Ghana’s Union of Trades Association calls to boycott Nigerian products

It came as no shock to me when the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) called on the Government of Ghana to close its borders to Nigerian products and further urged Ghanaians to boycott Nigerian products in retaliation to the closure of Nigerian land borders.

The call for a boycott of Nigerian products was made by the secretary of the association and repeated by the national president of the association Obeng Joseph in a television interview with Joynews where he argued strongly for the closure of Ghana borders to Nigerian goods as a retaliatory measure.

Explaining the reasons for the closure, Godfrey Onyeama, the Nigerian Foreign Minister stressed that Ghana was not the target. The border needed to be closed because goods were being smuggled into Nigeria through the Benin-nigeria border and that criminal elements including kidnappers and cattle rustlers infiltrate into Nigeria through its land borders. He added that Nigeria spends huge parts of its budget in combatting insecurity which is partly aided by the porosity of its borders.

Are Nigerian borders really porous?

If Nigerian borders are truly porous then this porosity is an artefact of negligence and corruption. Nigerian borders have more security agents than any other land border in Africa. In July this year, I travelled through the ECOWAS road that connects Abidjan, Accra, Lome and Contonu through to Lagos. From Accra through

Lome to Cotonou, I met less than ten checkpoints on the road. Immediately I crossed the Seme border from the Benin side to the Nigerian side, I was thrown into a turf of novel experience. Varied security outfits mounted the roads in close succession with their men armed to the teeth. I was taken aback for some minutes, I felt as if I was in a conflict zone.

Security officers which comprised of a combination of Police, Immigration and Customs officers were adequately complemented by the men of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) alongside its sister outfit, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and a lot more men in uniform that I could not adequately identify.

Ironically, no sincere checks were conducted on the crossing vehicles. As soon as the vehicles were stopped, drivers hurriedly dished out N200 notes to the security agents to escape being searched. If the security operatives wanted more money, they requested that the boots be opened, but smart drivers never actually carried rice in their boots. Nigeria needs to weigh the economic and social consequences that have come and are still arriving as concomitants of the closure.

Can Nigeria actually close its borders? My personal experience

When I made the return journey from Lagos back to Ghana at the end of August this year, I noticed that the characteristically teeming population at the Seme border had become only marginal.

The President of Nigeria had ordered a partial closure of the Nigerian side of the border. The immigration officers consequently ordered that only persons with a valid passport could cross into the Benin Republic. I attempted crossing without a passport and was asked to pay N10 000 ($28) before I could be allowed to cross.

Hitherto, one could cross with just N1000 ($2.9) through the okada boys (commercial motorbike riders). I crossed using my passport but quickly noticed an influx of okada men from a nearby bush into the Benin Republic. I quickly inquired and was told people could be crossed by the okada boys but they have to follow a road discovered a fortnight ago when the border was closed. I quickly requested to be crossed back to Nigeria using this novel road.

I was told to pay N3000 ($8.33). I did gladly but almost ended the adventure after a few minutes into the journey as the wheels of the motorcycle was buried in muds, my vision thwarted by forested trees and gunshots were heard from close range. The okada man, however, assured me of my safety and off we went. A few minutes later we stumbled over a succession of roadblocks. A distance of less than 2km had over 7 road blocks manned by Nigerian security agencies. At each point, money was extorted from the okada boys under obvious gun threats.

My okada rider was obliged to tip the soldier, police and immigration men and after that went the boss. All these expenses came from the N3000 I had paid. When we crossed to the Nigerian side, I told my okada rider I had forgotten an item in Benin Republic and needed to be crossed back. As we made our way back, my okada man had to pay the same ‘taxes’ he paid just a few minutes ago while we crossed. When we finally crossed back to the Benin Republic, I told my okada rider that I was heading to Togo. He offered to take me to a place where I can get a taxi that would send me straight to the Aflao border.

Does this justify the Border Closure?

Nigeria obviously has done a lot of wrongs in closing the borders. As a compelling power among ECOWAS states, Nigeria needs not to create a bad example particularly after signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) Nigeria could explore internal mechanisms to deal with the influx of arms and illegal goods into the country by tackling corruption among border management agencies, improving border management facilities and imitating best practices in border management such as the Integrated Border Management System. This will better prevent the smuggling of goods, proliferation of arms and the influx of illegal persons.