President Muhammadu Buhari says the closure of the country’s borders for over one year helped Nigeria “tremendously.”
Buhari said this during a meeting with Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen of the Netherlands, on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations general assembly, in New York.
In August 2019, Buhari ordered a closure of the country’s land borders over illegal importation of drugs, arms and agricultural products into Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries. But in December 2020, Buhari ordered the reopening of four land borders.
In a statement by Presidential Villa, Femi Adesina, Buhari highlighted developmental efforts in the country, adding that his administration’s focus has been on infrastructure, which he said had been limited due to fluctuations in oil prices.
“Without infrastructure, development would be limited, so we put emphasis on building roads, rail, and power. We have a comprehensive plan, and we are doing our best,” Buhari was quoted as saying.
The president said the decision to close the country’s borders was to encourage farmers, “and eat what we grow”.
“People went back to the land, and this helped us tremendously. We made fertilizers available, resuscitated dams, and it all paid off handsomely,” Buhari said.
“Otherwise, with about 200 million people, we would have been in trouble when COVID-19 struck, and affected the economy.”
Buhari also said Nigeria is open to more investments, especially in agriculture.
In her remarks, the queen commended the Buhari administration for “the huge effort” made to address the coronavirus pandemic.
The statement said the Queen of the Netherlands offered to look into supporting Nigeria, especially in agriculture, as long as the necessary infrastructure is in place.
