For Camel Dealers, It’s a Hard Time – Gubio Market Says So
The concurrent operation of the two markets every Sunday makes the town a beehive of activities. And for those who attend the market from afar, their truck loads are transported ahead to the market on Saturday evening in preparation. But those who come from Maiduguri and nearby towns move to the market early on Sunday […]
The concurrent operation of the two markets every Sunday makes the town a beehive of activities. And for those who attend the market from afar, their truck loads are transported ahead to the market on Saturday evening in preparation. But those who come from Maiduguri and nearby towns move to the market early on Sunday morning. Though it is unknown when the market was established, the Sarkin Kasuwa (market overseer), Alhaji Bukar Jalo, who is about 45 years old, said he grew up knowing about the existence of the market. Everywhere around the camel market, the presence of Tuareg nomads, members of a nomadic people who live across northwestern Africa, mainly in the Sahara and Sahel regions was conspicuous.
Gubio town, the headquarters of Gubio Local Government Area is located some 87 kilometers south of Maiduguri in the northern part of Borno. Further up front are Mobar and Abadam, the latter of which borders Niger Republic. Gubio is one of the areas worst hit by desertification in the state. It is a linear rural settlement that is linked by an access road built during the Alhaji Mohammed Goni-led Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) government during the Second Republic from the late 70s to the early 80s. Surprisingly, the road is still in very good condition. The town has a police station at its entrance, the council secretariat complex meters away, a central mosque and a motor park. There are shops in rows from sides, GSM telecommunication networks and electricity supply from the national grid.
Majority of the houses are built with mud and thatch, neatly arranged in rows and surrounded by fences that allow easy access to the roads, except but a few. The inhabitants, most of whom are Kanuri, Shuwa and Fulani and a handful of ethnic groups from Borno and other parts of Nigeria, generally depend on seasonal agricultural subsistence farming, civil service white collar jobs and petty trading. First rainfall begins from June or July and the highest fall is experienced in the month of August. Afterward, it ceases while in-between, the fall is irregular. The short fall in rain naturally makes the climate hot and unfavourable for vegetation.
Naturally, one wonders how the livestock population survive such harsh conditions. But according to local sources, most times, the animals feed on water storing plants and tree barks because drawing up a pail of water from wells 30-45metres deep could be daunting. Of course, the natural and artificial pools of water that gather after the irregular rains are great sources of water for both the people and their livestocks.
Characteristically, camels belong to the family of hoofed animals that chew food twice, known as ruminants. They are able to do this because of their ability to bring partly digested food back to the mouth, after it has passed into the first stomach, to chew again as an aid to digestion. This is possible because the camels have stomach with multiple chambers. Like other ruminants, camels have an even number of toes and are naturally desert animals who have the capability to adapt to a dry climate. They have either one or two humps on their back and come in variant colours – light brown or light sandy brown color. A full-grown camel weighs from 300 to 690 kilograms or between 660 to 1,520 pounds. It stands about two meters or 6.5 feet tall at the shoulders, and the hump rises about 30 centimeters or 12 inches above the back. Its outstanding quality is that it can survive long durations without water, thus making it the most convenient means of passenger and goods transportation in the Sahara. But camels are not the only ruminants. Other animals in that category include: cattle and giraffes.
Abbagana Mairakumi is the Kanuri and Fulani (local) camel breed middle man at the Gubio camel market. He hails from Dabira in the eastern part of Gubio. He said the herd he mediated for, that had light brown skin colour, were brought from Geidam (Yobe), Damasak (Borno), Ngelkoro (Niger Republic) and from parts of Gubio Local Goverment in ones and twos. “This year, patronage is very low at the market. It is not only restricted to the camels, but with all other livestock s– cows, goats, sheep. But it was not like this in previous years. From this herd, some of the camels have been at the market and unsold for over 40 days,” he added.
As from 8.00am, the market commences and the camel owners begin to arrive. During the interaction with Mairakumi who spoke in Kanuri through an interpreter around 1.00pm, he lamented that since the market opened for the day, no single camel had been sold. “No one has come to price a single one of them. And like you can see, we have only 10 here. But I still have hope. Usually, when the patronage is this low, the buyers are smart and try to take advantage of us by waiting until evening when the market closes before coming to bargain, though the delay can at times be attributed to the fact that some of the buyers use the money from the sale of their cattle or other livestock to purchase the camels. In other cases, they just use delay as a tactics to buy cheaply. Some are so mean that they at times offer part payment and pay up the balance the next one or two market days. The smaller ones are usually purchased and used for pulling out water from wells while the big ones are bought and taken to Maiduguri to be slaughtered as meat. No one has come for either the small or big ones yet. But even when they would come, there is no certainty that sales would be encouraging,” he ended disappointingly.
The situation, according to the traders, was so bad that due to lack of patronage, some of the camel owners even had to borrow money from the middle men to purchase foodstuff to take home, while they leave their camel behind, hoping for better luck on the next market day.
Sheriff Tahir, a Tuareg from Niger but resident in Dikwa in the northern part of Borno which borders Chad Republic, has been the middle man for the Tuareg camel breed owners for five years now at the Gubio market. According to him, he also acted as a middle man in another camel market in Niger Republic. Also lamenting lack of patronage, he said he comes to the market every week. At today’s market, he was serving as a middle man for other Tuaregs who brought their camels for sale at the market. A head count proved there were 16 camels, including one belonging to the middleman, and all were light sandy coloured. But he was quick to add that he was yet to sell any. He went on: “In the past, we would have sold at least two or three camels by this time. But the peak hour is usually in the evenings when the market is about to close.”
Though Tahir said he always returned to his family before 9 .00pm every market day, same cannot be said about the other Tuaregs who have set camp in tents of three to ten kilometers from the market and would only leave their present locations when it begins to rain because the Nigerien and Chadian camel breeds find it difficult to survive here when it begins to rain. Inquiries by Sunday Trust revealed that it is because the foreign breeds have already adapted to their own terrain. However, it was learnt that it is possible to domesticate them if they are well fed with millet, guinea corn, sorghum extract and other local domestic feed, rather than grazing in the wild, which according to the Kanuri and Fulani locals, makes their immune system less resistant.
But there are speculations who it is these kind of settlers that are engaged in armed banditry along the desert routes, robbing merchants and farmers of their hard earnings. Poor business at this period of the year could mean trouble for people around those areas.
But then, curiously, why would someone who willingly came to sell his camel at the market not sell directly to a buyer. Why engage a middleman as mediator? Tahir, who was up to the task said: “If someone buys a camel directly from a seller, who is unknown and cannot be traced by anyone, if he is accosted on the way, where would he say he bought it from, and from which market? The middle man is recognised by officials of the market and the patrons, but the nomad who brings camel to the market is unknown and untraceable. That is why the camel owners need us.”
Noticeably too, no woman was sighted dealing with camels at the market, but others were seen selling all sorts of petty things, including skimmed milk. Tahir promptly solved that puzzle too. “Women can never bring camels to the market for sale. They entrust their’s to the care of their husbands who bring the camel(s) to the market. After selling them, they take the money home for their wives. But no woman would bring her camel for sale,” he emphasized.
Abdallah Tahir is Sheriff’s brother. He has come to the market from Dikwa too with two camels – a 15 year old full grown and a much younger one. He said he would not sell the full grown for less than N120,000 because if he did, it would be at a loss. He added that he was only offering it for that amount because of low patronage, adding that when the market price pick up, it could be sold for more than N160,000. He added, “I come to the market always because of its proximity. But there are other markets in Maiduguri and Damasak. Two weeks ago, I came with different camels to the market, but because I could not sell them, I have come with new ones and left the others in my flock.”
Alhaji Bukar Jalo is the Sarkin Kasuwa who oversees the market. As soon as he got wind of this reporter’s mission, he instructed his Wakili (representative), from his throne in a thatched hut to take charge and serve as guide. After engaging the traders and middlemen in a conversation with the help of the Wakili, it was time to express gratitude for Alhaji Jalo’s hospitality. And satisfied with his representative’s comments, he added, “I have been overseeing the market for the past two years since I was elected by the traders to run their affairs because I was also trading here – buying, rearing and selling cattle, sheep, goats and camels.”
This market has a lot of economic potentials because it is not only about livestock trading. There are people who are selling food, roasted meat and twine (ropes). There are also petty traders hawking and selling all sorts of commodities. Blacksmiths are also there fabricating different metal objects, mobile phone battery sellers and chargers, who ensure that communication is uninterrupted.
Ajiya Kolo as the Wakilin Kasuwa represents the market overseer noted additional potentials of the market. He said Gubio was most appropriate for the camel market because people in Gubio had problem of water and wells had to be dug very deep before water was found. “The camels come handy for the villagers who tie very long ropes to enable the camels draw water from 30-45metres deep well. In most places, the wells are much deeper. So, the camel owners make good money for their animals and the inhabitants of the area get good value for their money as the camels serve to provide water for the local people and their livestock.”
As the tour round the market with the Wakili was ending, a charging bull broke loose and a young man tried hard to stop it. The Wakili boasted, “For those who oversee the market (most of all the Sarkin Kasuwa), we have charms to control these things. If the boy had not overpowered it, I would just stand in front of the bull and if it kept approaching and did not stop, it would automatically halt because one of its limbs would definitely break.”
He boasted further: “If you try to foment trouble at the market or come into the premises of the Sarkin Kasuwa with a dagger threatening to harm someone, he would just neutralize your anger and collect the weapon from you; or the person would just be made to coolly state his grievance and await the Sarki’s judgment. That is all!”
As the stay at the market drew on, I wondered and prayed for luck so I could witness such an encounter. But it was never to be.
Back in Maiduguri, further enquiries on whether camel meat was in vogue led to 39-year-old Mai Ali Budum, who said he has been a butcher since he was nine years old. Presently, he retails both camel and cow meat at the Maiduguri central abattoir at Kasuwan Shanu in Gamboru. When Sunday Trust sought his reaction on the current market trend regarding camel meat, he said, “In the past, people did not appreciate the nutritional value of camel meat. But nowadays, camel meat sells faster than cow meat. In fact, some people specifically request for camel meat on the grounds that it has the potency to cure arthritis and pains around the knee.”
Continuing, he said, “In my opinion, the main issue for lack of patronising meat generally is that there is low purchasing power and people are forfeiting meat for other pressing needs. This is why patronage is low and I believe this is the reason why the camel market in Gubio no longer flourishes too. In fact, the price of a camel at the livestock market here has drastically reduced. A camel that hitherto cost between N80,000 and N90,000 is now sold for around N70,000.”