Senator Abdullahi Adamu has asked the federal government to ignore concerns in some quarters that the border closure was impacting negatively on the economy.
Adamu, who is the chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture, gave the advice in an interview in Abuja, Saturday.
He opined that the cries were being sponsored by smugglers who were hard hit by the policy.
He said there was no doubt that adjusting to a new lifestyle of patronising made in Nigeria products will result in temporary inconveniences but to say the policy is not beneficial is not true.
“The cries we hear are sponsored cries, sponsored in the sense that for whatever reason, those who are suffering as a result of closure are those who are into the business of smuggling.
“Therefore, they are being challenged and the only thing they can do is to blackmail government to say that yes they are being denied their source of livelihood but that source of livelihood of theirs is at the detriment of the greater good of the Nigerian nation and its people.
“If we allow our borders to continue to be porous, if we continue to listen to the cries of people who are shedding crocodile tears about the border closure, then we will not be able to protect our own.
“We will not be able to ensure that we develop policies deliberately to protect the interest of people that we are to protect.
“So, yes, people are doing businesses with the borders opened, but what they are doing is at the expense of the growth of Nigeria’s business.
“Quite a number of what is imported through these neighbours of ours are things that challenge our own ability or plans to produce. We have allowed our borders for so long to be a conduit for brining into the country what Nigerians are producing.
“And because the cost of production in the so called developed nations is not much, because they know when we produce what they are bringing into the country, our cost of production is way more than their own.
“And so in the market, their produce is cheaper than our own. The challenge we have is whether we should continue to leave our borders so porous for them to be doing brisk business at the expense of the Nigerian producers, or we contain their excesses so as to give the Nigerian business community the opportunity to brace up,’’ he said.
(NAN)
