Impact of Border Closure on Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria during the Period of 2019-2023: Qualitative Systematic Review

This paper examined the benefits and drawbacks of border closure for Nigerians' economic development and quality of life. It specifically investigated the effects of the border closure on socio-economic development. Trade is crucial for a nation's economy to grow since it enables the emergence of markets, generates employment, lowers the poverty rate, and dismantles monopolies by discouraging the monopolistic control of the market by a small number of individuals. Nigeria's border with its neighbours was shut down by former Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari, to stop the importation of smuggled goods, particularly rice and other household commodities. Nigeria's border closure policy under Buhari generated mixed reactions, while some believed that it was a good policy to boost domestic production and eradicate smuggling, others argued that such action could hamper socio-economic development and strain diplomatic relations between Nigeria and her neighbours in that region. The need to investigate these mixed reactions and ascertain the extent to which Nigeria and her citizens have suffered from or been affected by the policy motivated this research. Drawing on the secondary method that was sourced through desktop reviews, this paper examined the likely positive and negative outcomes of the border closure under the former president of Nigeria, Buhari. The results showed that the policy was haphazardly selectively implemented, as some borders in northern Nigeria were not closed, unlike those in southwestern Nigeria. It also revealed that the policy not only hampered Nigeria's socio-economic growth and development, but also strained her relations with her neighbours. It concluded that the border closure was more of a selective tool specifically designed to enrich some selected farmers or traders from northern Nigeria.