Zabarmari: Despair of Rice-Producing Community

Local historical explanations said it was so named after its founder, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim, who was bequeathed the land by a former Shehu of Borno, the late Umar El-Kanemi. The former ruler had a memorable encounter with pilgrims who camped on the site on their way to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The people, who […]

Local historical explanations said it was so named after its founder, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim, who was bequeathed the land by a former Shehu of Borno, the late Umar El-Kanemi. The former ruler had a memorable encounter with pilgrims who camped on the site on their way to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The people, who were natives of Zabar in Niger Republic, had a stopover in the area for a year to engage in farming before continuing their journey.

Surprisingly, Alhaji Ibrahim was a native of Kebbi. On his return from pilgrimage in Mecca, he stopped in Gashua, in today’s Yobe State, to further his relations with the ruler. Rather than return to Kebbi, Alhaji Ibrahim, after deliberating with the ruler of Gashua who felt the immense religious knowledge of Alhaji Ibrahim would be valuable to the Kanem Borno Empire, convinced him to seek greener pastures in Borno. As a subject to the empire, the ruler of Gashua was said to have liaised with the Shehu of Borno to provide an abode for Alhaji Ibrahim so that the empire could benefit from his immense religious knowledge.

When Alhaji Ibrahim arrived in Borno, the Shehu, was away in Mecca on pilgrimage. While awaiting his return, Alhaji Ibrahim became renowned for his Islamic intellectual competence which became beneficial to the entire emirate. A year later, after returning from hajj, Shehu Umar asked Alhaji Ibrahim what he did for a living? Alhaji Ibrahim had replied, “As you already know, Your Highness, I am a religious teacher. But I also combine that with farming and fishing to cater for my family.” Afterwards, the Shehu directed his chief aide, Abba Kaza to bequeath Alhaji Ibrahim with the land (now called Zabarmari). Alhaji Ibrahim was directed by the Shehu to offer abode and farmland to whosoever wished to settle in the place. It was when Alhaji Ibrahim and Abba Kaza went to inspect the location that they came across the Zabarmawa who didn’t lay claim to the land, but peacefully accommodated the envoys of the Shehu.

Today, Zabarmari is ruled by Bulama Muhammadu Imam, a descendant of Alhaji Ibrahim. He is 49-years-old and fifth in the lineage of rulers of Zabarmari. He has been on the throne for 17 years. He told Sunday Trust that: “Because of our great grandfather’s desire for a suitable land to engage in both farming and fishing, he requested to be given land away from the metropolis. The vast land, he said, was to cater for his large followers, whom he knew would come on his trail when they realized he wasn’t going back home to Kebbi after the pilgrimage. The Shehu then requested that his special aide took him there, because the terrain was muddy and water logged and would aptly serve such purposes. At that time, the area was under Auno District, which is now under Konduga Local Governement Area.”

SETTING

Zabarmari is located to the south of Khadamari, the headquarters of Jere LGA. It is about 10km from Maiduguri metropolis. The journey takes about 25 minutes because the road is not motorable. If the roads were to be tarred, it should take not more than 10 minutes. Other neighbouring communities include: Kayayya, Jeremari, Aleri, Masu, Masu Bulamairam, Kellori and Lawanti and Maiduguri metropolis. In comparison, these other communities are smaller, but not less entrepreneurial. Of course, Maiduguri, being the capital, is even the largest, in terms of size, population and businesses.

One striking feature of Zabarmari is the warm tropical climate and the moist soil, which makes it water logged and suitable for cultivating rice. This, probably, explains why over 90 percent of the inhabitants of the community is engaged in the cultivation of rice. It is also suitable for cultivating fresh vegetables like pepper and okro. The same land is used for cultivating fresh vegetables, but more emphasis is on rice cultivation because of the enormous financial benefits there in.

In the past, Zabarmari served as a transit camp for pilgrims on their way to perform hajj pilgrimage because of its proximity along the ancient route. It still serves as a transit camp, but for part-time farmers, fishermen, travellers and those who seek for Islamic knowledge from scholars.

According to Nasiru Abdulaziz, the secretary of the Zabarmari Rice Sellers, the community was founded by immigrants from Kebbi State. Later, other immigrants from neighbouring states like Sokoto, Zamfara and Kano came to settle with them. Eventually, various ethnic groups indigenous to Borno joined early residents. Observably, there is a cordial relationship among the various ethnic compositions. “If any ill-afflided us (the Hausa), they all commiserate with us. If good befalls us, they will celebrate with us. We are now integrated and it would be difficult to differentiate between one ethnic group from the other”, Nasiru Abdulaziz added.

PROSPECTS

The commercial rice potential of Zabarmari is immeasurable. It was reliably gathered that the area cultivates over 10,000 hectares of rice farmland annually. In measurable terms, the distant equivalent of such venture is over 30km.

“Rice is cultivated twice annually in Zabarmari during the dry and wet season. At the peak of the rainy season, between August and December, farmers use rain water, while between December and July, irrigation method is used. Water for irrigation is sourced from hand-drilled boreholes which cost about N15, 000 and is pumped using water pumping machines”, said Zaki Wanzam, a dry and wet season farmer.

It was, however, learnt that at different times, due to the low level of rainfall, farmers had to seek for help from authorities for the release of water from Alo Dam, which has its source from Lake Alo in the southern part of the state.

The local manual method of harvesting and processing the rice is such that the straw is gathered in the field to dry. Afterward, it is repeatedly pounded with objects. It is then threshed to separate the seeds from the plant. The rice is later parboiled and the chaff is separated from the grains. The dried rice plants are used to feed the cattle, who also serve as means of transport for both crops and humans.

Khadija Musa, 12, who has no western education ,but has some level of Islamic education, was seen carrying bags of semi-processed rice on her way to the Zabarmari make-shift market. At first when she was approached, she was shy and refused to speak. But when one of the inhabitants who served as guide intervened, she opened up. According to her, she intended to sell the produce, which she had sourced from the remains beside a local processing site. With her little effort, she was able to sift out ten measures. “Each measure sells for N90. I use the proceeds to solve my personal problems. Right now as you can see, I have some money with me. I intend to use it in buying some clothes and pay for the sewing. Sometimes, the tailors charge as high as N400 for a cloth”, she said amid smiles.

Due to the adoption of the local methods of processing Zabarmari rice farmers and traders are unable to ascertain the weight per bag of their produce. They sell, using local standard measures with each big bag containing 40 measures and the small ones, containing 20. The big bag is sold at N6, 000, while the smaller one costs half the amount.

Daily, before noon, over 30 pick-up truck loads of rice, each not less than 70 bags, are conveyed from the community to Maiduguri. Traders from Maiduguri Monday market, Gamboru Market, and others transport the produce through Baga Park, Kano Motor Park and Bama Park for sell.

Bragging about the quality of rice produced in Zabarmari Mohammed Danbaba, a grandson to the founder of the area, said, “Our rice is as clean as the popular Dangote brand. Traders even come as far as Abakiliki, Kano and Adamawa to buy our rice.”

Nasiru Abdulaziz added that one striking feature of their produce was that when it was cooked and prepared for consumption, it maintains its quality even if it is kept till the next day, unlike the foreign ones that decay if left till the next day. According to him, “Rice farming is very profitable. In the past, we enjoyed good remuneration from our farmlands. At the moment, because we are saddled with difficulties, we are just engaged in the activity as a means of survival. We can only try to break even, but not to make profit.

“In the past, when one hectare of land is cultivated, we got nothing less than 10 bags of rice. If it is less, you will be operating at a loss. At that time, our cumulative annual production capacity was between two million bags and 2.5 million bags. If we experienced low rainfall, we sought help from Alo Dam for water to be channelled to us. If we are lucky and water from the Dam is released and the rice yield is good, we are always battling with the problem of encroachment by Fulani cattle rearers who trespass into and destroy our farmlands. Because of that problem we can only boast of a quarter of our normal production now,” affirmed Nasiru Abdulaziz.

Arithmetically, it implies that farmers can only produce between 500,000 and 700,000 bags annually, which is less than their initial output capacity. At a time Zabarmari rice farmers  boasted that they possess the capacity to feed the population of Borno State for a whole year.

Obviously, rice farming in Zabarmari and environs can serve as a centre to actualize the food security agenda of the federal government. It can also help to reposition Borno State for industrialisation. The benefits of collaborative efforts between the Borno State government and development partners are unending. It would help provide basic infrastructure for the host community and environs. It would also reduce current unemployment rate and improve the standard of living of the populace. There would also be a corresponding increase in internally generated revenue of the state, hence providing more funds for executing capital projects in all sectors. Providing modern processing facilities would no doubt increase crop yield. The benefits are unending.

Surely, if the state and/or federal government could collaborate with financial institutions or development partners to capitalize on the vast agricultural potentials of rice cultivation in Zabarmari, the nation can favourably compete with developed countries like America, Israel and China who heavily depend on income from their agriculture sector.

CHALLENGES

Despite its huge human and economic potentials, with a moderate estimated population of over 30,000 people, Zabarmari is faced withenormous challenges. Most striking is the lack of basic infrastructure. To begin with, the only existing two-classroom primary school, which was built 33 years ago, is in a dilapidated condition.

Sunday Trust inquiry reveals that even basic education at the 33-year-old two class primary school is becoming elusive. The primary school has eight female and 12 male students. Ten of these students are in primary one, four in primary six, while the rest are spread across other classes.

“I was 16 years old when this block of two classroom primary school was constructed and commissioned. My father was the village head at the time. I was among the first pupils to be enrolled in the school. The school was built during the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme of the late General Murtala Mohammed”, said Danbaba.

According to Mohammed Haruna, an Arabic teacher, there are nine male and one female teachers in the school but only three classes can be accommodated in the classrooms. The remaining ones are taught under the trees. The school teaches English, Mathematics and other subjects that are taught at the primary school level. He also said that most of the teachers held Grade II Teachers Certificate or Primary School Certificates.

Haruna observed that the Zabarmari community had enormous educational challenges, and that the facilities available at their school could not guarantee qualitative education for their children. So, he noted: “Though the quality of education available in rural settings differs from those in urban areas, our pupils are trying their best.  Not all our primary six students are allowed to sit for the common entrance exams. We select them based on their performance to sit for the exams. Some even drop out before attaining primary six, but if they passed, they gained admission into nearby Government Day Secondary School in Lawanti. It is the closest secondary institution. The students struggle daily to and fro the school on the bumpy and dusty roads. Those whose parents can afford it use bicycle, others paid motorcyclists or motorists, while others trekked. It is no doubt stressful, but what choice do they have? ”

In his own view, Alhaji Umaru Dan Maigyara, the Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association in Zabarmari, feels communal efforts are ways to augment government’s inefficiency towards providing for the needs of its citizenry. While lamenting the deplorable educational situation and communal efforts towards actualising the dreams and aspirations of their children, he said: “We use communal efforts to ensure our children obtain western education. We had to contribute money to employ a teacher to provide basic education for them. That is how they acquire primary school education. That was how they were able to sit for their primary school leaving examinations. They are now in secondary schools outside the community.”

Poor primary healthcare facility and delivery is another critical issue. Mrs Kolo Modu is the healthcare assistant at the Zabarmari Primary Healthcare Centre. The structures are dilapidated and the premises looks deserted, except for some livestock that roam freely within the compound. Inside, Mrs Modu sat on a rickety chair while responding to our enquiries. She said, “There is no single doctor here, but we have a nurse who attends to patients. I also assist her. Patients who come here usually complain of malaria infection. At the moment, we have no drugs and no functional equipment, but we have a 5-bed capacity ward to admit patients when the need arises. We also offer ante-natal and maternity services.” The question is how can non-professionals be engaged in offering healthcare services in critical conditions?

As she finished, we sought to take a look at the wards and the labour room. The roofs of the wards were decayed, and at the sight of the labour room, our stomach became unsettled. The floors and mattresses were stained with blood, probably accumulating from scores of victims. You could imagine what the situation would be like if it were to be the first sight for a pregnant woman; and then how she would cope in such conditions during childbirth, or whether she would not be at the risk of any infection.

Nasiru Abdulaziz, secretary, Zabarmari Rice Sellers, said the case was critical. “If we have any critical case of ill-health, which is beyond what the drug store dispenser can handle, we take such cases to Maiduguri metropolis. There is no doctor here. We have a primary healthcare centre, but the drug store is even more efficient than the healthcare centre. If you take a patient to the centre, there is no person to attend to him or her. But, at the drug store, at least, you are sure that someone would attend to your patient”, he said.

Lack of access road, is another debilitating factor that has denied the people of Zabarmari the fruits of their labour. As we drove to the area, one couldn’t but wonder at the daily experience on the traders’ routine on the bumpy and dusty rough road, even though we went in a four wheel vehicle. To compound the lack of access road is the non-existence of a market where the rice farmers and traders could interact. The only available option, due to its strategic location, is the motor park, which, at the moment, serves as a make-shift market.

The situation is again vividly summed up by Alhaji Maigyara: “Our major problem is lack of infrastructure. We have no motorable road. We do not have a market, nor a specific market day. Traders have often called on phone from Kebbi, Abakiliki, Kano and Kebbi to know our market days. We don’t have any. People just come to buy anytime. There is no place in the whole of Borno State that offers such commercial opportunities that I know of. Everybody eats rice – labourers, the wealthy and the common man. But we, the farmers, are not reaping the desired benefits.”

Other problems highlighted during the interaction include: stealing of cattle by nomads, destruction of crop yield as a result of encroachment into farmlands by Fulani herdsmen At times, this results into violent clashes between the farmers and cattle rearers. There is also the issue of the lack of timely access to farm inputs and implements like fertilizers and tractors. Even drinkable water is sourced from individual and community efforts through local hand-drilled boreholes.

The latter has caused series of skirmishes among herdsmen and rice farmers. This has, at most times, involved a supremacy tussle between the long-established and more entrenched Miyyeti Allah Cattle Rearers Association and the not too long ago established Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara Association (SOKEZA) in Borno State.

The quest for this piece, driven by the potential need assessment of local economic opportunities for the attainment of food security, as an item from the federal government’s seven point agenda, tries to situate how local potentials can be harnessed. Obviously, there is the need to engage community-based associations as pressure groups to raise the standard of living of local communities. The Zabarmari rice farmers, learning from their experiences have also employed such avenues.

According to Aminu Abubakar Gwandu, the Chairman of SOKEZA, their association, which comprises indigenes of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States resident in Borno State, was established four years ago to enlighten members on the need to acquire western education, protect the integrity and rights of their members, and address lack of basic amenities like school, healthcare services, access roads and potable water.

The SOKEZA Chairman added that since its establishment, SOKEZA had made some achievements. “We have succeeded in seeking employments for qualified members; enrolled some of our children and wards for western education; mediated in cases of clashes between our farmers and Fulani cattle rearers; and secured land property for the less-privileged ones, whom were denied rights by local village heads,” he said.

As Sunday Trust correspondents looked round the community, a blend of men, women and children actively participating in the rice farming activities were noticed. Children and adolescents (female and male), helped their parents to convey their rice produce to the market for sale. The young girls also engaged in profitable ventures at the market. Some were engaged in selling cooked rice, groundnuts, sachet water and moi-moi. Others were sighted sifting rice from the sand with plastic sieve. Bit by bit, they accumulated rice to eat, sell or take home to their families. The market, which began at dawn, usually comes to a climax at around noon, giving members of the community ample time to engage in other ventures. As the last rice loaded vehicle moved on towards Maiduguri, we wondered what night life in such a community would be like.