‘Pollution is killing timber traders’
What are the challenges timber traders face in Dei-Dei market?We have over 1,500 members – casual members, food vendors not included. On average, we can talk of 2,000 persons working here. We have machine operators. One of our greatest constraints is these machines are not powered by public power supply. They are run by private […]
What are the challenges timber traders face in Dei-Dei market?
We have over 1,500 members – casual members, food vendors not included. On average, we can talk of 2,000 persons working here. We have machine operators. One of our greatest constraints is these machines are not powered by public power supply. They are run by private generators using gas.
Through self-efforts, we put up poles requesting various governments to give us a transformer to run these heavy duty machines. We’re employers of labour. But up till now, nobody has ever cared to give us a single transformer. These machines breakdown frequently and it’s time consuming to run such machines with generators.
When you look round, you can see the roads. They’re maintained by self-efforts. We members contribute money. During the rainy season, trailers bringing goods, after coming from Ibadan or Sapele into this place, they fall here.
We pay our annual land rent. I advised my members to always pay annual rents to Abuja Market Management Limited. The Federal Inland Revenue Department has established a branch here. I don’t know why government’s presence should not be extended to us.
The worst of all is solid waste disposal. We have gone to several places including the environmental sanitation department of the FCT administration requesting for a dump site – we generate a lot of sawdust. We burn the dust somewhere. The owners of the land complain. They should show us a site. The contamination is high. Some of us can’t see properly any more.
What health problems your members complain of?
In fact, what we saw four weeks ago surprised us. Somebody would go down there as if they’re putting timber on the machine, they would collapse. The next thing is paralysis. We had three cases in the last two weeks – two of them are dead. Sudden deaths!
There might be some harmful chemicals coming from this smoke. If we have dump site to evacuate our solid waste, if we have electricity, it will reduce the burning of this diesel. We need good roads. I believe this is the biggest timber market in West Africa.
How do you relate with estate developers, those building Abuja?
Estate developers come to us only when they need our services. There’s not a single registered estate developer that cares about our problems. They come here, pick up whatever they want, go out. Some of our members carry the materials down to them where they’re developing the town. Some of them call on telephone because the roads are too bad — that their big cars should not be used here. They will sent text [messages] saying bring these things to site. And what do we do? We have no alternative.
But we’re in the municipal area of Abuja. We thought our voice should have been heard by now.
When you look at the way Abuja has developed, beautiful houses, then you look at where you come to work, what comes to your mind?
We’re regarded as bulldozers that go clear the road, knock down the trees, get the road motorable then are denied usage of the road. No bulldozer enters without being carried on a low loader. We’re living in the satellite towns: Zuba, Dei-Dei, Suleja and other villages around here. These satellite towns don’t have amenities. Some of us don’t know where that main city is. We’re just low income forgotten members of Nigerian community. We can’t afford houses in even Kubwa where they demand millions of naira for a house.
We feel government should find way to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich by giving us at least minimal comfort, the amenities – we don’t have water. Many sink boreholes.
How do you get your goods?
We source them from some of these equatorial forests in the southern part of the country and the delta area. We also get products from these forests in the south-east bordering Cameroun. That’s why we always complain about long vehicles that go on such trips.
The days the train was working, you just…I’ve been in this business since 1962. I’ve not done any other thing since I left school.
So you once moved your timber by train?
Then! There were wagons and coaches whereby you go load in Port Harcourt, in Aba…we had a depot. When you brought it from the delta area, you go to any of the nearest terminals in the east. They lift it there down to Maiduguri. What we did was go to Maiduguri to get your consignment.
There’s nothing like that now. Everything goes on the road and the road is not for such. That’s why when there’s accident, you see casualties in hundreds. There was limited number of trailers on the road.
Do forest officials come here to complain? Environmentalists decry continuous felling of trees.
We’re not disturbed by any agencies of government. There’s what is called Forest Permit. Before you go into any forest to do lumbering, the forestry department of that area must have gone and certified the age of the timber in that place and you’re given permit on each of the wood you cut. Each time you cut it, before you saw it, there’s a hammer bearing federal government’s permit number of that area. They’ll stick it on the log so when you slice the log, each part of the log carries that stamp.