Fragile peace slows down Jos, Maiduguri
“There is no reason for me to open my shop very early in the morning because I cannot predict how the day will be,” Mr. Emmanuel, a trader at the Post Office Area in Maiduguri, remarked. He owns a big stationary store and said his business has dwindled significantly because “valuable hours” are being wasted […]
“There is no reason for me to open my shop very early in the morning because I cannot predict how the day will be,” Mr. Emmanuel, a trader at the Post Office Area in Maiduguri, remarked. He owns a big stationary store and said his business has dwindled significantly because “valuable hours” are being wasted at home. “I told my shop handlers not to come out until around 9am when other people especially the security personnel are fully alert,” Emmanuel said. His apprehension is the position of thousands of businessmen and women, artisans, petty traders and other residents.
Public and private schools are also experiencing a shift in the way things are now being done. “We no longer insist that parents must bring their children to school as early as 7:00 am,” Mrs Grace Mathew, the proprietor of a private school on Barracks Road, said. She said because attacks by gunmen are usually carried out at night, there is always palpable fear in the morning, especially when news spreads that certain people have been killed. She said in response to the onslaught, security forces normally mount serious checkpoints and move about the town in “war ready” vehicles which according to her, induces the fear of uncertainty in people. “Once parents hear the sirens of armoured vehicles, they will quickly rush and collect their wards from the schools and race to the confines of their homes,” she said.
Businesses that hitherto operated at night no longer do so even as tailors, carpenters, vulcanizers and recharge card vendors go back home at sundown. “Sometimes, it appears as if we are under siege,” Talatu Mustapha, a trader said. “Because of the re-emergence of what authorities say are Boko Haram members who are back for vengeance, we feel very comfortable staying at home even though we know that we are not targeted by anybody,” she said.
Checks at some Maiduguri metropolis banks revealed that even though they open their gates as early as 8:00 am, which is the norm, patronage is very dismal. “Customers only come to cash or deposit money from 10:00 am,” Faruk, an accountant in one of the banks said. He added that the turnover of many banks in the state has diminished because of dwindling economic fortunes. Faruk attributed the shortfall to the dwindling economic fortunes of the people, fragile peace in the state and also, the beginning of the New Year.
Solomon, another banker said closing early is inevitable because of the “prevailing security situation” in Maiduguri. “And if you observe critically, you will realise that as soon as it is 6pm, you will not see Okada riders (commercial motorcyclists) on the roads,” Solomon noted.
“You will hate yourself if your wife or son falls sick at night and you don’t have a car of your own,” Aminuddeen Salihu, a resident of Abbaganaram, said. “I cried the other day when my wife was in labour and there was no commercial cab to take her to hospital. It was a good neighbour who saved the situation, otherwise my wife would have died,” Salihu recalled. Weekly Trust noticed that vehicular movement has been restricted in Maiduguri as part of strategy to reduce the incidence of attacks by gunmen.
Night clubs and recreational centres are also at their lowest ebb.
Commissioner of police Mohammed Abubakar, said “political thugs” loyal to many politicians have been taking part in the mysterious killings of innocent people, including the police, clerics, ward heads among others in order to achieve political goals. He said the police are ready to change the trend and restore normal life in Maiduguri and environs.
Despite the peace that returned, until last week, the story reels almost the same for the city of Jos, Plateau State capital. Following last week’s outbreak of violence after a tentative return of peace which inevitably deepened suspicion and mistrust among the populace, corporate bodies and individual as well as other institutions that provide services were forced to close business activities for a week.
For fear of the unknown, the once vibrant business areas of the city such as Ahmadu Bello Way, some parts of Terminus, Rwang Pam Streets and the likes were force to remain closed for a whole six days including banks that provide the financial base for transactions across the state.
Our correspondent went round some parts of the commercial parts of the city on Thursday and observed that a few traders summoned courage to open their shops with even fewer customers patronising them. It was also observed that most sought-after items were essential commodities, especially food.
Prices of goods in some areas depending on how the supplier gets his goods, have skyrocketed as many people are forced to part with more money than they budgeted for buying essential needs. One noticeable trend is that most shop owners who opened for one reason or the other, only display very few of their wares to allow them have the easiest way of evacuating them should something go wrong.
Isa Malami sells second hand clothes at Terminus Market. Most of the clothes he sells were inside a rucksack by his side while a few were displayed on the ground. According to him, “I used to display all my wares for customers. to select and buy but now I only display a few and leave the majority inside the sack by my side so that if something goes wrong, I can easily pack my wares and run”.
In the same market, Emeka Goodswill displayed only a blouse, trouser and a shirt by his shop which is full of clothes with the intention of attracting prospective buyers. He was standing outside his shop on the alert with the three clothes dangling and looking from side to side, as if to say, “I am ready to move.’’ According to him “I can’t go inside and wait for customers. I want to remain here so that if something happens, I will just pack these few clothes, close my shop and find my way”.
Chima Destiny, who sells CDs and DVDs along Beach Road in Jos, said: “I only managed to open my shop Thursday. I have been sitting at home since Saturday because everybody refused to come out and if you open, it means there will be no customer to buy your goods, but it is good that the situation is getting a little bit better, people are beginning to come out gradually”.
Muhammad Sagir, a truck spare parts dealer, was in Lagos when the crisis erupted. According to him, he had already purchased his goods when the crisis erupted making it very difficult to have his goods transported to Jos.
Investigations by Weekly Trust revealed that most travellers coming from the North East now detour through Magamar Gumau in Bauchi state to Saminaka in Kaduna state and finally appear at Kafanchan before proceeding on their journey to other parts of the country. It was also gathered that those coming from the South also detour from through Kafanchan to arrive at Magamar Gumau before they proceed to the North East.
Residents feel safer in the comfort of their homes once twilight hours set in. Although the state government has reiterated that a curfew has not been imposed on the city, government however, advise residents to minimise their movements especially in the night.
The chilly weather has no doubt made matters worse as the temperature dropped to a minimal degree, forcing residents to remain indoors to avoid the harsh freezing weather.
Thaddeus Longduut is a senior lecturer, Economics Department, University of Jos. He said the fact that traders who usually open every day to run their business are forced to remain at home, “that can have a serious effect on the economy of not only the state but other states”. He added that the situation will most likely widen the unemployment gap since many people “such as sales girls, wheelbarrow pushers and the likes will be forced to remain at home doing nothing”.
Efforts to speak with the Plateau state Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, Malam Nuhu Gagara, failed as at the time of filing this report. He was said to be at the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) national convention in Abuja. However, a lot of people are optimistic that the situation will be much better from next week, considering that the voter registration exercise is about to commence. “Maybe then our beautiful cities of Jos and Maiduguri will begin to crawl back to normalcy,” said Jos-based Theresa, as she walked to a neighbour’s house in Rikkos.