Some weeks back, around last year the Federal government announced his decision to lift his ban on importation of cars older than 10years to 15years, some saw it has a welcome development, others did not, i belong to the later group. Also just recently the Federal govt also lifted bans on importation of Textiles, toothpicks, cassava and some other items.

What is the government trying to do, are they saying we do not produce these items locally apart from cars, what will this policy be doing to our economy as a whole, and also to the economy that is exporting them here. Immediately i can tell you for a fact that their economy will recieve a boost, because they will be making money from us and keeping their workers in employment, meanwhile our local industries suffer due to lack of comparative advantage against the imported goods, thereby forcing our local industries to shut down.

The only reason i see for lifting the ban on some items by the federal govt is just to increase its revenue from the import duties, but i don't think thats a good tactical move, and it will really affect our economy in the long run. We can definitely remember before the days of Obasanjo when fruit juice of all kind was imported into the country, immediately the importation of fruit juice was banned, the local industry experience an increase in production and revenue, and more companies are now involved in the production of fruit juice, and with the regulation of NAFDAC, they have done very well and have impacted positively on our economy.

Lets take cars older than 15years allowed to be imported for example, for me i dont really see any long time well planned benefit of this policy to our economy, what it will only bring is more revenue for the govt, also it will make the country be flooded with bad cars, which in turn affect the environment. What i feel the govt should have done is only lift the ban on Big Vehicles older than 10years, which are capable of transporting huge number of people, like the BRT buses, and still keep the smaller cars below 10years, with that you are supporting the transportation industry, so that there will be less cars on the road, less pressure on roads and also give a big boost to the transportation sector, which will impact positively on the economy.

Lets not even go into TEXTILE, toothpick and cassava importation, for heaven sake are we saying our local industry not capable of meeting the demands of the people. I just feel that a thorough analysis of the implication of lifting the ban was not done properly and its devastating effects in the long run on the economy was not taken into consideration, well maybe its because the Federal Govt of Nigeria can not see beyond their noses.

curled from www.voiceoutng.com

The government really to start working towards reducing the fees to clear these cars and other items at the port. It's insane to pay 200k for a common for clearing alone,