10 alternatives to closing Nigeria’s borders with her West African neighbours

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) Establish a West African Customs Service that will check goods coming into our main ports like Dakar, Abidjan, Tema, Lome, Cotonou and Apapa

(2) Tag all containers that arrive at our ports so we know which ones are destined for the Nigerian market. As things stand, over 70% of the goods that come into West Africa are ultimately destined for Nigeria

(3) As the biggest worry is Cotonou, I think Nigeria and Benin Republic should reach a deal giving the Nigerian Customs Service full control of the port. Without Nigeria, that port has no function and the Benin economy will eventually collapse

(4) Over the long term, we simply need to merge our nation states. Too many of the countries across West Africa are too small and weak to survive in the global cut-throat economy

(5) Ecowas needs to reach an agreement with the likes of China, India, Pakistan and Thailand that have made West Africa their dumping ground. Maybe we should insist that all their shipments go to one port, so we can monitor them from there

(6) Personally, I would dredge say Calabar and make it the dedicated Asian port. All Asian goods coming into the West African region should go there and from Calabar be distributed to their destined markets

(7) Ecowas only has a combined GDP of $675bn compared with India’s $2.5trn. We should demand trade concessions until we grow the Ecowas economy to at least $1trn. For instance, we should ask for the introduction of WTO trade laws that compel any country exporting goods in excess of $1m into any region to open a manufacturing facility there

(8) As shutting our borders will inevitably lead to the collapse of certain economies and the widespread growth of poverty, unemployment and economic collapse, Ecowas should demand a one-off Border Closure Industrial Investment Plan that involves the investment of $10bn in infrastructure across West Africa to create jobs and increase output

(9) All automobile manufacturers should be banned from shipping finished cars into the Ecowas market. If they want to sell their cars there, then they should open local assembly plants. If they want our money, they must be prepared to get their hands dirty

(10) Nigeria and Benin Republic should commence merger talks immediately with a view to amalgamating both nations by 2025 at the latest