President Muhammadu Buhari’s order opening the nation’s borders is yet to breathe life into Seme, Idiroko and other entry points across the country.
Soothing has changed at the nation’s borders since President Muhammadu Buhari ordered their opening after months of closure. From the borders in Adamawa State to Seme and Idiroko and others, everything is still quiet.
Residents at the border communities in Adamawa State told our correspondent that they had not noticed change in the old order of border closure.
Also, sources at both the Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Immigration Service said the borders remained closed.
While a source at the Adamawa/Taraba Command of the Nigeria Customs Service asserted that the borders remain close, an official who objected to being named said the borders within Adamawa have been reopened but that restrictions on contrabands remain.
He specified that importation of rice, poultry and such contraband goods remained banned.
At the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters in Yola, a source said movement of people around the borders remained restricted because no memo had been received to counter the initial restrictions.
The new directive by the Federal Government to the Customs to follow internationally-recognised protocols and the ‘cumbersome’ cargo clearing procedure in the ports of neighbouring countries, The Nation learnt yesterday, have led shippers to stop moving their consignments to ports outside the country and rendered the Seme border empty.
Speaking with The Nation at Seme border yesterday, an importer, Mr Gboyega Ajao, said most importers that were hitherto using the land border have decided to be using the Nigerian Ports because the amount they are going to pay is more than the value of the consignments at the nation’s sea ports.
He noted that apart from the importer, end-users of such goods, industry and the economy lose out when you bring in the items through the border.
Ahim said: “When an importer now knows that what he is going to pay as duty is more than what you can afford or more than the value of the goods, he will prefer to use the Nigerian Ports
There are two types of businessmen at the border: those ready to follow the laid down principles by the government and those trying to evade the eagle eyes of Customs on importation of goods into the country.
Idiroko, Ogun border community with the Republic of Benin, is also still yet to bounce back to life. Transporters, traders, clearing and forwarding agents, and other businesses operating along that corridor, who used to make steady brisk businesses due to the influx of nationals and foreigners at the border, are yet to return.
The Nation observed that traveling from Sango via Atan-Owode-Ajilete-Oke Odan-Ihunbo-Oko Eye-Ajegunle enroute Idi Iroko over a dozen check points were mounted by the Nigeria Customs, Nigeria Immigration Service and the joint patrol of border drill, ostensibly to enforce the FG’ directives.
Vehicles and commercial motorcycle operators were frequent stopped and thoroughly searched for “aliens” by the officers of the NIS.
A clearing and forwarding agent, who identified himself as Oluwayimika Adebayo, said he has been out of business since the border was shut, stressing that his hope was rekindled when an announcement about the reopening of it was made recently.
Adebayo said the government has “squeezed life” out the people and residents of Idiroko in Ogun State as all business activities that depended on free movement of goods and persons across the border were completely grounded
The Customs Area Controller, Mr B M Jibo, confirmed that there are absolutely non-negotiable protocols every importer must follow to bring in their goods into the country.
The Seme border, according to him, is open to business as directed by President Buhari and based on the further directives given to them by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali.
“We are here to facilitate trade. But every Importer bringing in his or her goods must follow the laid down rules and regulations by the Federal Government.
“Nobody is disturbing anybody from doing his or her business. Since the border has been reopenned, no importer has approached us with valid documents of their goods that we rejected them. No!
“But some of the new condition is that any container coming from our neighbouring ports must be handed over to us by their Customs service. We are not Importers, we are not business men, we are expecting them to bring their consignments but it is mandatory that Transit Protocols must be followed.
“The border has just been opened and we must be patient for importers to bring in their goods. It takes time for goods to start coming from China and other countries. We ever ready to do our cargo clearance and to facilitate trade,” the Controller said.
But another importer who does not want his name in print bemoaned their situation.
“How are we going to survive this though time? That is the question on the lips of many of our members. When you go to China to go an import and you bring the goods to Seme and pay duty. The same Customs official you pay the duty to will hand you over to the Nigeria Customs to pay another duty and other fees attached. By the time you do the calculation, the cost of importation through the Seme border would be higher than that of the Lagos port. That is the situation we are finding ourselves. If not for the gridlock in Apapa and the congestion inside the Lagos ports, many of our members may stop doing business through the land border.
“But Nigeria is a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA)- This agreement is to establish a single market for goods and services across 54 counties, allow the free movement of business travellers and investments,” the Importer said
He admitted that creation of a continental customs union to streamline trade is what they are working on before they can embark on massive importation
But traders and some residents of Seme border who spoke with the paper, berated the Federal Government for turning their initial jubilation to sorrow because of no business activity going on in the area.
When The Nation visited the place yesterday, the entire border area looks like a deserted town and silent like a grave yard.
Both human and vehicular movement were at the lowest ratio as the number of vehicles and people going and coming inside the country through the Send border can be counted on a fingertip.
This is happening on the first Monday of the new year when business activities were expect to have increased astronomically and more than two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari announced the reopening of the border.
Some of the petty traders selling foods, breads, apples in the area complained bitterly of poor market.
One of the local food vendors in the area, who identified herself Mrs Aderoju Adesola said they were not happy because of the low business activity in the area.
“When President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the border had been opened, we all jubilated but it seems they have turned our jubilation to sorrow because there are no people here to eat what we cooked.
“Before the border was closed, I used to cook a full 50kg bag of rice in a day, but now, to sell 20 cups of same rice has become difficulty,” she said.
A resident, Mr Moruf Gbadebo, said they have not noticed any difference between the time the border was closed and reopened by the government.
“My brother, the truth is that the entire border area was a market place before it was closed by the government. Then, nobody can count the number of people coming and going out of this place every day. But since the border was re-opened, the number of vehicles and people coming here can be counted. Therefore, if the government says that they have re-opened the border, those of us living here cannot attest to such development.
NCS Public Relations Officer Joseph Attah yesterday said nobody can counter the directive of President, Muhammadu Buhari to stop the reopening of four borders including Seme.
For insecurity and breach of some ECOWAS agreements on the operation of the borders, he in August 2019 directed the closure of the borders.
Asked why goods were not imported and exported through the Seme border in line with the directive, Attah insisted that the four borders, including Seme, have been functioning soon after Buhari made the announcement.
Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed insisted that business activities have since returned to the four borders at Seme (Lagos), Illela (Sokoto); Maigatari (Jigawa) and Mfun (Cross River).
When confronted that the borders were yet to reopened for the exportation and importation of goods since President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive, the minister promised to liaise with concerned agencies.
He said: “As far as I am concerned, business has returned to the four borders. But I will escalate this information and bring it to the notice of appropriate authorities.”
