Border Closure in Nigeria: Implications for the AfCFTA and Communities on the Benin–Nigeria Corridor

Abstract

Moving towards a unified trading system for the African continent, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) of 2018 presents to participating or signatory countries opportunities for economic growth and the reshaping of African economies. However, on 29 August 2019, the government of Africa’s largest economy—Nigeria in combating the smuggling of banned goods into the country, took a major decision to close her national borders connecting with the countries of Cameroun, Chad, Benin, and Niger. The border closure was further complexified by the surfacing of COVID-19 pandemic that saw a stiffer border closure enforcement with devastating impacts on people’s livelihoods and the economies of most nations. Utilising a documentary research paradigm, this paper examines the case of Nigeria’s border closure towards Benin. It also identifies the factors responsible for Nigeria’s land border closure policy and its impact on the livelihood of informal traders who are majorly indigenes and residents of communities along the Nigeria–Benin corridors.