Why camel trade thrives in the harmattan

If they must guarantee their safety, once the harmattan sets in all camel herders must be ready to dispose of the stock, because in such season camels suddenly go wild and kill at sight, with little or no provocation. This is necessary because the harmattan season which is generally associated with low temperatures triggers the […]

If they must guarantee their safety, once the harmattan sets in all camel herders must be ready to dispose of the stock, because in such season camels suddenly go wild and kill at sight, with little or no provocation.
This is necessary because the harmattan season which is generally associated with low temperatures triggers the volatility in the animals, thereby exposing any other person, including the herders who are the closest to them, to great risk of being attacked.
The camel herders like any other shepherd see the parting of ways with such stock of animals as always a bitter decision to take.Therefore, despite the inherent danger of living with such beasts, the herders tend to keep  the younger ones. They exert more energy and time in keeping them under close watch, in order to avert any eventuality.
When temperature falls to a certain level, the desert where these animals are predominantly found becomes cooler, thereby aggravating the mental disorder in them.
Camels at this time usually go berserk, attacking whoever comes their way with overwhelming aggression.
It is under this kind of circumstance that they violently overrun the shelters of their masters which are usually thatch houses. They trample over their victim, back kicking while biting violently until the victim dies.
Tuaregs, Wodaabes from Niger republic and Fulani herders from Nigeria are the ethnic groups that mostly rear camels. Unlike other animals, the rearing of camels is not stressful as herders don’t go with them to the bush ,rather they are allowed to roam around freely in the wild.
It is now anticipated that from December this year to early next year, the biggest camel market in Nigeria,  located in the  border town of Maigatari will experience a glut as all big and old camels will be supplied to the market for onward sale to the buyers.
One amazing aspect about the camel market is the fact that despite the glut, the price of stocks remain stable through out.This is not unconnected with  the volume of buyers that equally turn up for the seasonal market.

Buyers who are mostly butchers have  to wait around for a season like this, because it is only within this season that the market takes delivery of a matured and well fed stock.
Maigatari Camel market is one market where buyers and labourers alike fidget to avoid falling victim to ticks which live on the  camel, and which on the other hand adversely infests the camel market.
Majority of the camel herders that supply the market are Nigeriens, who could easily be noticed because of their turbans and flowing gowns. Nigerien  camel herders find it convenient to patronize Maigatari market because of its international market status.
A Nigerien camel herder, who only identified himself as Illo, told Daily Trust that as herds of camels are left in the wild for pasture, individual herders usually branded them by engraving an adopted mark with  the help of hot iron. This is done for easy identification as hundreds  of herds of camels owned by different individuals graze  together.  While in the wild herders only supervise their herds of camels at intervals, and that newly born ones are usually branded during such supervision.
Allowing camels to remain in the wild depends on an individual herder because there are exceptions in the style of pasturing, as some complement feeding  of their animals by providing feed for them. Whenever it is time for feeding them, they turn up even if they are in the wild.

He said when the cool breeze of harmattan became dominant, adult camels are the most dangerous animals to live with, because of their  inherent volatility.
“Mouth foam and seamless aggressiveness, even among peers are some of the common signs of the seasonal camel madness. Fierce fighting among male adults is a recurring event, and anybody that attempts to intervene does so at his own peril.
“Unlike other animals that go for grazing under the control of a shepherd, Camels are usually left to graze alone, since herders give little or no care in the rearing of camels, but only supervise them periodically.
“Herders identify their camels through their branded name. Camels are usually allowed to roam in the wild for pasturing irrespective of their herd of origin.
Their owners can sort them out whenever they so wish, through the branded mark is done with a hot iron.
“Camels only come back home when the time for feeding clocks, but for those that don’t benefit from such tradition, they remain in the wild until when the owner wants to sell them off.
“By nature camels become volatile every harmattan season, and that exposes the herders  to great danger. The cooler  the season  the more dangerous the beast becomes. Under this circumstance they could violently attack any person including the herders, and there were instances when such attacks were fatal.
“Most often herders are their victims, because they live within the same forest with them. During this season, they turn violent over any slight provocation. They back kick, trample upon, bite and fling an individual,after lifting such person by the neck.”
Babandi Umaru who is the secretary of the Camel Dealers Association of Maigatari town of Nigeria/Niger border camel market, said during the harmattan  season majority of camels supplied to the market for trading are of adult stock. The male are the category that usually go mad, and for that reason every herder needs to sell  them in order to be free of trouble.

He said,  despite the glut in supply of such category of animals in a particular period, the  market prices remain unchanged, ascribing the unusual circumstance to the fact that it is under this same situation that buyers who are mostly butchers, troop in to the market, because it is during this same  period that only the well fed camels are brought to the market for sale.
Umaru stressed that at present, Maigatari camel market of Jigawa State is the biggest camel market in Nigeria, which receives a  supply of about 1,000 camels every market day. Major suppliers to the market are Nigeriens from the town of Sudu, Gure and Gidigir towns of Niger republic.
Camels are basically bought for consumption and domestic work, butchers who are the major buyers buy to sell as meat, while few others from Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states buy for farm and domestic work.
Unlike other livestock, people from the south don’t patronize  camels, hence the camel trade is only limited to the north.
A well fed camel costs as much as N250,000 while a small one goes for as low as N40,000, and in a situation where one’s camel is not sold in Maigatari market, the owner must be ready to go to Mai’adua camel market in Katsina State, as there is no alternative camel market in the entire state.
Audu Kute, has worked as a labourer in Maigatari camel market for over 30 years. He specializes in loading camels into vehicles. He told this reporter that among all the livestocks, camels are the only animals that have a great phobia for vehicles.
Kure, said on different occasions camels died while being led into a vehicle, because most of them have never been transported even once in their life time. This made them to resist being loaded into vehicles.
“Most often, they die  as a result of shock accompanied by fear, because they have never been taken into a vehicle.”
Another thriving business in the market is the sale of camel urine and milk.
Mohammed Lawal, who sells the products, said they serve as a source of cure for some ailments  when consumed, and claimed they have a medicinal function similar to antibiotics.
Most people that consume the milk and the urine of the animal do so in  the belief that the two products are capable of providing cure in the  treatment of diseases which include, Typhoid fever, Ulcer, Hepatitis, digestive system problems, cancer and skin diseases.

Contacted on curative powers   of camel milk and Urine, Dr. Kabir Ibrahim of Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said the only available information he got in medical literature was the one written in Egypt, which indicated that the daily consumption of camel milk in an adjuvant therapy (in combination with some other therapy) for the management of type one diabetes and has proved to be effective, adding that as for the uses of  camel urine he is yet to come across any medical information on this.