A Twitter user’s report about the closure of the Nigeria-Niger border.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Fan Acct @saratu

Ok, let’s do a thread on my time at the Nigeria-Niger border at Babban Mutum village in Katsina yesterday.

Ok, my images aren’t sending so will try when I’m back to civilization.

Anyway. Quick disclosure: this is one border, and I won’t extrapolate further than what I saw. There’s another border in Jibia, for example, but it was far from where I was. I had work there, too, but tired

One of the first things you notice in Babban Mutum: trucks everywhere. Everywhere. Loaded to the hilt with pretty much every household item you can think of.

Household items from those little plastic kettles people use to pray to buckets and plastics, to food to... everything. Just sitting there. Parked and abandoned by their drivers. My contact in the village told me these things have been stuck “there for a long while.”

We drove up to the border gate —if you can call it that. There’s two points where you can see a rope loosely tied to two blocks. One is on the Niger side, one on the Nigeria side. (I’ll post a photo when my internet lets me).

It is manned by Nigerian Customs officials though. They let me take a photo of their office. I teased them about how bored they must be because there’s absolutely nothing going on in the area now. they laughed and just said, “Everywhere is just dry.”

The closure of the border has been pretty hard on the local economy. I asked a fruit seller how business is, and he just shook his head and said, “what can we do?”

But here’s the thing: tough as it all is on their local economy, nobody I talked to is necessarily opposed to the blockade. “Before, when you pass, you just see big trailers passing with Rice. It is making people not eat our local rice.” Buhari’s messaging has been effective.

Another person said to me: “you see these trailers? Everything these people have is because of Nigeria. We are a great country Wallahi. We just don’t see it. See all these their household items. Without us they’re suffering. Now their president will do what Buhari wants.”

People I spoke to understand the blockade as leverage over Niger, smart politics, even if with what they hope is short term pain for their people.

worth noting, though, is that, for many, Niger is simply their backyard. Some people’s farms pretty much straddle both countries. My hunch is it’s easy to cross in and out of Niger with smaller quantities products. If they stop you, you just say “I’m just coming from the farm”

Lastly, one of the drivers from the trucks (I’ll share a photo in a bit) is actually from the area. He tells me he’s hopeful of a deal soon. “This na my chop. So I no go want make the border just to dey like this for long.”

I’ll post photos I took as soon as they’ll send.


Ok, let’s try and send images again. This is me at the border.
www.nairaland.com/attachments/10418500_ehkv8gixuaa1jdb_jfif_jpeg133754d464ad58d214b9266fe3facfcd
www.nairaland.com/attachments/10418501_ehkv8gwxyaam5jx_jfif_jpeg7a53785fd262f40bf2dd133668200d00

Customs officials I met were lovely, and they very kindly let me take photos. I purposely didn’t take photos of any of the people I met.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/10418510_ehkwnezwkautl7r_jfif_jpeg686a212495c67d14e38db830164ed378

There’s a whole queue of trucks just parked, full of plastics and household items waiting to cross
www.nairaland.com/attachments/10418502_ehkwabzx4aalsam_jfif_jpegaf99443bbabc0daae5b372729c42813b
www.nairaland.com/attachments/10418503_ehkwapwoaaofrl_jfif_jpegee2600d8f9d4611cb2f4618a791619b5

https://twitter.com/saratu/status/1185149612904140801

cool... So almost all this small africa countries depends on us

The closure would no doubt force the neighbouring countries to take a stand against smuggling cause it's their economy that's worst hit

good one and bad one mix

Few months ago Ghanaian authorities locked up shops and businesses owned by Nigerians in gh. That aside Ghanaian have bullied us enough. Revenge is served.
We have them by their balls now.

Look at that filthy sheet whole country border who is going to take us serious.

TheMainMan:
cool... So almost all this small africa countries depends on us

But they hate to admit it

slimfit1:
Look at that filthy sheet whole country border who is going to take us serious.

As in...

Two rusted barrels by the side of the road with one loose chain tied across.

I guess Nigeria is allergic to class on every level.

The above fella has said it.See customs men with guns in the their numbers down South.

a lot of those items are imported and rebadged as local manufacture.

This is a good thing, but for many it is bad because it is Buhari that has done it

So na the border be this

Rope as demarcator Chai

I just love crossing borders on foot.

This is getting serious

slimfit1:
Look at that filthy sheet whole country border who is going to take us serious.

what is border supposed to look like? paradise?

show me a beautiful border.?

This guy I don't like the way you write...very disjointed

IamCharles123:
So na the border be this

As in ehh

Hmm. A border is not an abode.

I don't know why I was expecting to see a man while reading through. When I saw the first pics I just smiled

Racoon:
The above fella has said it.See customs men with guns in the their numbers down South.

Your point?

I got your message. But your write up is terrible

Ok

So what

Choi Nigeria look at the border self