President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said Nigeria would have been in trouble if the Federal Government did not shut the land borders. The Federal Government had in August 2019 closed its land borders to curtail illegal importation of drugs, small arms, and agricultural products into the country from neighbouring West African nations.

Speaking at the fifth regular meeting with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council held on Tuesday at the State House in Abuja, President Buhari directed that the Central Bank of Nigeria “must not give money to import food. Already about seven states are producing all the rice we need. We must eat what we produce.” “Imagine what would have happened if we didn’t encourage agriculture and closed the borders. We would have been in trouble,” he said.

“We will continue to encourage our people to go back to the land. Our elite is indoctrinated in the idea that we are rich in oil, leaving the land for the city for oil riches. “We are back to the land now. We must not lose the opportunity to make life easier for our people.”

President Buhari also emphasised the importance of agriculture in restoring the nation’s economy, adding that measures must be put in place to curtail inflation.