How insurgency causes ram scarcity in Borno

Boko Haram insurgency has adversely affected the supply and sales of rams in and around Borno State for the forthcoming Sallah celebration. Leaders of Ram Sellers Association in Maiduguri said Maiduguri which used to be a hub of livestock business for the nation, cannot provide enough ram for local consumption this Sallah. Leaders of the […]

Boko Haram insurgency has adversely affected the supply and sales of rams in and around Borno State for the forthcoming Sallah celebration.
Leaders of Ram Sellers Association in Maiduguri said Maiduguri which used to be a hub of livestock business for the nation, cannot provide enough ram for local consumption this Sallah.
Leaders of the association said in addition to the ongoing Boko Haram hostilities, non-access routes to neighbouring countries where the livestock are bought in large quantity, and livestock rustling activities around Maiduguri were responsible for the short supply of rams to the state.
Chairman of the association, Malam Babagana Ali, said before the insurgency, Maiduguri was the major supplier of livestock including rams to the entire country with Sudan, Niger, Cameroun and Chad being the major suppliers.
“The persistent hostility has forced all routes leading to our neighbouring countries to be closed to traffic. For any livestock to enter Maiduguri from that axis now, the truck has to go round through Adamawa or Kano thereby making the journey longer. That is one of the reasons for the high cost of livestock.
“The local farmers in the state could not help us out because all their livestock have been stolen by the insurgents. We had cases of insurgents bringing stolen rams to our market to sell to us. When we identify them, we invite security agents to arrest them, trace the rightful owners of the rams and return them.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association, Malam Ibrahim Bukar, who conducted this reporter round the market, said though there are indications that the prices of rams may go up before the Sallah due to high demand despite short supply, the association will do everything possible to ensure increase in supply.