By Rashed Sobowale

Republic of the Niger traders have lamented the effect of Nigeria’s borders closure on their business performance, saying they are angry at the decision of Nigeria’s federal government.

Niger traders angry at Nigeria’s border closure. PHOTO: Screenshot/DW Documentary.

Traders from Niger until now freely moved their trucks, heavily loaded with goods into Nigeria. When the border was closed, trucks already prepared for Nigeria were forced to offload as they were being stopped at the border.

Republic of the Niger is one of the four countries Nigeria shared a land border with. Other countries include the Republic of Benin in the west; and Chad and Cameroon in the east.

A Niger trader while speaking in a Deutsche Welle (dw) short documentary said; “To be honest, we are very angry. The business community is deteriorating.

“In the name of Allah, this closure of the Nigeria border is causing the most possible harms. The business that allows traders to earn their daily living has gone to a standstill

“We are very angry by the closure of this border.”

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In a similar development, Vanguard previously reported that Ghana’s Kasapreko Company Limited, the manufacturer of Alomo Bitters, a beverage widely consumed by Nigerians lost about $2 million in revenue following the border closure. [Read Full Story on HERE]

The Nigeria Customs Service Comptroller-Genera, rtd Col Hameed Ali had announced the decision of the Federal Government to close all of its borders to curb smuggling of goods. During the announcement, he did not state the time it is expected to be re-opened.

READ ALSO: Ghana trade union votes to ban made-in-Nigeria products following border closure

Col. Ali in a recent reaction has commented that the border will remain closed until the neighbouring countries take corrective actions to dissuade smuggling into Nigeria.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also backed Nigeria’s decision. [Read Full Story on that HERE]

The DW documentary, on the other hand, revealed some Niger traders are now subtly getting their goods into Nigeria using motorcycles instead of trucks.

Vanguard News Nigeria.