Smugglers Thrive as Nigeria Tries to Keep Foreign Rice Away
- Buhari wants Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice this year
- Smuggling from much-smaller neighbor Benin has soared
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At Nigeria’s normally manic border post of Seme, Lasisi Fanu says business has all but ground to a halt.
He and other customs agents who help clear goods coming into Africa’s biggest economy from its smaller neighbor Benin say the long lines of trucks loaded with rice that used to jam the crossing have dwindled. The slowdown is a result of import restrictions and tighter border policing as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks to diversify the oil-dependent economy by boosting agriculture, especially rice production.