South East Traders Cries Out, Appeals To Buhari To Open Border

Traders in the South East region of Nigeria have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider his decision of closing the Seme Border which they said have adversely affected traders and businesses across the federation.

It will be recalled that earlier last month, President Muhammadu Buhari directed for the partial closure of Southern border citing massive smuggling activities, especially of rice, taking place on that corridor.

However, after a recent meeting of southeast Amalgamated Markets Traders Association (S.E.A.M.A.T.A), the umbrella association of traders in all the markets in the South East Geo-political zone and traders of southeast extraction doing business across the States in the federation, the traders appealed to the President to reconsider his decision.

In a press release signed by the President-General of the association, Chief Gozie Akudolu and the Secretary-General, Mr. Alex Okwudili, the association while acknowledging the benefits that come with the closure of the border appealed to the President to direct the security agencies to allow the foreign traders with legitimate and wholesome goods to cross the borders.

According to the traders, while the closure of the boarders was to fully and effectively checkmate the smuggling of illicit and prohibited items especially foreign rice, which has recorded a huge success and stimulated great increase in the production of local rice, which has benefitted some their members, who are in the regions with the soil that support the cultivation, the decision has brought hardship on millions of traders across the federation.

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Part of the press release reads;

“The closure is adversely affecting and literally killing trading across the federation. Customers who daily come into Nigeria from the neighboring African countries to buy genuine goods no longer come because of the difficulty at the boarders. Even the ones that came were not allowed to have their goods crossed over at the border. A visit to the various borders will reveal the volume of goods waiting to be crossed and the difficulty encountered by those foreign traders, who had even run out of money to keep themselves”

“The goods involved include amongst other items, motor and motorcycle spare parts, building, materials, engine lubricants, locally manufactured electric cables, locally manufactured biscuits, and confectioneries, locally made fabrics and textile materials, locally made provisions and beverages and many other locally manufactured products that are positively impacting on the growth of our economy”

The association appealed to President Mohammed Buhari (GCFR) to consider the plight of the millions of Nigerian traders and direct the security agencies to allow the foreign traders with legitimate and wholesome goods to cross the borders.

According to the traders, “This will not only improve the welfare of the traders but will also help in the continued growth of the economy of the nation”

“This will also save the nation, the embarrassment of sending a whole lot of traders into the already over-saturated labor market and further block the chances of our teeming youths from being gainfully engaged as apprentices”