Category: Sunday Interview

• •Farmers sell off remnants at cheap prices to recoup investment as food items rot away
• •Farmers, Bank of Agriculture battle over N.1billion controversial loan application funds

In the past few weeks, farmers across the country have helplessly watched their produce rot away as the challenge of cash scarcity bedeviling the land crippled the purchasing power of citizens. Not only are the farmers unable to sell their produce, they also lack access to cash to purchase materials and hire workers needed for further production. There are fears that the deplorable situation could spell doom for the country as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had earlier warned that about 25 million Nigerians risk hunger between June and August 2023 if urgent action is not taken, INNOCENT DURU reports.

ARAMOLA Toluwalope, a poultry farmer based in Agege, Lagos State, early this year looked forward to taking her business to the next level. She was not frivolous about it. She had her plans perfectly laid out and looked forward to having a healthy balance sheet at the end of the year.

Shortly after the Menitos Deport Farms CEO started executing her plans, the challenge of naira scarcity occasioned by the CBN naira redesigning policy crept in and shattered her plans.

“The cash scarcity shut down our production. I cannot afford to produce. Where am I going to get funds from, especially with no sales?  Chickens will not want to hear wait till tomorrow. They want to eat now. Knowing that I can’t sustain their feeding, I had to stop production,” she said as she vociferously decried the apex bank’s policy that has crippled many startups. 

“We normally get credit facilities from the feed suppliers. When the cash scarcity problem started, many of them withdrew the credit facilities and started insisting that we must pay to pick up the feeds.

“A good number of the electronic transfers that were done to them did not go. When we finished the batch we had taken from them, we just stopped production completely.

“We don’t produce anymore. We only managed to finish the birds we had and that was basically at a loss,” she said. 

She noted that it was not easy selling the ones “we processed because people were managing their money. A client that was buying a carton reduced it to half of a carton.

“There was a food vendor who used to patronise us. She stopped using chicken because the price went as high as N2,500 per kg.

“Now, when we process chicken, all the accessories like the legs, the neck will go, but people will not buy the full chicken.  We can’t say that we are not selling but the sales are nothing like before.”

Following the unexpected setback, she said she has had to go back to the business of web designing.

Toluwalope said: “I am a US-trained web designer. Because of the cash crunch, I am back fully into IT to sustain myself, because the sales from chicken are barely sustaining the shop itself. I have had to rely on my job, web designing, and others to get by. If I am to rely on the sales from the produce, may it not happen that somebody will just collapse on the road.”

Speaking on why she didn’t resort to buying cash to fund her business, she said: “I refused to buy naira to fund my business. If I buy money to buy feeds for the chicken, it is still a loss. We are talking about a business that was having issues because of the price of feeds and transportation; if I now have to buy money to buy the feeds again, I am already running at a loss.”

“Sometimes,” she said, “it is better not to do anything than to do something at all, and this is one of those situations. If I buy money to buy the feeds when already at this price people are complaining it is expensive, how much will it come to if I now have to use bought money?

“Let’s say for N100,000 I will buy for N120,000, I can’t afford to do that. I went to bank around 8:30 and left a few minutes to 12, and all I was able to get was N20,000. What will that do in a business?

“If I were still producing, it means I would have to spend about four hours every day in the bank to get N20,000 to buy feed and attend to other things.

“The government has sabotaged everything they said they have done for farmers by their own policy because I don’t see how this one will work.”

The challenge of naira scarcity has also robbed Tanimu, an Abuja based crop farmer and his colleagues of the usual vivacity they used to savour among themselves.

They had invested hard earned money and laboured on their farms with expectations of good harvest, but all that appeared to have been a wasted effort.

“Last week,” Taminu said, “we harvested 10 bags of garden eggs but none was sold. Later, some people came to offer us N1, 000 for a bag because they said the garden eggs were already spoiling. We couldn’t argue with them because we saw it with our eyes that the garden eggs were rotting away. “A bag of garden egg will ordinarily go for between N6,000 and N7,000, but we had to collect N1000 because people didn’t buy and they were spoiling. It was a big loss for me and my people.”

Continuing, he said: “Many of our colleagues have had their produce they wanted to sell rot away. If you go round our markets, you will see how the produce that farmers laboured very hard to plant and harvest are rotting away.

“I have a friend who has a big vegetable farm. He couldn’t sell anything from it. Even if he had taken it to the market, he would not be able to recoup the money he would have spent on transportation.

“It has affected us terribly. It has caused untold setbacks for our business. Most of our members don’t have bank accounts. When they take produce to the market, some buyers will request to pay through electronic transfer. How can someone who does not have a bank account accept electronic transfer?” 

In the face of the demoralising challenges, he is worried that there is no way of getting help to raise funds to go back to the farm.

“Now if you want to hire workers on our farm, they will ask for cash. And when you have things to sell you will not be able to sell them because people don’t have cash.

“Those of us who are into irrigation farming are worse hit by this unpleasant development because we don’t have cash to buy the things we need to take care of our farms.

“As irrigation farmers, we have to water our farms every three days.  We have to buy chemicals and other things, but there is no cash to do that.

“Our people cannot do or accept electronic transfer because they don’t have bank accounts.

“I have a bank account. I gave my produce to people for them to transfer money to me. Out of five people only two transfers came in. The other three didn’t come and I don’t know those people. I gave it to them because there were no sales and I needed to get the goods off my hands.”

His kinsman, Mohammed, said the challenge of cash scarcity affected his farm badly as he could not buy fuel and fertilizer to work on his farm.

“I was moving from one place to another begging for money to buy fertilser to sustain my crops. With the way things are, we can only put our hope in God concerning what the harvest will look like. The situation is too bad.

“There is one of our friends who has a large farm of maize. To sell it is a problem and he needs to sell them now that they are fresh in order to get his money back and start planting afresh. The corns are drying up. Those who used buy in large quantities are not buying because they are complaining that their customers are not also buying from them.

“People who used to buy five bags struggle to buy a bag. If the corns he planted using irrigation method dry up, he will not recoup half of what he spent on the business. If he manages to sell them now that they are fresh, he will get his money back.”

More farmers lament

The President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Chief Dan Okafor, said with what the farmers have gone through, “we don’t know where we are going.

“We harvested and sent our produce to Lagos, the people we sent couldn’t sell them because of cash scarcity. They are spoiling.

“Many of our members are having their goods not just rotting away but they have no money to convey them to the market to sell. They are spoiling there on the farms.

“In our potato and vegetable section, if you don’t remove the produce this week, by next week it will spoil.”

Following the inconsistency of the government on withdrawal of old notes from circulation, Chief Okafor said: “The only notes that our members are collecting now is N20, N50, N100, N200 and the new notes.

“They said even if the government asks them to take the old notes that they will not take it because tomorrow they can stop using it and the money will become useless. We are suffering a great deal.

“Many of them are living in rural areas where there are no banks. Many of them don’t have bank accounts.

“There was a place I went to in Zamfara State. There is no bank in that area. You must come to Gusau to open an account, and that means you will have to drive for three hours to cover the distance.

“There is no money for our members to buy inputs. There is no money to transport goods to where they will be sold. We are all crying.

“When they are making any policy, they should let us know so that we can inform the farmers on time.”

Former Chairman Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Agric and agriculturist, Wale Oyekoya, told our correspondent that the cash crunch caused by the CBN policy “made it impossible for me to pay my farm workers with cash or transfer.

“No cash to pay for raw materials. No cash to pay for petrol and diesel. It erodes our profit and reduces productivity.

“The cash crunch affected so many things including businesses, especially the small business that did not have access to our cashless policy system.

“Farmers were hard hit because of the nature of their perishable food stuff. Visiting some markets will show how lack of cash affects both the sellers and buyers as some of the farm produce got rotten because of the scarcity of cash.

“At the farms, farmers cannot pay the farm workers as it is difficult to get cash and some of them don’t have bank accounts. The few that have accounts cannot get paid because of bad network  to transfer money.

“Buying inputs or raw materials is a big problem, and this affects farmers in a negative way. It is also difficult to pay back bank loans by the farmers as the cash crunch adversely affects income.

“To buy petrol or diesel is a big challenge for the farmers as most of our operations depend on these essential products as most farms don’t have access to electricity and to bring farm produce to the markets needs vehicles to transport them.

“Post- harvest loss is on a high side for lack of storage facilities. This has compounded this problem as most of this produce get spoilt and damaged.”

An agripreneur, Opeyemi Adeyanju, noted that most local farmers were badly affected because they don’t have accounts. Many of them lost their perishable goods. Besides, they didn’t have access to cash to buy things that they needed to grow the farms.

Most of them depend mainly on daily income. They do this five market days and because people didn’t have cash, they didn’t go to markets to buy things. The farmers took their goods to the markets and returned home with them.

Because some of them wanted to sell, they had to bring down their prices. The goods they could not sell spoilt in their hands.”

To assist some of the farmers, he said, “we were able to innovate and adjust our business a bit. I am an agripreneur. I deal with farmers and consumers in the city.

“What we have been able to do is to help the farmers within our community with cash from the city in a little way.

“We have been affected in the area of having to buy cash at higher rates to give to the farmers. Some of the farmers had to release their goods for us to take to Lagos to sell and return money to them.”

Farmers wary of taking loans

With the losses that farmers have suffered, it is expected that they would be open to taking loans to resuscitate their business, but checks among them showed that is not in their thinking.

President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Chief Dan Okafor, said he had earlier advised his members not to take loans because it doesn’t work for them here in Nigeria. 

“Before you take the loan, the bankers will steal your money.  The rate they will give you loan is not the rate the government asked them to give them.

“I have decreed that nobody should take loans from the government or bank because it doesn’t work. They are wicked, very, very wicked set of people.  I have told them to save money through contribution.

“There is a case I have with one bank here in Abuja. I arranged about 50 groups to take loan from Bank of Agriculture. They asked our people to pay N1000 each for form. After doing all the necessary things, they didn’t give out the loan, and they had collected about N1 million from the sales of forms.

“This thing happened throughout the federation. There was a meeting we had and I said at that meeting that Bank of Agriculture should be scrapped.

“President Buhari should listen to us. All this policy they are making is not to our benefit.  Many of our members are ageing so what does the government want them to do?

Bank of Agriculture reacts

Reacting to the allegation, the spokesman of BOA, Akile Bologo, said the organisation does not take money from people to apply for loans.

Bologo said: “We don’t collect money to give loans.  We don’t collect money for forms. What an applicant does is to open an account with us, put his money in the account, and if there is any charge we want to do, it goes to the account.

“To say that money was collected by BOA, I don’t think that is part of what we do.”

Asked why the farmers didn’t get the loan they claimed they applied for, he said it is not automatic for applications to be approved. “Even as an individual, if you come to me for a loan, I have conditions you must meet. I have to be sure you will pay back and there should be a purpose for which you want to take the loan, and it must be verifiable.

“We have our conditions too. So, loans cannot be automatic. Even to an individual you cannot go and expect that you will get it.”

 Way out

Proffering solution to the farmers’ predicament, Wale Oyekoya, said: “The government needs to wake up from their slumber as our nation’s fragile economy is in a shambles and needs immediate surgical repair before things start falling apart in the country because we are not ripe for this junta approach of cashless policy.

 This policy is anti-people, anti-progress, anti-good economy. The government deceived its citizens to deposit their old currency notes and the same government shut its door for the same citizens not to withdraw the same cash or new one as speculated. Economy does not grow on sentiments or political interference.”

 Also giving possible ways out for the farmers, Opeyemi Adeyanju advised the government to look into the policy very well because the country is not yet ripe for it.

“Technologically, our system is not yet prepared for it. It is a good policy no doubt, but the system is not yet prepared for it. We still have a lot of work to do especially in the rural areas. “They need to enlighten the rural farmers because most of them don’t have bank accounts to even receive electronic transfers.

“The rural areas believe they can’t operate the transfer by themselves and that they can be easily cheated or have their account hacked.  The USSD codes need to be well activated. If the rural farmers can’t use apps they should be able to use USSD code for transactions.”

He added: “From time we have always agitated for support for farmers.  Some of the state governments have been doing it before but they need to look at the process that will make the little support they want to give to farmers to get to the right hands.

“Some of these things have been there before but they don’t get to the right hands. They need to look at the process and make sure that what they have lost can be recouped.

“They should give grants to farmers through their associations and not just through people who are just sitting in the office and reallocating the money to friends and families.

“If you go to major markets in the big markets in Lagos, like Mushin, you will see plantains rotting away. I had some farmers crying to me and I was forced to take their plantains off them and provide them with cash.  They are really frustrated and government should find a way of supporting them.”

Akinola Akinropo is the founder of  Parenmark, a parenting coach with a focus on great fatherhood values. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, he talks about his passion, how it all started, his early life in marriage, the costly mistakes he made, and how he converted this by helping fathers to raise great families.

What is the focus of this initiative, and how did it all begin?

It is about having a curriculum that benchmarks your activities every day. There are some churches and organizations that are buying into the idea of creating a curriculum for them and it would continue to happen. So, we created a school. I have been married for 20 years and I started preparing myself for the daunting task of fatherhood a year before I got married. Even though it was at a lower level. A lot of things that I put to use, knowledge, and avoidable and unavoidable mistakes that I fell into during the past 21 years are the things that I put together to create the curriculum.

Fatherhood can be an art or a science. There exists a school of fatherhood. Kenya has a university of fatherhood because they know the negligence that they have faced through the waywardness of their children and they carried out an assessment that pointed out the fact that these guys were not properly raised. They saw that was lacking and made sure that before you go into marriage, please go through the fatherhood university. It’s subtle, they have not really enforced it. You get a certificate that is provincial, meaning that if you come out of that place and you go back to your house misbehaving, they will withdraw the certificate from you, and blacklist you. That has put the men in Kenya in check. We may not have the capacity to start a fatherhood university now but we have the capacity to start the fatherhood online course.

In relationships what works for A may not work for B or C. Have you factored that into this?

We have factored it in and that is why we talk about assessment. Even our courses have assessments before any student attempts them. In a class, you would see the variation in scores and from there we put it in perspective. The course outline is generic but the application is not generic. So, what we tell them is how you can make use of what you’ve learned in your day-to-day fatherhood journey. As a father, you are a seed handler.

 For instance, when a farmer cultivates the land, you have maize, beans, cassava, and other seeds. The amount of nurturing that you give them (beans, maize, cassava, or yam) would be different. So, we tell people that children are not the same. That is why we run psychometric tests for intending couples. It is important to know the personality trait of your spouse before you marry. Also, knowing your personality trait is not an excuse to bully your spouse. Your personality trait is not definitive, it is descriptive. We have a template but that template is not generic. It is not cast in stone, you have to apply it. We have a project and in that project, we would say go home and we will create a family constitution for you. So, the family constitution I created with my coach, for my home, differs from what other participants created. There is no one size fits, but any method you want to use at all must be with the concerted effort of everybody in the house. You will also review from time; the purpose is to raise a wholesome and adjusted family.

Some family starts off nicely but deviates because of some pressures. At that point, what should be done even if you have a constitution?

When pressure comes up the husband deviates to alcohol, the wife too takes solace in her friends and the whole house is not catered for. One of those things that we tell participants to do is to have all-encompassing training. There is an aspect of emotional intelligence in fatherhood training in the online course.

Again, we try to create family values. This is so critical and what that means is that if they crush me, they would still see anger in me. I have not dealt with anger issues. I am on a journey to rediscover myself. The awareness there is to know that this thing you have done, you are not supposed to do it and you call yourself back. Once in a while fathers would fall into shouting bouts or slapping their children. It is wrong but the way we have been brought up, subconsciously we do it. Those things will always come but the perfect thing for you is to call yourself to order. If I am engaging my son, the boy would just say ha, the coach is vibrating. Immediately he says I would say my friend would you keep quiet? That is part of the vulnerability; we have to be open to ourselves. But the manual is to put us in check.

Who are your targets?

Our message is for everybody, including the singles. And that is why in our class you won’t see us using Bible passages. If I would use a Bible passage at all, I have to ask for their permission. What I would use is not something that is discriminatory. It is not something that would put other people in jeopardy or think less of their religion. So, the target in that area would be non-denominational. So, we reach out to everybody but the real target now is mainly from 25 to 40 years. I discovered that the age range is 25 to 45 and those in the 45 range don’t really need it, they are my friends.

The reason why I said this is because some of them believe that nothing can change about them. Then those around 50 and above are just my cheerleaders, some of their children are out of school. But for those who are 25 years to under 40, some of them are either not married, just got married and those ones are just fresh. You can still say some things that you can catch up with. It’s so easy for them to retrace their steps and all the mistakes that they have made. So, those are the target audience. We go to churches, and mosques and if the Ifa worshippers have a center, make it open then we will go there. We have different curricula for these people.

There was a day we went to NASFAT, Ebute Meta. The guy that invited me was shocked that I picked a verse in the Quran and that verse prophet Mohammed said when you marry, the woman has every right to choose either her father’s name or the husband’s name to carry. They know and when they discovered that I know also, they were surprised. I cover every area. I know some parts of Odu Ifa that speak about parenting that speaks about patience. So, in case they invite me, I know what to do. I won’t go to meet Ifa people and be quoting Bible or go to NASFAT and be quoting Bible. If I have to quote any Bible in NASFAT, it would be Genesis where God spoke to Abraham. Some of those verses, you can find in the Quran.

Talking about your targets a lot of them are into drugs and other vices. Do you look at all this in your curriculum?

Yes. The fear of the future is mainly the reason why a lot of them go into vices. They came out of school and look around, see what the leaders are doing them and they also have their gadgets too. So, they just decide to let me live my life anyhow. We create hope for them and this is how we do it. We have a curriculum for teenagers. I also have a certification for Generation Z from Atlanta, USA. We did a lot of research before they gave us that certificate. I focused on West Africa, South Africa inclusive. So, what we do is present the future to them. When they see the future and we arm them with the necessary curriculum content to guide them. What happens to someone who is already embedded in drugs, and all manners of activities? That is not my area but I have colleagues who deal with them on how to bring these guys back to normal. There are therapists in that area. We have 6 different assessments for pre-marital counseling. We don’t ask direct questions but they will fill in innocently, then we review them and then call them for a meeting.

We have not been encouraged at all. Almost zero encouragement. My coach advised me not to get deterred and not to make it free. Maybe a 30-minute course, a webinar. But where you give them a curriculum, it should be paid for. Keep pushing, and keep gathering till you get your target audience. That is why we have a free WhatsApp group with fathers sharing experiences or if you do not want to share openly you can reach out to me.

I wasn’t like this at the early stage of my marriage. The belief system is that men must not cry and must not share emotions. As a man you must be strong-willed, you must not beg your wife even if you did anything wrong. Don’t look feeble to your wife. Those things had eaten deep into our lives and they had rocked the boat of some families. Even if you know that you are lacking in one area, instead of you to open up to people or your wife, what do you think I can do? They fight in silence and die in silence. Most times, what they are fighting is how to satisfy the home front. Up till tomorrow, some men still believe that they don’t need it. When some couples don’t have children, pastors would say women looking for the fruit of the womb to come out, not men. I have never seen any program for men looking for the fruit of the womb. The challenges are real.  The first five years of my marriage were turbulent. Turbulent in the sense that I didn’t beat my wife, shout at my wife, or beat my children, but I was almost living a reckless life. I had a girlfriend then, and then I would always lie to my wife. I left banking on April 25, 2005, and moved to a financial brokerage. I was managing a client’s account in the bank and joined him. I was allowed to freelance and the money was coming and I kept using excuses. But my wife did not fight or doubt me.

Chinwe Williams is a beauty expert, entrepreneur, and  CEO of So Beautified. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about her experiences in the beauty sector, opportunities, challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown, new opportunities, and more.

What inspired you to go into the sector?

Most women come in and leave looking more different, looking more enhanced. The name was just a prophetic name really, to say this is the place we can come to and get more beautiful. The first branch was opened in the United Kingdom that was in 2019 just before the COVID pandemic. We just literarily opened the business. We had not done much and the government of the United Kingdom had announced the lockdown.

Did you diversify in any way?

Luckily for me, I had online businesses and they were not affected in any way. But the physical ones were affected and had to be shut down. Online we sell cosmetics, everything hair and we had quite a number of beauty outlets online. This included hair extensions; which could be synthetic for braiding or expressive weave-ons and beauty soaps from different brands. That actually thrived during COVID. Many people couldn’t go shopping physically because of the lockdown and they turned online. To be honest, online did give me time to concentrate on the business.

Was that why you started the Nigerian arm of the business?

The Nigerian arm was actually started because I sincerely believe that even though the state of the country is not favorable. I sincerely believe that whatever we are doing abroad, we should do here. I believe that is where you are more welcomed, where you are more accepted, and no matter what you have achieved abroad if you don’t achieve something at home.

Are you into skincare?

For the skin I stock products. We do facials and take care of the skin using natural products. We stock some major brands like Iman which originated from Morocco. For skincare depending on what you chose, it could be natural products like lemon or lime mixed with other natural products. We all have certain things in us that can be brought out. Most people complain that their skin is not looking good but the question is what you have done to make your skin look better. Just like if you go to the gym constantly, there would be positive results in your figure. So, if you do certain things with your skin it can make it better as well.

A lot of people sell products that are not organic and cause more problems to the skin. There are also bleaching creams and their effects. What is your take on this?

I do not believe in bleaching creams. God created us as beauty in all shades. It is unfortunate and we must know that there are lots of things about the west and their idea of beauty is not the same as our own. Beauty comes in various shades and various sizes. Bleaching creams contain stuff like mercury and steroids and they are not meant to be applied for more than one or two days. You can imagine people that use bleaching applying them consistently. It leaves such damage that people don’t actually talk about it because of shame.

Do you help some of those who have run into trouble with their skin?

There is not much repair that can be done because sometimes the damage is permanent. So, when you talk about repair, the best thing to do is to use natural products such as oils, Shea butter, as well as eat and drink healthy food. Everyone reacts differently but there is not much repair that you can do to the skin that has been affected by mercury in the kidney. For me, the inside is more important than what is happening outside.

There is also the trend of women wanting to enhance their boobs and butts. What do you have to say about this?

I think it is alright for people to keep to trends. Trends are here today and gone tomorrow. We forget that these bodies are going to carry us to our 80s 0r 100s.

And changing things now to attract certain people.

There are certain trends now that will affect and you ask if they will be there with us. I would say that whatever bodies you have, appreciate it. If you want to become bigger you can eat more to become bigger but I don’t believe in surgical enhancements.

Your clients are basically women or do you handle men?

Basically women. Except if someone wants to treat their spouse for facials or any other beauty treatment.

Do you help to mentor younger ladies?

I am interested in mentoring young people in this line of business. But I haven’t started doing that yet. I definitely want to give back as much as possible.

Apart from beauty, you read Law. Tell us about that aspect of your life.

I read now and am currently a barrister. I am extremely proud of that. However, I knew that I wasn’t going to practice but I enjoyed it while I did it. I have always been business minded.

Where did you get the passion for entrepreneurship? Was it from your mum or your dad?

I believe that it is first from God, honestly. My parents are more professionals. Law is what they would have preferred me to have taken.

How has the current inflation rate affected the business?

It has affected the business but I believe that this is not only in Nigeria. There is a lot of inflation in the UK as well and with everything obstacles are meant to be overcome. You just have to plan ahead, you just have to be a bit tighter when it comes to your expenditure and deliver good services that would keep people coming back.

Tell us one or two memorable moments working with your clients.

I work with different women from different backgrounds, and different facets of life and I really enjoy that. The funny thing is that even though we all have different tribes and different cultures, we are all primarily the same at the end of the day.

Was there a particular case of a client who came in and left transformed?

Yes, there have been quite a number of cases like that. There was a lady that came into the UK branch disabled. She can’t actually walk and so did our best to accommodate her. She came in for her facials, manicure, and pedicure. When her husband came to pick her up, he was so happy and said she reminded him of the person he met all those years. She herself was very happy and it was quite a touching moment.

What are some of the challenges of running a business?

There are so many challenges, such as the capital. It is never ever enough. As much as customers are always right, sometimes customers can be wrong. Also, managing staff, and having good staff and those are not can affect others. It’s a battle that needs to be fought constantly. Electricity is a problem; I would be honest about that.

Tell us about your personal style.

Style means what you are comfortable with first and foremost. What somebody else may be comfortable with may not be what you are comfortable with. So in my sense, I wear things that soothe me. I wear colors that soothe me but it might not be colours that soothe someone else.

Are there particular colors that you like?

I like loud colors. But it also depends on where I am going to. If I were going to church, I would not wear loud colors.

Let’s talk about your beauty regimen, and the things you eat or avoid?

I like going to the gym and I do this by waking up early. I try as much as possible to drink at least 2 liters of water per day. I take fruits and I like pineapple, sour sap.  The only thing I take is green tea, then add some leaves like mint leaves and add to the tea.

For fruits, I like pineapple; it has some detoxifying benefits, same for sour sap. I tend to be also religious with my food intake.

You talked about Shea butter earlier on. How does it work for you?

Personally, I use Shea butter but I mix it with coconut oil because sometimes Shea butter can be a bit hard to use and so I mix it with coconut oil and it is smoother on the body. What are the items that you cherish in your wardrobe?

I am more of a jeans and casual person when it comes to clothes. I don’t really believe in brands, I believe that whatever you have, you can make it look as expensive as the brands that people carry.

How would you assess Nigerian designers?

I  believe that they are doing much better than foreign designers right now. Most of the things in my wardrobe are from Nigerian designers.

Are you working on collaborating with them for fashion shows?

That is something that we are looking into.

What advice do you have for female entrepreneurs, who are thinking of coming to this line of business?

I would say that whoever you are, you can start from wherever you are and continue building on your dreams. Entrepreneurship for women is quite good because it gives you more time to do other things you have in mind. No matter how small you may think it is, you can start and do something.

Where do you see your brand in the next few years?

In the next few years, I see the brand completely established. I see it has clients from all over the world. And I see it has a good reputation with its clients.

How do you juggle business and family life?

It is difficult but like everything, that you need planning is important. For instance, when it comes to cooking, you plan the food for the week. You don’t have to stand in the kitchen every single day. Also, you can have set times for the homework and at the same time as the children are growing, you give them your own chores. Not necessarily you doing everything and that has really helped me. 

How do you relax?

I like listening to music. I also travel if there is money.

With yet another railway related abduction and a couple of derailments, there are worries that a certain fear around the resuscitated system may be growing. But Gboyega Alaka, who went to town, found out that the people are adamant.

First, it was the Abuja-Kaduna train bomb attack. The date was March 28, 2022 and 14 persons were killed while 63 were declared abducted. It was novel and unexpected. Passengers, who for economic reasons or phobia for flying, had embraced the train culture, because of a perceived safety and escape from rampaging bandits, were taken aback.

Though released in batches, the last of the victims of that sad but unforgettable incident spent close to six months in the kidnappers’ den; with the kidnappers smiling home with a speculated total sum of about N6billion.

As a result, the train’s operation was suspended indefinitely, and only recommenced December 5, 2022 – nine months after – 251 days precisely.

But while there may be a certain joy and relief over the return of the train, many worry that fear and apathy may trail its resumption.

A testimony to that worry was what played out on the first day of resumption of operations of the trains, when only 71 passengers boarded a 588-seater train.

The Nation correspondent, who went on that first trip, noted that the first train that left the Idu Station had majority of its coaches empty.

A female passenger on that trip, however, told The Nation that the railway remained her best option, the fear of kidnappers notwithstanding.

“I believe there is no safest means to travel in Nigeria. Whether you go by road or air, anyhow you travel, it is God that protects. They started working today and there is no issue for me to use the train. I live in Delta State and my husband is in Zaria. I always come to Abuja and take the train to Rigasa and then I proceed to Zaria. I am always on the road. When the operation was suspended, we all went back to the abandoned road and we started using it. The same mindset that we had that God will guide us is the same mindset we have now and that is why I am here.”

Another, a man, however, said pointedly that he could not continue to live in fear, and that travelling by road was in itself, a greater risk.

“I live in Kaduna and I came in by road yesterday to Abuja and it was a risk I took. I could be in my home and get attacked but I only hope that their services are improved with more security. The truth is we cannot continue to live in fear; the road is not safe either, so we have to live our lives. I am here to take the risk because every day is a risk.”

Igueben, kidnap too many

However, just as many were beginning to readjust to the railway life, the January 7 Igueben Train Station abduction of 31 persons waiting to board the Warri-Itakpe train en route Abuja, put some sour taste in the mouth.

Though the victims of this abduction didn’t stay long in the kidnappers’ den, and some of those in connection with the incident are currently undergoing trials, many fear that the train may have emerged as the new target of kidnappers, which may well scare travellers away from this newly resuscitated means of travelling.

Add the Igueben incident to the derailment of the same (Warri-Itakpe) train barely a week after in a Kogi forest, and yet another derailment of the Abuja-Kaduna train around Kubwa on January 27, and one may begin to understand why a genuine fear of the train system may be gaining ground.

The Kogi derailment reportedly sent fears through the passengers, as many were said to have scampered into the bush, for fear of kidnappers descending on them.

That fear was made more palpable by emerging fact that the rail line may have been deliberately vandalised to halt its progress.

A former chairman of the Bayelsa Vigilante Agency, Prince Douye Koroye, who was on the train, alleged that it might be a case of suspected terrorists cutting the rail line.

Another report on the incident stated outright that “the rail tracks were badly damaged.”

We can’t continue to live in fear

However, rather than cower and run away from the rail system, it seems many Nigerians, who have found a favourite in the train system, have resolved to soldier on using the train, in spite of the various threats.

An official at the Idu Train Station, Abuja, told our correspondent that the Abuja-Kaduna train currently run at full capacity.

According to him, the station has been witnessing cases where tickets run out and passengers have to reschedule their trips to the next day.

“We have two categories of trains; one is identified as the Abuja train while the other is the Kaduna train.

“The Kaduna train has eight economy coaches with 88 seat capacity and four business coaches with 68 capacity each.

“The Abuja train has five economy coaches with 88 seat capacity, two business coaches with 68 and 56-seat capacity, and one executive with 24 seats.

“So on peak days, which are mostly Fridays and Sundays, we experience full capacity. Abuja to Kaduna train on Fridays is mostly filled because most people travel out for the weekend and then we witness full capacity again on Sunday; Kaduna-Abuja,” the official said.

Our people are determined not to be slaves to fear – Igueben monarch

The above situation was corroborated by the traditional ruler of Igueben, HRH Ehizojie Eluojierior I Onogie of Igueben and Okaigun of Esanland, who stated unequivocally that there is no fear whatsoever.

“I can tell you that the people are not afraid. Having recovered the victims, and with some suspects being prosecuted for aiding the kidnap, the atmosphere is relaxed now and people were even hoping and praying that operations at the Igueben station resumed, so they could continue with their lives.” the traditional ruler stated.

Reacting further, HRH Eluojierior said, “I believe that Nigerians are determined to use the train now, more than ever before. Look at the roads, they are not passable. Look at the cost of fuel. Those factors give fear more that the rail that is so cheap and smooth before this attack. Luckily, the victims were rescued quickly, so people are happy and relaxed now. Even the Kaduna incident that is worse, the people are resilient and have resumed patronage of the train, once it was reopened. It means the people are determined to continue using the train in spite of the seeming danger. Our people are determined not to be slaves to fear or to these kidnappers who are heartless.

“If you look at the energy with which my hunters and the vigilantes combed the bush before the state security came in to complement and rescue these people within one week, you would know that people are not afraid. They don’t want to surrender to these AK47 wielding bandits.”

Asked if security measures were being put in place at the station to forestall future occurrences of such incident, HRH Eluojierior said, ” We cannot determine that now as the station has not resumed operation. When that happens, I will tell you. However, I am very sure that before they resume there, they will put necessary security measures in place, including CCTV cameras, which I recommended.”

On the suspects being investigated, the monarch said they are locals suspected to have given out the bush to the ‘Fulani’ kidnappers after collecting money from them.

Asked how he knew the kidnappers were Fulani, he said, “We know that some persons in that bush were keeping these Fulani, and that was the information given to the security upon which those people being prosecuted were picked up. We understand that these Fulani gave out some cows to some persons, and money as well in order to gain entry. But I wouldn’t know if any Fulani is among those being prosecuted.”

Igueben Station, an economic plus

As at the time of this interview, the monarch noted that he could not wait for the Igueben Station to be reopened. His reason is that it is impacting greatly on the local economy.

“The community was growing tremendously. It is not just Igueben alone as a matter of fact. You know Igueben Local Government consists of eight communities. The station is close to the entire Ishan. Edo Central use it because it is close to them; part of Iromi use it, Ekpoma use it, Ebere use it; and those are not Igueben per se. But they have found it convenient. The attackers took advantage of the fact that this particular station usually recorded a good number of waiting passengers, going to Abuja or Warri.”

‘There is a sense of comfort and security when you’re using the train’

Henry Digu, a regular train passenger on the Warri Itakpe train route shares his experience

How often do you use the train?

I stay in Abuja and my family are in Warri; so I use the train a lot. I can call myself a regular user of the train service. The train travels from Warri to Itakpe; which is just before Lokoja, and from there, I take a connecting bus to Abuja. It enables passengers to cut off all the bad spots on the Benin-Abuja road. And then it is safe.

Do you find it comfortable and suitable?

It is very comfortable and very good for the journey; and the price is good, especially when it first took off. Initially, they started with just over N2,000 to Itakpe; then I would take N2,500 bus to Abuja. That way, I spent less than N5,000 to Abuja, which was good. Sometime last year, it was increased to N3,000; and then the buses, due to fuel scarcity, also increased to N4,000, making N7,000. Late last year, the fair was again increased to N5,000. But of course these prices are for the regular coaches. For the VIP, it started with N5000, and then moved to N9,000. As for me, I use the regular, because I see no difference.

Have you encountered any interruption since you started using the train?

Honestly, no. But some other people have. I have heard people complain so. There was a time I was coming to Warri from Abuja, and on getting to Itakpe, the train came late and the people that came with it said it broke down on the way. There was another occasion when I wanted to board it from Warri and the train arrived late the previous night; they said it was because it broke down. But I can tell you it is not a regular thing.

Have those who experienced the breakdown ever expressed their fear of being attacked or abducted in the forest?

Yes, there is always that fear. When the January 7 kidnap incident at Igueben station occurred, it naturally threw some fear into some people. I, for example, was supposed to travel that Saturday along with my family who had come to visit me, but for some reasons, I changed my mind to Sunday. It was on our way to the train station at Warri that we learnt for the first time that there had been an attack and kidnap at the Igueben train station the previous day. The interesting thing was that I still saw a lot of people at the station, even though they were aware of the attack.

What does that spell for you?

There is a sense of comfort and security when you’re using the train that is not quite there when you’re using the road transportation. Trains rarely have accidents; even kidnapping is not common on it. On this occasion, I came to Warri using the train; and since the derailment some days back, the train has not operated. What that means is that I may have to use the road transportation and I’m a bit scared. I have not used road transport on that axis in a long time. I’m not comfortable at all but if it was the train, I never have this kind of fear, because I know that before I know it I would be in Itakpe, where I would join a bus to Abuja.

You said you were surprised at the crowd despite news of attack; were you expecting a kind of apathy?

Yes. You know when you hear that people were kidnapped just the day before, you expect people to at least react negatively by holding on for a while. Personally, if I had heard of the news before leaving home, we may not have come out, but we were already on the way to the station when we heard the news. I was also surprised that most of the people I met at the train station already heard of the incident, yet they still came out in droves. It’s as if they really didn’t care. I’m sure they were like, how many people would they kidnap? You know the train takes a lot of passengers at a go. A single coach takes about 88 passengers, and the train has about 8 to 9 coaches. And sometimes, it is filled up with some passengers even standing.

Would I be right to say that there is security at the Warri Station because it is a major station?

The Warri station will be difficult to attack because Ujewu, where it is located is kind of developed, whereas the other train stations  along the route are in isolated places; places that are not so developed, so such attacks can easily take place.

Did you notice any change in patronage in those isolated stations after that Igueben attack?

No, there were no changes. People still came out to patronise the train as if there were no such incident. What I think the government should do is ensure that every train station is well-secured. Two, there should always be an advanced security team that would give signal when there is danger threat. Because this train tracks passes through some isolated forests. Sometimes, as the train travels in the bush, you could see some cattle rearers but of course you cannot say every cattle rearer you see is a bandit or kidnapper. Basically, we should develop some measures to combat such incidences.

When that Abuja attack happened, did it put some scare in you?

No, I had no fear. We never expected that on this axis. The Kaduna-Abuja train track is one straight journey. They do not have any stop. It is unlike that of this axis, where there are close to ten or eleven stops, and every station has some kind of security as well. So if you’re going to do that on this route, then you know you run the risk of being intercepted at any time. This part of the country is also densely populated compared to the northern part that is sparsely populated. There are several settlements along the railway here, but that is not the case with Abuja Kaduna rail line.

Also because of these train stations, development has started coming to the vicinity of every area where they are situated. People buy plots of lands and start building and coming up with businesses as well. So it is affecting the areas positively economically.

Favourite outfit

I am more of a jean and casual person when it comes to clothes. However, the event will determine what I wear and how I put it together.

Favorite sports

I like going to the gym and I do this by waking up early.

Favourite colour

I like loud colours. It also depends on the event and my mood.

Favourite entrepreneur

It has to be me. I have always been business minded.

Favourite food

I tend to be religious with my food intake.

I like to use natural products such as oils, Shea butter, eating and drinking healthy food.

 I take a lot of fruits and pineapple and sour soap is my best. Pineapple has some detoxifying benefits, same for sour soap.

Favorite product

I like Imaan products and they are from Morocco.

Favorite Hairdo

I am very versatile with my hair but I do like my Brazilian wigs, center part. If I am doing braids then it would be shuku or center part. I like my wigs, braids and my natural hair. I wash my natural hair, condition it with a conditioner and use Shea butter as well.

Favourite designer

I love Nigerian designers; they are doing a great job at the moment.

Favourite Make-up

 I use Clarins; it’s a soft exfoliation cream. I also use sugar scrub.

Exfoliation for me is very important. And I don’t wear make up every single day. If I wear makeup today, then I will not wear it for the next two days. I have to use ex-foliation morning and night every day.