Border Closure: “If You Don’t Eat Local Rice, That’s Your Problem” – Lawmaker Tells Nigerians

Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Adamu Abdullahi has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to sustain the land border closure, saying any Nigerian not willing to eat local rice in the face of the continued closure of the country’s borders with neighboring nations, had the problem to deal with.

Abdullahi, who gave this advice while addressing reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, said all those complaining about the border closure are smugglers and economic saboteurs who wants to profit from the bastardization of the country.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the government to first think about the country’s survival before considering the impact of the closure on neighbours. Abdullahi said:

“Our neighbouring countries have become gateways and transit routes for all manners of commodities ranging from automobiles to foodstuffs such as rice, corns, sorghum, palm oil, tomatoes, eggs and dairy products.

“Republic of Benin became one of the world’s top importers of rice because of its Nigerian market. Almost all of the rice it imported from Thailand, Indonesia etc found its way to Nigeria through the Seme Border.

‘”We therefore stand with this government in support of this policy for border closure.

“We have a duty to protect our own, if you don’t want to eat Nigerian grown rice, that’s your own problem.”

Adamu said the border closure must continue until the unbridled appetite for foreign consumption was brought to control, adding what Nigeria experienced over the years could move the economy to the next level.

KanyiDaily recalls that President Buhari had on August 20, 2019, ordered a partial closure of Nigeria’s land border over massive smuggling activities, especially rice brought into the country.