Northerners are suffering from Nigeria/Niger Republic border closure – Sen. Aliero

By Mo Isa

Senator Adamu Aliero representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly has said that there is untold hardship in the northern part of the country following the closure of Nigeria/Niger Republic border closure.

Aliero revealed this in an interview with Arise News Television on Tuesday, adding that the border closure had pushed many Nigerians, especially those in Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno, into serious unemployment.

He said whatever affects Nigeria also affects Niger, stressing that for that reason, there is no sense in enforcing the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS ban on trade between Nigeria and the Niger Republic.

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“The foreign policy of any country should be a reflection of its domestic policy. Our domestic policy is to take care of the interests and welfare of Nigerians.

“The closure of the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic has caused enormous hardship to the people in Nigeria, not only in Kano, it affects Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and to some extent, Kaduna, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno State.

“Our legislators from these states should call on the federal government to open the border without any delay because it has caused a lot of economic distortions to these states. It has pushed a number of people into serious poverty. It has pushed a number of people into serious unemployment. It has caused very serious friction between Niger and Nigeria.

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“Niger and Nigeria have been very strong allies from time immemorial, and these two countries are inseparable. It is just a colonial demarcation of boundaries that made them separate.

“After all, before the colonial masters’ incursion in Nigeria, Niger and Nigeria are the same people, same religion, same tribe, same culture. There are intermarriages between Niger and Nigeria. Whatever affects Nigeria also affects Niger, and for that reason, we don’t see any sense in enforcing this ECOWAS ban on trade between Nigeria and Niger.

“The closure of the border is just unwarranted, unnecessary and it is causing a lot of hardship to our people. Right now, if you go to the border, you will see about 500 truckloads of various goods that were prevented from coming to Nigeria.

“Some of these trucks are not coming from Niger alone. Some come from Mali, some from the Benin Republic, some from Burkina Faso, some from Cameroon. Businessmen are being made to suffer a lot of losses as a result of this closure,” Senator Aliero said.