Expert warns Tinubu against repeating Buhari’s mistake of border closure in Nigeria  

Speaking on the latest episode of Drinks and Mics, hosted by Naijaonpoint CEO Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, he strongly criticized the policy, stating that it backfired due to Nigeria’s lack of a strong domestic manufacturing base.

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According to him, Buhari’s administration’s decision to shut Nigeria’s land borders led to a sharp rise in inflation without achieving its intended goal of boosting local production. 

“…the closing of the borders. First of all, it did not solve what you were trying to fight against. Two, it just skyrocketed inflation. .. for you to do that, you have to have a thriving industry in Nigeria.” Andrews said.

He compared Nigeria’s situation to the United States’ approach under President Donald Trump, who imposed tariffs on imported cars to protect local manufacturers.

Andrews noted that such measures only work when a country already has a thriving industrial sector.

“See, America is the largest consumer of cars in the world. America is also the largest manufacturer of cars in the world. Now, their car manufacturing industry is dying because they can’t compete with cars coming from outside. If you shut your borders to cars coming from outside, it makes sense because there is a thriving manufacturing industry in your country,” he said.

Andrews emphasized that border closures should only be implemented after achieving sufficient local production capacity—a concept known as backward integration.

“Backward integration means you start producing rice and can sufficiently meet domestic demand. When you are now meeting demand, you now realize that your guys are struggling because they can’t compete. If you shut borders at that point, it makes sense. At this point, we did not even have rice production,” Andrews noted.

Other guests on the show, including Arnold Dublin Green, Chief Investment Officer at Cordros Capital, and Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu, former MD/CEO of Arise TV, echoed similar concerns.

Green on his part said some other countries have tried the border closure policy with varying successes, but agreed there is a need to strengthen domestic production capacity.

Without a strong manufacturing and agricultural base, such protectionist policies end up hurting consumers more than helping domestic industries.

Years after the borders were reopened, Nigeria continues to grapple with high inflation, particularly food inflation, which remains in double digits.

Experts argue that unless the government prioritizes investments in local production and industrial capacity, similar policies will continue to have adverse effects.

Andrews concluded, “You cannot shut borders when you don’t have the capacity to produce what your people need. The focus should be on building local industries first—then border closure policies can follow.”  

Andrews concluded, “You cannot shut borders when you don’t have the capacity to produce what your people need. The focus should be on building local industries first—then border closure policies can follow.”  

In August 2019, President Buhari ordered the closure of Nigeria’s land border with the Benin Republic, preventing the import of goods.

The move significantly affected trade in foodstuffs, which had already been affected by various past import restrictions.

This came at the time when the government signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA), which went into effect in July 2019.