logistics expert lamented that Nigeria lacked the political will to curb the menace despite having a proper structure.
“Today (Friday last week), a bag of rice is N17,000 but three days ago, it was N14,000 due to the border closure. What we are expecting from the government is to show that it has the political will and put a proper structure in place to combat this problem”.
Nasiru admonished Nigeria and other West African nations to take a cue from East Africa who have prioritized their trade agreements and utilized efficient tracking systems to monitor cargoes that transit along the corridor.
He also expressed regret that the problem of insecurity had deteriorated significantly and queried the government for not incorporating the indigenes of border areas in the solutions or awareness campaigns.
“When you look at the issue of North-East corridors, the problem we are having there is that most people who live there are Kanuris. Government should have used their chiefs to inform them on the need to move forward, but the government did not put in structures, so we just do things anyhow,” he added.
Reacting to the allegation that travelers were stranded at the border post, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Babatunde Yusuf, told our correspondent that the border wasn’t totally closed.
Yusuf stated that the closure was only between 6pm and 6am, arguing that those with genuine travel documents have been allowed passage despite the exercise.
“People have been moving in and out of the country as long as they have genuine travel documents. Those who were restricted were not in possession of travel documents. Most of those stuck without travel documents have gone back home while others are now aware that they must be in possession of requisite travel documents before travelling,” he told MMS Plus.
According to the Immigration PRO what is taking place at the moment is border drilling across all border posts.
“The border drilling is to prevent dangerous weapons and other unwanted items from entering the country. The essence is also to enhance the interagency relationship at the border posts as all agencies work together to achieve utmost security of the nation” he added.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Mr. Stanley Ezenga said freight forwarders were stunned to see the press release from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) about the closure of the border and the joint military exercise by almost all the military agencies.
“Seme and Idiroko borders are the two major land borders in the country in terms of trade and traffic. So, this is bad business for freight forwarders, although it might be a good development for the country since the issue is national security. The problem is the influx of arms and other unwholesome products which can be put on hold with this development. However, legitimate trade has also been put on hold,” he said.
Noting that NAGAFF members deal mostly in legitimate trade, he lamented that the livelihood of the members is in jeopardy. “I hope that normalcy returns soonest and NAGAFF’s expectation is that the perceived areas where smuggling thrives would be tightened after this exercise. There is no doubt that the fiscal implication of this closure is going to be huge for freight forwarders, traders and the government” he added.
However, he confirmed that the border closure didn’t affect business at the North Eastern border and the South Eastern border axis linking Chad and Cameroon.
In another development, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) under the auspices of the Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) will be hosting a Sub-Regional Summit on “High Shipping Surcharges and Charges”, Sub-Regional Workshop on Status of Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) in UASC Member States and a Joint Standing Committee Meeting of UASC this week, from Monday August 26th – Wednesday 28th August at LadiKwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
The event is a collaborative effort involving the Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF).
The conference intends to provide an avenue for the UASC Member Countries to strategize and articulate common positions on how to checkmate the multinational shipping service providers/carriers with a view to adopting a collective position for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the Global Shippers’ Forum scheduled for September in London.
Another objective of the symposium is to create more awareness and provide insights to the relevance of the FAL Convention to member Countries for domestication and effective implementation.
Expected participants include UASC Member States, relevant Government Agencies, Ministries, Multi-lateral and Sub-regional organizations in the trade and transport sectors, public and private sector stakeholders in infrastructure development, ancillary services as well as donor agencies.
