Nigeria: Nigeria's Border Closure Failed to Stop Smuggling. Here's Why
[The Conversation Africa] Border closures don't always produce the intended objectives. The idea is usually to control illegal movements and prohibited goods, lessen informal trade, reinforce customs operations, and regain control of national borders. But history shows that in cases as diverse as England, the Asante Kingdom, the US and colonial Nigeria/Benin, stiffer border regulations can…
Border closures are not always successful in achieving their goals. Governments often implement them to control illegal movements and prohibited goods, reduce informal trade, strengthen customs operations, and regain control of national borders. However, history has shown that strict border regulations can lead to smuggling and the growth of criminal networks.
When people have ethnic, language, and kinship ties across state boundaries, closures disrupt everyday livelihoods. Additionally, when state institutions are weak, corruption undermines enforcement processes, making the rules a means of private gain. Border closures create artificial scarcity, raise operational barriers, and shift demand towards underground operators and networks.
Nigeria provides a prime example of how border closures function in an unstructured, corrupt, and vulnerable economy.
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