Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has pleaded with Nigerians to endure the high cost of commodities occasioned by closure of the country’s borders.
Osibanjo said the closure of the borders will not be for ever but to ensure farmers in Nigeria are prosperous and food security for all Nigerians.
The Nation quoted the Vice President to have said at a town hall meeting in Bénin City as part of activities of the ongoing National Festival for Arts and Culture that the border closure will also help to generate employment locally.
The Vice President explained that part of the reason for the border closure was to get attention of neighbouring countries to take more seriously the the question of policing the borders.
He said other prosperous nations did not allow any country bring goods into their countries but opted to grow what they eat.
Osibanjo noted that smuggling discouraged local production and does not allow Nigeria farmers have access to market.
His words: “Part of the reasons for shutting the border is the smuggling that has been going on. If we continue to allow the Chinese and others to continue to bring in all those things, we will kill farming completely and most of our people will not be employed.
“There may be some pain in other to gain. The countries of the world that are prosperous didn’t allow anybody to bring in anything to their country.
“They made sure they grew what they eat. I can assure you that very soon you will see a great deal of progress, you will see a more of our own commodity coming into the market. If we allow our own people grow these things, our people will prosper. The only way our people can prosper is if we let them use the opportunity that they have such as farming, fishing and others.
“We are going to make sure that commodity are cheaper. We must bare in mind that the reason today some commodity are more expensive is because we stopped smuggling. We have to encourage our local farmers so that our local farmers can prosper.”
Osibanjo also commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for the vision to seeking to reposition Edo State as a foremost destination for investment and tourism.
He said Edo was blazing in the direction of diversifying the country’s economy and moving the nation in the direction of revenue beyond oil.
“Tourism is one sector which had untold potential for growth, Edo State is blazing the train in this direction. By showcasing its rich heritage, Edo State will attract global attention for all of the right reason.
“It is apt that the Edo State government is pursuing a cultural agenda that include the recovery of the lost treasures of the Bénin Kingdom from all of the places they were taken to across the world. The invasion of the Bénin Kingdom would have ended a lesser civilisation instead the royal dynasty survived and the legacy of Benin endured not only through the lineage of the noble royal houses but also in the evident resilience of the people,” he stressed.
Obaseki said his administration was committed to leveraging on the state’s cultural capital to drive investment to the tourism sector.
He said tourism was the key pillar of his administration agenda and the next level was to translate these cultural assets into a force that attracts international tourists traffic.