Border closure’ll protect our productive industry – Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, has thrown his weight behind
the land borders closure policy of the Federal Government, saying
it will protect Nigeria’s productive industry from destruction.

He described the decision as part of measures to preserve the
nation’s foreign policy and economic interest.

Sanusi stated this at the public presentation of the maiden
foreign policy journal by the Association of Retired Career
Ambassadors of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.

He explained that the decision was meant to stop neighbouring
countries from violating the ECOWAS protocol, noting that Nigeria
was fast becoming a dumping ground.

The Emir said, “If we have an industrial policy that is aimed at
protecting the productive sector of Nigeria against unfair
competition, we cannot allow our neighbours to open their door to
this unfair competition and through the backdoor undermine our
industry, this is extremely important.”

The border closure, he stressed, would not only address the
problem of smuggling of petroleum products and rice but also
prevent a situation where Nigeria was turned into a dumpsite for
dangerous drugs.

The Publicity Secretary, ARCAN Editorial Board, Ambassador Grant
Ehiobuche, said the ARCAN Foreign Policy Journal was the first of
its kind in the annals of Nigeria’s foreign policy.

He described the journal as ”a compendium of rich scholarly and
highly researched articles that tell the story of Nigeria’s foreign
service from cradle before independence through the early stages of
independent Nigeria, the First Republic, on to the Second Republic
and until the current dispensation of President Muhammadu Buhari
era.”

According to him, the publication provides enriching knowledge
on the evolution and operations of the Nigerian Foreign
Service.

He added, “Richly served and burnished with great accuracy in
rendition, the articles truly reflect the events that charted the
path for what is today a vibrant foreign policy that positions
Nigeria as a leader on our continent.”

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!