Atiku's open border policy may spell doom for Nigeria — Lai Mohammed

Atiku (left) and Mohammed (r).

Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday,  claimed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's plan to throw open Nigeria's borders if elected as president next year would plunge the country into more security challenges and economic doom.

The minister, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja, yesterday, warned that an uncontrolled border would not only lead to the return of smuggling to kill the local food production industry but would also worsen hunger and insecurity.

Mohammed asked Atiku, who is the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to bury the thought of an open border in Nigeria to prevent associated challenges, which the Buhari administration has curtailed.

The Minister said:  "Permit me to use this opportunity to respond to the unfortunate comment credited to Atiku Abubakar, during his campaign stop in Katsina on Tuesday, that he will reopen all Nigerian borders if elected President.

"By that statement, Atiku Abubakar has simply informed Nigerians that he will reverse all the efforts made by the PMB administration to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of many staples, especially rice. By that statement, the former Vice President has informed the country's millions of rice farmers that they will soon lose their jobs when imported rice floods the country. By that statement, Atiku Abubakar has told the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, working in the various rice mills that have sprung up under this administration that their jobs are over. 

"By that statement, Atiku will shut down most, if not all, of our new fertilizer blending companies, with thousands of jobs going down the drain. And by his declaration, the former Vice President has told Nigerians that he will worsen security in the country by allowing arms and ammunition to flow unhindered into the country, that while Nigeria was the number one export destination for rice in 2014, our country has now moved to number 79, according to Thai Authorities. By throwing open the borders indiscriminately as he has pledged, Atiku Abubakar has simply announced that he intends to return Nigeria to the number one importer of Thai rice in 2023.

"It is now clear that in his desperation for power, the presidential candidate of the PDP will not hesitate to export Nigerian jobs, put millions of Nigerians out of job, and ruin the fertilizer companies and the rice mills that have grown exponentially in number since Nigeria shut its land borders in 2019 (with some of them later reopened) due to the smuggling of rice as well as arms and ammunition into the country."

Culled from Vanguard

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