Many Nigerians have taken to social media to criticize the federal government’s decision to give Dangote Cement a Special Waiver to resume exports across its land borders. This decision according to the reactions smacks of nepotism and encouraging monopoly because Dangote Cement is not the only cement manufacturer in the country, moreso, there are hundreds of businesses that have lost so much to the border blockade that has lasted for a year and two months. Since the news broke Tuesday morning, both Twitter and Facebook have been trending with comments expressing the people’s dismay at what they described as unnecessary favouritism capable of destroying the economy on the verge of a recession.

Questioning the rationale behind such a decision, Mr. Atedo Peterside, Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank using his handle (@AtedoPeterside) Tweeted: Allowing legitimate exporters & importers to move their goods across the border should be a no-brainer. Why refuse everybody else & allow only one company (Dangote)? This is why some of us argue that the Nigerian economy is rigged in favour of a handful of well-connected persons”, he noted.

Also a Facebook commentator Ugochukwu Nwakohu said that even during the closure, that Dangote Cement has been moving products across the border noting that the government of the Republic of Benin earlier refused them entry but later agreed that once their advance transit duty payment is exhausted, they won’t be able to be allowed passage. This new waiver he reasoned might be part of efforts by the government to walk around the challenge by giving them export papers which they have refused to issue to others. Many others noted that a policy that suffocates SME’s but massage the ego of a behemoth is not good for the economy.

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Some business people expect that this thaw from the government’s side might portend the end of the border closure as President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration gave its authorization for Africa’s biggest producer to export cement to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in ten months. Confirming the news, Michel Puchercos, Chief Executive Officer  (CEO) of Dangote Cement was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying that the export was made possible “through authorization given by this administration.” The exemption to Dangote Cement is seen as a softening of the government’s position on a border closure that started in August last year, and could open the way for other businesses to fully resume exports across the country’s land barriers.

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It could be recalled that the federal government closed borders with neighboring countries including Benin and Niger to curb smuggling and boost local production. Although the blockade encouraged the consumption of locally grown produce such as rice, it hurt factories across West Africa, which rely on Nigeria’s market of 200 million people.

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Dangote resumed land export with “restricted volumes,” and plans to grow the trade using the sea channels, according to Puchercos. A total of 69 tons was exported through land borders in the period, less than one percent of the 11,741 tons of cement sales while shipping by sea is also being explored, the company said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry