Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, says he ‘wholeheartedly’ supports the Federal Government in its decision to close land borders with neighbouring countries.
Sanusi said this on Wednesday on the sidelines of the recent appointments into the National Economic Advisory Council by President Muhammadu Buhari.
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The monarch, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the closure was the only way through which Nigeria’s anti-smuggling laws could be enforced.
He said: “Closing the borders becomes indispensable because our neighbouring countries are not helping us to protect our economy. For instance, if you want to protect rice farmers, you have to impose heavy taxation on importation of foreign rice into the country.
“Therefore, any country that allows smuggling of rice into Nigeria through its borders is doing that at the expense of our farmers who could not withstand competition with foreign producers. Besides rice and other food items, you must also understand that all the illicit drugs get into this country through the land borders.
“So sometimes it is important to take these difficult decisions so that we get the cooperation and collaboration of Customs officials across the borders. It is something that I wholeheartedly support. I think it is temporary and I think it will lead to improvement.”
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On the new economic advisory council, Sanusi described the team as first-class group of professionals, commending President Buhari for choosing competent hands.
“It is extremely important that the president has high-quality advice so this is to me one of the best things the government has done for the country and this team is first-class team,” he said.
