- Blighting the market with politics leads to collective ruin
Any attempt to conflate economic activities of demand and supply, with policy challenges of governance, is wrong-headed. We therefore caution against it.
Early last week, the Department of State Services (DSS) detained Mohammed Tahir, president of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN), over the blockade of foodstuffs and cattle, from the North to southern markets. Thankfully, common sense has prevailed, and the blockade called off.
At a news conference last week, Ahmed Alaramma, General Secretary of AUFCDN, alleged: ”Our president is with DSS right now. They came to invite us this morning because of this protest we are doing. Up till now, our president has not come out from that DSS office. So, this is the first day they are inviting us.”
According to news reports, the union was protesting the extortion of South-bound truck drivers, ferrying cows on the highways; as well as showing their displeasure over the recent imbroglio at Shasha market, Ibadan, Oyo State, which climaxed in an inter-ethnic blowout among the market folks.
Alaramma claimed that before a truckload of cattle travels down south, the driver would have been extorted to the tune of about N250, 000, by security agencies. He also claimed that despite notifying the security agencies about their strike, the army was still intimidating them on the highway.
This level of brazen extortion, by security agents paid to make the roads safe, must be condemned. The Army authorities should probe the matter and bring to book any of their troopers found complicit and guilty. Extorting money from traders on the highway should be treated as risking food security. That is dire economic sabotage, which the Federal Government must view with all seriousness and punish accordingly.
In his reaction, Dr Peter Afunanya, the DSS spokesman said: “They (AUFCDN) attended a meeting at the headquarters as part of the service’s interventions to resolve issues. The meeting which started about 1:30 pm and ended at 3.30 pm, held in an atmosphere of peace.”
Of note, Dr Afunaya did not state what issues the DSS was settling, or who the other parties to the dispute were; and whether they were invited to the settlement parley.
Still, beyond that legitimate protest, not a few in the public space believe the AUFCDN protest might also be in solidarity with herdsmen, who have been asked to stop open grazing, in most states in the South. If true, that would be unfortunate, uncalled for, short-sighted and dangerous.
Indeed, while the protest lasted, there were reports of the scarcity of beef and other agricultural products like onions, in major cities in the South.
Of course, it is public knowledge that there is an ongoing spat between some leaders in the North and South over the handling of crisis associated with open grazing. While most governors and leaders in the South are aghast at the spate of criminality associated with armed herdsmen, some northern leaders have justified the carrying of arms by the herdsmen.
It was all triggered by accusations that armed herdsmen, in southern forests and adjoining rural communities, were involved in sundry criminality: rape, murder and kidnapping for ransom. That necessitated the order, by Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo State, that criminal herders vacate the forest reserves, while those with legitimate business there register with the government for better monitoring, thus boosting the safety and security of all.
To worsen the tense situation, non-state actors also got involved in enforcing the vacation order on herdsmen, whom they considered as complicit in the criminality that had befallen many southern states. Even more worrying, calls that the President openly condemn the mayhem associated with armed herdsmen, only received attention late last week.
So, in the midst of a crisis of mutual suspicion, it is perfectly understandable if some southern folks believe the AUFCDN action was less protest against alleged extortion by Army personnel, but more, a food blockage of the South, as punitive measure, for the region’s rejection of open grazing and criminal herdsmen.
Again, it would be unfortunate and dangerous if that supposition were true; for such tactics could irretrievably damage our fragile national cohesion.
By such tactics, is AUFCDN supporting atrocities like armed banditry, rape, murder and kidnapping? And if they strike, in support, are they also endorsing the escalating crisis in the North, occasioned by illegal possession of firearms by non-state actors, and the human anguish and sorrow, which are the logical results?
We urge all interest groups to avoid conflating economic issues with failure of governance. The supply of beef and agricultural products from the North to the South, is a commercial issue. It should not become a political weapon. Otherwise such tactics may orchestrate a deeper crisis among ethnic groups in the country.
For the days AUFCDN stopped the movement of truck-loads of food to the South, peasant farmers in the North who lack storage capacities suffered enormous losses, which the union cannot recoup for them. But so did innocent vendors and consumers in the South, caught in the crossfire of politics intruding into economics. To everyone, across regional and ethnic divides, it was more hurtful than helpful.
Indeed, those whose livelihood depends on the economic value chain, would have become victims of factors beyond their control. As stated by economic analysts, the cost of supply of cow to the southern part of the country runs into several billions of naira every day. So, did AUFCDN contemplate these huge losses?
Besides, what would become of the country, if other non-state actors, from the southern part of Nigeria, also push for stoppage of supply of petroleum products to the North, even for a few days? We should not forget that the agricultural preeminence of the North is also boosted by federal government’s grants and sundry support enabled by oil wealth from Southern states.
So, while unions and pressure groups are entitled to protect the interest of their members, they must not take steps that could jeopardise the security and welfare of the country and the citizens.
But more than overzealous unions, we urge all governments, especially the Federal Government, to take urgent steps to stop the root cause of the crisis, which is open grazing.
The Federal Government, with other state governments in tow, particularly in the North, should sell the beauty and vast economic benefits of modern ranching. Sokoto, Kano and Kaduna state governments are already doing a lot on this score. Others should follow suit.
With ranching established, and itinerant open grazing abandoned, the criminality that trails criminal-minded herdsmen would vanish — and so would the open-ended tarring of innocent and lawful herdsmen; and the terrible Fulani ethnic profiling, that has been a source of bitter anger in the North.
In the meantime, we commend the president for giving an order to the security agencies to deal ruthlessly with illegally armed non-state actors. We urge the security agencies to rein-in all illegal arms, and save our country from sundry crisis.
