Lolo: Large economy growing on the Niger

Legendary LoloLolo is a small town sitting by the river Niger in Kebbi State. As you arrive Lolo in a boat, you can see the busy market from the river bank, and the waiting crowd. It is an exciting place as all border markets soon  tend to be. Its peculiar aroma, rich accents and multi […]

Legendary Lolo
Lolo is a small town sitting by the river Niger in Kebbi State. As you arrive Lolo in a boat, you can see the busy market from the river bank, and the waiting crowd. It is an exciting place as all border markets soon  tend to be. Its peculiar aroma, rich accents and multi cultural arrivals thrill the visitor. From Birnin Kebbi you enter a vehicle heading to Kamba. At Kamba, you now  depart for Dole Kaina. Once you get to Dole Kaina which is achieved by motorcycle, a ride by speed boat, made without the  use of a life jacket, gets you to Lolo in twenty minutes. Nobody asks for a life jacket in the boat, and none is provided. Nobody asks for what doesn’t exist. Lolo is a huge old market, patronized by traders from Niger and Benin Republics which are nearby. There is a large economy flourishing at the river side. Young  boys with wheelbarrows patrol the riverside, looking  for patrons. They find many of them, and make a lot of money every day. Aminu Mohammed says that he charges 500 Naira for a full wheelbarrow, and ten trips will fetch him 5,000 Naira. Huge cows with large horns and big eyes, draw carts which are always there by the river bank, to convey goods and the traders right up to the Lolo market. Some get stuck in a muddy patch  further on. Then man and beast struggle to free themselves from  the active mud. There is an association of cart owners at Lolo, and this  presents some level of order at the border town. In the market you have to watch out for trucks, as  well as the carts’  drawn by Cows. Then  there is  the human population which is  very visible, and  expands in every direction.
Huge economy
 A rich bustling economy has grown around the river. The great river   brings traders and goods  in an ever increasing stream from both countries, as well as from Mali and places further afield. The river is almost like a merchant itself,and  a huge system of water transport has grown, and  achieved a certain status  in the area. One boat can convey goods which can fill three trucks, Daily Trust is told, and  it is much cheaper to hire a boat than the three trucks. For  instance, its  cheaper to hire a boat from Lolo all the way to Yawuri, Alhaji  Idrisu Illo, Tudun Giris, tells me. So, the boats are a great help  and a blessing in this bustling border area. Then there is a boat transporters association which monitors the boats, and helps to reduce mishaps on this section of the Niger, Alhaji  Illo adds.

He says that there is a proposal to dredge the Niger all the way from Mali to Nigeria,and recalls that this has been on the drawing board for the past five years. Dredging  of the Niger will improve trade, and even allow for all season use of the river,he opines. At present it is not possible to use the river at all seasons. Alhaji Illo adds “Trading along the Niger is seasonal. Now, it is the rainy season, so the Niger is flooded, and people can trade very well. But when the rains pass you won’t be able to move with a big boat on the Niger. During the dry season you cannot go on the Niger with a boat carrying fifty people.”
Everyone looks forward to the Lolo market day, to get the latest goods, as well as fresh hot news from any of the communities in the various countries, which share a common border. Some use the moment to link up with friends, or  to make  new ones, or to strike a new deal. Thus, Lolo is home to many.  Illo is the name of a neighbouring town, some eleven kilometres away.  
Multiple taxes
But  Lolo which hosts countless traders every Wednesday,is  itself in great danger of drowning, in a manner of speaking. It may drown under the weight of the  numerous taxes which the traders are made to pay to the various security outfits in the neighbourhood.

The traders are in pains over the suffocating character of the taxes. To an extent they accuse the authorities of double taxation also.Both male and female traders raise their voices in protest, and make vivid complaints, under the scorching sun when Daily Trust visits.
Yusuf Abdullahi Lolo is the Chairman, Lolo market. He says that multiple taxation is a common problem at the market, and  this  raises the cost of commodities, he adds. His words “There are many problems here created by the border staff. The customs ask for 3,000 Naira, the  immigration 1,000. Mobile police demand 500 Naira from us, while the Police collect 500 Naira. The CID also ask for 500 Naira.” He urges government to look into the issue of multiple taxation at the market, and resolve the matter quickly.

Dalhatu Ibrahim Dole Kaina is into the fish trade, and he speaks on the undeveloped nature of the market. According to him “If the rain falls, we suffer. We have no store and no line for fish sellers. We are surprised that we are neglected like this. This is not a small market, and traders from Lagos, Ibadan and Ondo come here every week.”
He adds that when it rains the fish sellers lose a lot, especially  in the month of August. The fish sellers at Lolo bring up to ten million Naira worth of fish each market day.

No proper sections
Mohammadu Sokoto, also a fish seller complains that there is no fish section or line in the market, and says that this always causes problems for the traders. If it starts to rain, then  every one flees with his goods for cover. If  the items cannot be carried or covered, then  they become wet. Hadiza Giris  is a rice trader at the Lolo market She too complains about the absence of  a proper rice section, and the open nature of the market, which  leaves all traders unprotected from the elements. They stand directly under the glare  of the sun for the whole day.
Her words “We trade here in the open, and  so the intense rays of the sun beat us severely.Therefore, we lose a lot. We  need a well defined rice line with shops.”

Abubakar Soldier hails from Niger Republic. He says that he does not have a problem with the level and nature of taxes in the market. He says “have no problem with the taxes. I sell second hand clothes which are brought in illegally, and so I have an understanding with the security officials.” He  says that the Lolo market is the largest one in the area.
Despite  their complaints, the traders boast about the great wealth which trading brings to the area. This runs into many millions of Naira every week. Traders even come from as far as Ghana to patronize the market Daily Trust is told.
Since 1897
Most of the goods sold at Lolo market include bales of cloth, foodstuff such as rice, guinea  corn, millet, shea nut and much else. Alhaji Idrisu Illo says that the Lolo market seems to have encouraged other markets to spring up. His words “There  is another market which has suddenly sprung up at Tsamiya. Every Thursday about twenty trucks loaded with foodstuff can be seen at Tsamiya. Thursday is market day there, and it too has become a very big market.”
On the age of the market, he says “I know that the Lolo market has been in existence since the year 1897. By that year, the market was already very popular, and much trade was already going on there, which served much of west Africa.”