President Muhammadu Buhari has said he deliberately closed the country’s land borders to encourage Nigerians to produce food for local consumption.
Speaking on Tuesday, while inaugurating the new customs headquarters situated in the Maitama district of Abuja, which reportedly gulped the sum of N19.6 billion to build, President Buhari said although the action was initially criticised, Nigerians eventually appreciated it.
“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,”Buhari said.
Speaking further, the president said, “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.”
The Nigerian president also revealed the reason he nominated Hameed Ali as comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
“As for Hameed Ali, I asked him to be in charge of customs. No matter what people say about the late Sani Abacha, may his soul rest in peace,” he said.
“I knew him very well, when somehow he became president of this country, head of state, the biggest problematic area was around Kaduna. He picked Colonel Hameed Ali and dumped the problems on him. My decision for Hameed Ali to come to customs was a deliberate one.
“[I brought] Colonel Hameed Ali to ensure that I have peace of mind”, added president Buhari.
