I deliberately closed land borders, Nigerians later appreciated it — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says he closed the country’s land
borders to encourage Nigerians to produce food for their consumption.

He said although the move was initially criticised,
Nigerians eventually appreciated it.

Buhari spoke on Tuesday while inaugurating the new customs
headquarters that reportedly cost N19.6 billion to construct.

The edifice is located in the Maitama district of the
federal capital territory (FCT).

 “Please note that
from Lake Chad to Benin Republic is more than 1,600 kilometres, only God can
effectively guard the borders. So you need a person who has the energy and the
competence to supervise. I deliberately closed the borders because knowing
Nigerians, they order rice, give some to Niger and the rest, and then they
bring the rice here,” he said.

“With our potential, we have people, we have land, and
weather – how many nations are as lucky as Nigeria in the world, very few
nations.

“So closing that border, 1,600 kilometres, Nigerians insist
they eat boiled rice – you eat what you grow or you die. I tried to make my
point and later Nigerians appreciated it.”

Buhari said he nominated Hameed Ali as comptroller-general
of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) because of his experience and competence.

The president said the late Sani Abacha, a former military
head of state, gave Ali “problematic” tasks to accomplish.

“As for Hameed Ali, I asked him to be in charge of customs.
No matter what people say about the late Sani Abacha, may his soul rest in
peace,” he said.

“I knew him very well, when somehow he became president of
this country, head of state, the biggest problematic area was around Kaduna. He
picked Colonel Hameed Ali and dumped the problems on him. My decision for
Hameed Ali to come to customs was a deliberate one.

 “[I brought] Colonel
Hameed Ali to ensure that I have peace of mind.”

On his part, Ali said the increase in the salaries of
customs personnel has made them less susceptible to corruption.

“We must mention the game-changing intervention of Mr
President to rid the NCS of corruption and put it on a path of integrity,” the
comptroller-general said.

“The 100 percent increase in the remuneration for officers
and men of the service decisively made them less susceptible to corruption.”