Military clampdown: Newspaper distributors, vendors count losses

The distributors under the aegis of Magazines and Newspapers Distributors’ Association of Nigeria (MANDAN) said the action of the military had inflicted pains and anguish on them.Soldiers had last Friday commenced a nationwide onslaught on newspaper distribution vans in what was described as a descent to the era of draconian military dictatorship, as they apparently, […]

The distributors under the aegis of Magazines and Newspapers Distributors’ Association of Nigeria (MANDAN) said the action of the military had inflicted pains and anguish on them.
Soldiers had last Friday commenced a nationwide onslaught on newspaper distribution vans in what was described as a descent to the era of draconian military dictatorship, as they apparently, acting on “orders from above” seized newspaper editions and detained drivers of some selected newspapers, including Media Trust titles- (Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and Aminiya) as well as Leadership, Nation, Punch, among others.
Though the military assault on newspaper distribution appears to be mellowing down across the states, reports from other parts of the country indicate that soldiers still seize newspapers in states like Niger, Sokoto, Niger, Katsina and neighbouring states.
Last week, a detachment of armed military personnel prevented the circulation and sale of Weekly Trust and other newspapers in Kano metropolis.  Motorists were asked to open the trunk of their vehicles, apparently to check if newspapers were being smuggled in.  Our reporter who went round some parts of the metropolis where newspapers were distributed and sold also observed that newspaper vendors were nowhere to be seen. They have disappeared from all the major roads and streets in the city. Many newspaper readers were seen at various distribution points and newsstands asking passersby where they could get copies of newspapers. Most of them had to eventually leave in disappointment.  One of the distribution vans of the Media Trust newspapers was forced to return to the office with its load of last week’s edition of Weekly Trust.  In many parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, veendors were also prevented from selling the newspapers. Some of them told Sunday Trust that the loses they incurred during the period were enormous.    
Chairman of the Niger State Newspaper Vendors and Distributors Association, Mr. Festus Elijah, told our reporter that vendors in the state were warned by soldiers not to sell any newspapers. “The sad thing is that its only in Niger State and some few states that they are still laying siege,” he said.
The Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI) last week in a statement signed by its Executive Committee’s Kabiru Yusuf and Raheem Adedoyin called on the government to stop its ongoing media repression. It recalled that “assault on the free press did not work in Nigeria in the past – not even under the brutal military dictatorships. It certainly will not work under this democratic dispensation,” it warned.  
Similarly, the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) condemned and expressed concern over the  harassment of newspaper agents and vendors by soldiers who laid siege to prevent distribution. It advised the Army to stay clear of actions that may give negative impression of the country’s democracy.
However, the vendors in their reactions expressed displeasure over the losses they incurred following the disruption of newspaper distribution by security agents nationwide.
Guda Garba, Chairman Newspaper Vendors Association, Kaduna State said the clampdown on major newspapers in the state by the soldiers was counterproductive. “Vendors who rely on newspaper business for survival lost millions of naira during the four days the security forces busied themselves seizing newspapers. We have over 600 members in Kaduna and about 550 of them relied solely on steady supply and sales of newspapers for livelihood. So, those who could not get the newspapers to sell had to borrow money from others to cater for their daily demands. The members of my association will meet at the appropriate time to take decision if government fails to prevail upon the security agents to stop intimidating the newspaper vendors,” he said.
He lamented how soldiers besieged the newspaper distribution centers at Jos Road, Kaduna for almost four days. “It is unfair and seemingly an attempt by the authorities to further deepen the unemployment rate thereby promoting insecurity. We could have commenced on an indefinite strike to draw government’s attention to this before the forces stopped the action”.
Another vendor, Muttaka Mohammed Bello, said its part of the attributes of the military to gag and muzzle the public from all forms opposition. “But this is archaic and shouldn’t be practiced in this modern era of democratic rule. We appeal to the federal government to stop seizing newspapers and harassing the vendors. Pressure groups, especially those campaigning for human rights should enlighten government on how to relate with the press. There are not enough reasons to stop newspaper circulation. This is our source of income, our means of livelihood”.
Another vendor, Useni Saleh, who said he was not happy because the clampdown deprived him from earning his daily income, lamented that the soldiers did not let Daily Trust, which many people always demand for in Kaduna get to him. “It is not everybody that buys other papers, so I recorded poor sales during that period.”
Speaking to our reporter, Chairman of the Newspaper Distributors’ Association in Kwara State, Evangelist Jeremiah Fatunmbi, disclosed that his members also incurred huge loss during the clampdown. Our correspondent recalled that when the military action started Friday last week, soldiers bombarded Oniyangi newspaper distribution point in Ilorin, where they confiscated editions of major newspapers.
The chairman said, “The action has really disrupted our business and we were made to suffer because we don’t have any other means.  This is the only business we have and it would not be out of place for the military authorities to reimburse us for the four days that our business was disrupted”. He urged the military to always carry out their investigation properly before taking any action so as not to inflict pains on the masses. “What the military has done has made us to suffer as they unnecessarily denied us our daily bread”.
In Zamfara, Alhaji Kawu who  is a major newspaper distributor in Gusau, the state capital told our correspondent that the clampdown also badly affected his business. He said;  “When a paper arrives at the newsstand late nobody will care to buy it because the readers would have forgotten about it for that day. Last Friday, they intercepted Daily Trust but it eventually arrived here around 6pm.  I was able to sell only forty copies but if all was well, I would have sold more than 200 copies.” He lamented that last Tuesday, when Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi bound Daily Trust wwere intercepte,d he was able to sell only 150 copies because the paper was released by the soldiers around 12 noon. Another vendor, Mustapha Salisu, said the clampdown caused a lot of problems for him because readers don’t care about the news but the date the newspaper was published and this seriously affected our business”
The Chairman, Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Oyo State Branch, Mr. Babatunde Abimbola last week raised alarm over the huge loss he claimed his members sustained following the military clampdown on newspapers circulation in Ibadan. His words:  “On Friday last week, the soldiers prevented us from selling The Nation, Daily Trust, National Mirror, Daily Independent, Vanguard, Daily Newswatch, New Telegraph, Leadership, Sporting Life, Complete Sports, International Soccer, Soccer Star.  On Saturday, we were prevented from circulating until 12.30 p.m. when virtually all vendors had already dispersed. The loss for the two days could be imagined as we were deprived of realizing our daily income through the commission derivable from sales of the seized newspapers.  It affected us greatly”.
 In the same vein, a notable newspaper vendor at Mokola Roundabout, Ibadan, Mr. Wale Oshin, told our correspondent that he incurred great loss over the military clampdown on newspapers circulation. He said some of the customers who have been owing him merely used the ugly incident as excuse not to pay. This has really caused untold hardship to us as newspaper vendors and I am sure it effected the industry as a whole,” he said.
Adebayo Kuti is a popular newspaper vendor at Sapon in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. While speaking to our correspondent on the losses he incurred, he said it cannot be quantified. “We know how much we gain and from it we pay other outstanding debts, plus meeting other family needs. So, you can imagine the implication.” He said, the experience was shocking because he never expected it. “They (soldiers) arrived early enough at Ijemo newspaper point and as the papers were arriving, they were asking for the Nation, Daily Trust and Leadership. They carted away all the available copies of these papers. I lost over N20,000 which I could have used to pay-off some debts” Another vendor, Adeyemi Awonowo said though his newspapers were not confiscated, his colleagues were no doubt badly  affected. “To be frank, it almost paralyzed the businesses of some of my affected colleagues here,” he said.