The closure of Nigerian borders has lingered longer than expected by Nigerians and West Africa as a whole. The Nigerian Government has been criticized for what is seen by many as a deliberate attempt to inflict more suffering on Nigerians.

The cost of food items has moved up since then, and the Government has insouciantly maintained that the border will remain closed until a permanent solution is served on smuggling of banned and substandard goods and services.

Smuggling has been fingered as the biggest sabotage to President Buhari’s economic policies that is centered on domestic production of goods and services.

The Government is also concerned about the inflow of counterfeit goods through land borders. These concerns have resulted in partial closure of the borders until the porousness is contained.

In a statement on Friday, President Buhari assured a delegation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry from Nigeria and West Africa of its administration’s readiness to put an end to it all. 

Here is the full statement:

“Today I met with a delegation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry from Nigeria and West Africa. I assured them of our administration’s readiness to work with them to bring an end to smuggling and the dumping of substandard items in West Africa and on the continent.

It is regrettable that there are traders who simply do not play by the rules; who choose profits over patriotism, and whose selfish practices in perpetrating smuggling and counterfeiting help keep foreign factories working while closing ours. We have all heard stories about the dangerous and sometimes, fatal impact of fake drugs and foods on our citizens. We have also seen how fake electrical items have led to fires in homes and markets thereby destroying lives and property.

Most of these substandard and illegal items are smuggled through our land borders. After many years of diplomacy and aggressive regulatory oversight which has yielded few results, we decided to close our land borders for a limited time to assess the impact of this measure. Within a few short weeks since the partial border closures began, we are already seeing a decline in the volumes of counterfeit smuggled goods in some of our major markets across the country.

This validates our actions as a Government when we insist that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) must not only promote free trade, but legal trade of quality made-in Africa goods and services. We will soon finalize the National Action Committee on the implementation of the AfCFTA. We expect the organized private sector to continue to support us in achieving a Free Trade Area that employs Africans to produce high-quality made-in-Africa products.

Let me also thank NACCIMA for the honor done to me with the investiture today as their Grand Patron. I will not let them down. Trade is central to our economy, we are a nation of traders, and have been for centuries. I will ensure that we continue to give the sector full support.”

Beautify your Home Interiors with Unique Styles.

Since you are about to decorate your house, there is a need to find a perfect style that will match your style. By focusing in on your preferences, options, and elements, it will permit you to achieve your dream room or home. And when you achieve your dream room, it will transform your house into a home.

Finding your style should be hassle-free with the advent of so many products in the market which means buyers have many options available to them. There is an abundant variety of finishes, colors, decorations, and prices. Listed are the four major styles you can choose from:

• Casual Style

This style aims to bring comfort, warmth, and relaxation to the home. You can make use of this style with rectangular elements, rustic design, and soft furniture with textured fabrics. Lovers of simple setting will love this style. 

• Formal Style

By making use of this style, it will invite elegance, symmetry, and exquisite furniture. There is a need to consider an elegant style with high ceilings, polished wood, and tall windows, imported rugs, antique accessories, and decorative trims, because they are compulsory for this type of interior. Lovers of sophisticated setting should go with this style. 

• Contemporary Style

It should be noted that modern styles keep present trends alive. Even though current trends changes, typically, the contemporary look includes a fundamental, simplistic, and subtle sophistication. More often than not, neutral colors are involved, structural elements are made available, and furniture pieces that are smooth and geometric are made use of. 

• Traditional Style

When you take a lot at traditional styles and compare them with some of the latest decorating trends, you will notice that nothing is truly new. Rather, they have been revamped. However, you can see how old favorite themes, fabrics, and details adapt to a fresh new look. 

Final Word…

In conclusion, you can beautify your home interiors when you make use of the aforementioned major style. You can combine them with colours and flair.

Make your home a heaven on earth.

Is it actually the primary duties of Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to mount road blocks indiscriminately? I mean, shouldn’t there be specified spots mapped out and labelled as checkpoints? Or, is it okay for them to pick up random spots as ‘operational sites’ for the day, or for some hours?

I don’t have any problem with the NPF, but I don’t I really admire their methods of mounting road blocks and checkpoints at every nook and cranny of the country, even in streets. It is a common knowledge that they are usually there to collect #50 from motorists. In fact, drivers always have lots of the #50 denomination in their cars, which they hand out to the police officers once they are stopped at the checkpoints. If a driver doesn’t have ‘change’, these policemen can help him with that – you know, if you give him #500, he will give you #450 balance (*smiles*). Not having this ‘contribution’ means the driver won’t be allowed to go freely.

Ok, I actually don’t want to complain much about this extortion stuff with our police officers – we already know that a lot of them are on the road just for that money. My major concern here is the problem these obstructions are causing us. Worst is that most of them don’t really check cars to see that exhibits (as they call it) aren’t there. Once the driver flashes the #50, he is free to cross. Whether he is a kidnapper or a serial killer with a victim in the car boot doesn’t matter to them.

I will like to point out here that road blocks shouldn’t entirely be removed from our roads because to a large extent we still benefit from them. For instance, if you are travelling in the night or passing through a very lonely road, the presence of these police checkpoints sort of gives you some comfort. You will even want to meet as many of them as possible (even though you will only see a few or none at all). I personally like meeting our NPF officers on the road when the driver of the vehicle I boarded is rough with his driving or over-speeding, or when I have this feeling that one of the commuters is dangerous.

These checkpoints (especially the ones mounted by the Nigerian Army) are also good when mounted in some volatile areas, where robbers and hoodlums are known to operate. They give this feeling of security when they are on the road, but not in our streets and major roads.

A lot of us that ply Nigerian roads, especially down here in the East, can attest that most NPF checkpoints are not necessary. In addition to extortion, their presence also causes the following:

a. Traffic gridlock: In fact, the first thing anybody asks when there is a hold-up is if the policemen are blocking the way. And these people don’t care if their presence is causing any discomfort or not.

b. Road accident: We have heard so much about road accidents caused by these checkpoints. I could remember a kerosene explosion incidence that happened at the Mkpu Odumodu Junction of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Umunya, Anambra State around 2008 or 2009. This incident happened because a commercial bus wanted to ‘outsmart’ the NPF checkpoint-caused gridlock. I can’t tell the number of lives lost but I remembered seeing a lot of vehicles affected by the explosion, including school buses. This is just one of the numerous accidents that were caused by these officers.

c. Harassments: If a police officer that mounted a road block has not harassed you or someone you know, then you must be very lucky. I mean, you don’t dare talk when they ask for their #50. I’ve seen where some people were brought down from vehicles and beaten mercilessly because they questioned their (the NPF) rights to carry out certain actions. Honestly, NPF are seriously harassing and embarrassing Nigerian citizens.

d. Embarrassment to the statuesque: I don’t think it is worth saying that NPF extorts money from people. It is quite embarrassing. In fact, if you talk about NPF right now, people hiss and tell you about corruption and extortion. Presently, NPF is synonymous to extortion.

e. Deaths: We keep hearing about ‘accidental discharge’ from trigger happy, drunk and emotionally officers. The people affected here are both police officers and civilians. Most of these killings happen at checkpoints, usually triggered off by disagreements between the shooters and the persons shot. To be honest with you, I have heard a police officer telling someone that he will shoot him and cover it up and nothing will happen, all because the man told them how wrong it was to extort money from people.

Like I said earlier, NPF road checkpoints are very important but they shouldn’t continue the way they do presently. If I am allowed to suggest, I’ll say that the NPF and the FG should put the following into consideration:

i. The NPF checkpoints should be duly monitored. By so doing, illegal checkpoints will be discouraged and the officers on duty will be careful with the ways they handle the citizens.

ii. Checkpoints should be stationed only in volatile areas. These are actually where people need more protection from hoodlums. The ones stationed on busy streets may not yield the desired result.

iii. Salaries of the NPF officers should be increased. I don’t know if this will reduce their high rate of extortion but I believe it is worth a try.

iv. Corrupt officers should be persecuted. I know this may not be as easy as it sounds because corruption has eaten deep into the system. But, this should be considered.

v. Police officers should be trained constantly on professionalism. They need to remember who a police officer is and what is expected of him.

NPF need to bring back the glory in their job. There is need for every Nigerian to beat his chest and say that truly, police is his friend. Hopefully, this can be achieved in the near future, if efforts are made.