Trade between northern Nigeria and Cameroon’s Far North has been flowing again since 2019. Better security along the corridor has allowed transporters to resume their routes and has revived customs revenue.
A convoy of heavy trucks from Nigeria is parked on both sides of the sandy ramp that links the economic giant to Cameroon. These convoys were once targets of Boko Haram attacks. The situation has improved, according to Aboubacar Mahamed, a Nigerian driver hauling bags of millet to N’Djamena, Chad. “From Nigeria, from Kano through Maiduguri, from Maiduguri to Banki to enter Kourgui, we had no problem; there is security from Kourgui to Amchidé and to Yagoua, no problem on the road.”
Despite the secured corridor, Aboubacar Mahamed says it is better to use it at certain hours: “The Cameroonian soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion are making great efforts, but for us, if the truck breaks down between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., it is better to spend the night in that village or in the bush,” he explains. “And around 6 a.m. the next morning, you can start; it is better to start moving from 6 a.m. and park around 5 p.m.”
A corridor that has become vital for local populations
To reach Kourgui, these truckers pass through Limani, the main customs office on the Cameroonian side. Closed in 2014 because of Boko Haram’s abuses, it reopened seven years ago.
Célestin Delanga, a specialist in Lake Chad Basin security issues at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), stresses the importance of resumed trade between the two countries: “Cameroon exports food crops and livestock to Nigeria, and imports fuel, textiles, electronics and spare parts, among others,” the researcher lists. “This helps ensure economic security. The improvement in traffic with the strengthening of the security system along cross-border trade routes is helping to revitalize commercial exchanges.”
Populations long battered by Boko Haram’s abuses are also reaping the benefits of this uptick in economic activity. For Célestin Delanga, cross-border trade now plays an essential role in a region facing new climate difficulties. “Two years ago, floods destroyed crops and livelihoods; this year, drought is paralyzing the rainy season, so cross-border trade is a kind of lifeline,” he says.
The improvement in trade is pushing customs revenue ambitions to 741 billion CFA francs for the first nine months of 2026. They were only one billion CFA francs in 2023.