Impact of Smuggling of Consumer Goods on Economic Development in Nigeria:

A Study of Benin-Nigeria Border.

Abstract

The smuggling of consumer goods poses a serious threat to the Nigerian economy. Several measures implemented by successive administrations to address the menace appeared not to have yielded the desired result. The paper examined the smuggling of consumer goods across the Benin-Nigeria border from 2015-2022. Functionalist theory associated with the works of Émile Durkheim, and Talcott Parsons, among others, found expression in understanding the phenomenon of smuggling activities in Nigeria. The basic tenet holds that society is made up of various parts sub-parts as well as individual units. These parts or units are grouped to form a structure of society. Thus society is just like a human body made up of different interconnected parts (organs) that function to keep the society (system) functioning. The prevalence of smuggling of consumer goods in Nigeria is therefore implicated in the dysfunctional nature of sub-systems in the country evident in the socio-economic, and institutional weaknesses manifested in porous border security, poor economic policies, and under-equipped security agencies e,t,c. The paper utilised a cross-sectional survey design and combined both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Purposive and simple random sampling was used to sample the target population. The Krenjice and Morgan (1970) sample size technique was adopted in determining the sample size of three hundred and sixty-three (363) respondents. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS 27 and presented in mean and standard deviation. Linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The study established that Nigeria's protectionist trade policies significantly influenced the smuggling of consumer goods across Benin -Nigeria. The study also found that the smuggling of goods adversely impacts on Gross Domestic Product and unemployment in Nigeria. The government should enhance the capacity of Nigerian Customs by way of regular training, provision of adequate equipment, remuneration, etc. The Nigerian Customs should intensify the application of Information Technological (IT) based border security such as surveillance drones and Hi-Tech Closed Circuit Television Cameras and scanners.  The government should adequately deal with economic factors that tend to promote smuggling such as high tariff regimes, and import bans. The government should overhaul Nigerian port operations to fast-track import processes. Intense and sustained inter-agency collaboration among various security agencies at the border must also be enhanced while stamping out corruption among security agencies that man Nigeria’s borders.