President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his decision to close land borders months ago, has been appreciated by Nigerians.
Speaking on Tuesday, May 23, while inaugurating the new customs headquarters that reportedly cost N19.6 billion to construct, Buhari said he closed the country’s land borders to encourage Nigerians to produce food for their consumption.
He said;
“Please note that from Lake Chad to Benin Republic is more than 1,600 kilometres, only God can effectively guard the borders. So you need a person who has the energy and the competence to supervise. I deliberately closed the borders because knowing Nigerians, they order rice, give some to Niger and the rest, and then they bring the rice here.
“With our potential, we have people, we have land, and weather – how many nations are as lucky as Nigeria in the world, very few nations.
“So closing that border, 1,600 kilometres, Nigerians insist they eat boiled rice – you eat what you grow or you die. I tried to make my point and later Nigerians appreciated it.”