Trade between Nigeria and neighboring Niger has bounced back since the West African bloc ECOWAS lifted sanctions on Niger.

The Economic Community of West African States imposed the measures following the July 26, 2023, military coup that ousted Mohamed Bazoum, Niger's democratically elected leader. 

The sanctions, which included closing borders, cutting off the electricity supply and threatening the military junta with the use of "force," were introduced in an effort to have Bazoum reinstated and restore constitutional order to Niger. 

The measures failed to achieve their aims, and the border closure devastated local communities on both sides of the frontier with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trade lost.

Business upturn in border areas

"The relationship has spanned centuries, so immediately after the imposition of the sanctions, there were cries everywhere. Local farmers suffered greatly," said Tukur Abdulkadir, professor of international relations at northern Nigeria's Kaduna State University.

But in recent weeks, a semblance of normality has returned to the Jibiya-Maradi border area. Businesspeople can move freely between the neighboring nations.

"I thank God for this development and feel delighted to have this border reopened," businesswoman Rafi'a Hussain told DW. "We are moving freely, peacefully and without any harassment from the officers on duty or anybody. I thought we would find it difficult to cross, but it's not that way."

Trade between Niger and Nigeria

Before ECOWAS withdrew the sanctions, people living in border communities were cut off from all traditional trading and socio-economic activities. Five of Niger's eight regions — Zinder, Tahoua, Maradi, Dosso and Diffa — all border Nigeria, a major trading partner for Niamey.

The border is around 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) long, and Nigeria had long supplied Niger with electricity, tobacco and building materials like cement. Agricultural products like dates and cattle flowed in the opposite direction.

"Our hardships are over whenever we continue to have peace cordial understanding between Nigeria and Niger," added Hussain. 

In 2022, data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed that cross-border trade between Nigeria and Niger was worth roughly $226 million ($209 million).

Locals feel the pinch of ECOWAS sanctions

The ECOWAS sanctions, implemented in August 2023, effectively stopped this trade overnight.

While the measures were aimed at Niger's junta leaders, civilians in Nigeria and Niger dealt with very real effects like soaring food prices and unemployment.

In August 2023, the United Nations reported that 4.3 million Nigeriens relied on humanitarian aid. By October 2023, the World Food Programme reported that the price of a 25-kilogram bag of rice had jumped over 50% over a two-month period.

For Abdulkadir, Nigeria's closing of the border was a strategic mistake.

"ECOWAS leaders should have been better students of history. Countries like Cuba, Iran, Iraq and others had suffered from the effects of sanctions, but the leaders survived," he said. 

"There are some strategic relations that exist between Nigeria and Nigeria, for instance, the utilization of the water of River Niger," he added. "The Nigeriens had to be pacified long ago not to dam the river, otherwise they would have been enjoying the their own power, without relying on Nigeria."

Another businesswoman, Bintou Adamou, said that before the reopening, illegal border crossings were the only option available to traders.

"I had no break for my business despite the border closure, but I seriously suffered and was not happy with the ECOWAS's action. People trading between Nigeria and Niger are still battling with hardship and cost of living," she told DW.

The sanctions have had a wider social effect on Nigeria-Niger relations, Abdulkadir pointed out.

"Blindly adopting those suffocating measures went a long way in actually affecting our relationship to the extent that people that used to consider themselves half-Nigerians or half-Nigeriens began to see themselves, as full Nigeriens," said Abdulkadir.

Chinese-funded railway

The opening of the border roughly coincided with the long-awaited announcement that Nigeria has secured $1.3 billion in funding to complete a railway project connecting Kano, Nigeria's largest northern city, to Maradi in Niger.

With the borders now open, the future railway line promises to build on existing economic and social ties and boost trade and cultural cooperation between Nigeria and Niger.

The funding will come from a consortium led by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), which will contribute 85%. The Nigerian government will contribute the remaining 15%.

Abuja-based China-Africa relations analyst Ovigwe Eguegu said this marks another milestone for Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in Niger and Nigeria. This includes the major Niger-Benin Oil Pipeline, which is Chinese-operated, and its completion has allowed Niger to become an exporter of crude oil.

"Lots of exports from Nigeria go to Niger, but through trucks, on roads that are not paved and very inefficient," he told DW.

But the Kano-Maradi railway is part of a much larger Chinese-funded development plan.

"This section is part of a very long corridor that aims to connect Niger to the hubs of Nigeria like Lagos. Because Niger is landlocked, it needs access to the sea," he said, adding that the recently opened Lekki Deep Sea Port in Nigeria has an over $500 million Chinese investment.

"That port would thrive more if you can connect it to more markets. And this could end up saving Niger and make the port more profitable," Eguegu said.

Security and stability issues remain in northern Nigeria

While regional instability, such as the border closures and insecurity due to armed insurgents, still plague Niger and Nigeria, Chinese infrastructure loans have gone ahead.

Eguegu said the "Chinese are 100% more concerned about security," and are pressuring local governments to provide safety for Chinese expatriates working on projects.

"But the security challenge is not China's problem. It is Nigeria's problem," he added. "If Nigeria defaults on the loan or cannot secure the infrastructure, and therefore loses revenue, that's not China's problem."

In fact, according to Eguegu, the potential challenges of insecurity on the Kaduna-Maradi railway would provide Chinese companies another opportunity to "deepen security cooperation in the form of Chinese private military contractors, as we have seen in East Africa."

This article has been adapted by Cai Nebe from a radio report that was broadcast on DW's daily podcast AfricaLink