After fleeing Boko Haram attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State, Mrs Elizabeth Innocent returned to the state capital but since her husband failed to secure a job, she resorted to frying and selling grasshoppers to feed her family. FAITH YAHAYA reports
A 25-year-old Elizabeth Innocent never imagined that she would become the breadwinner of her family when her husband’s family went to ask for her hand in marriage. As seen in most movies and the environment she grew up, she thought that all she needed to do to be a good wife and mother was to stay back at home, cook, wash dishes, and take care of her kids which is the role the society has ascribed to females while the husband goes out to work.
She married a loving man from Maiduguri, Borno State, a state in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. All the states in Nigeria have a slogan and Borno is known as the ‘home of peace’. Being from a state identified as the food basket of the nation (Benue), she thought life as a married woman would be rosy but the once ‘home of peace’ has turned to home of fear, death, uncertainty, terrorism and loss due to the attacks by the terrorist group; Boko Haram.
The once peaceful state has become a state dreaded by most people. The mention of Borno is now synonymous with bomb blast. The attacks by the insurgents have led to the death and displacement of the young and old, male and female, rich and poor, Christians and Muslims are not also left out of the attack. Ellizabeth’s friends and neighbours were not also spared during the attack. Some died while others fled the state for safety and just like many, Elizabeth also fled Maiduguri for Abuja.
She realised in Abuja that the standard of living was too high for her. She had no place to stay with her kids, her sibling and her husband.
Falling back on a popular Yoruba adage in mind “Ti iwa ju o ba se lo, eyin se pade si” meaning if it is difficult to move forward, you can take a step back, she returned to Maiduguri.
By this time, the attack had toughened her and she had resolved to either die or stay alive. On her return to Maiduguri with her husband and kids, her husband who used to work in an electronic shop lost his job because the shop was burnt during one of the attacks. Her husband made efforts to get another job but was unsuccessful.
Elizabeth said, “He tried to get a job but he could not after the attack. It looks as if the number of those unemployed in Maiduguri presently is higher than the available jobs”.
After several failed efforts by her husband, Elizabeth had to toughen up and assume the role of the breadwinner of her family. Her new role dropped on her without prior notice, no thanks to Boko Haram attack. She said she had to stop depending on her husband and switched roles with him by taking care of her three kids who are seven, four and two years of age, one sister and her husband because of the attacks by the insurgents.
She said: “Boko Haram attacks really interfered with our lives. My role as a partner who supports her husband suddenly changed and I suddenly became the breadwinner”.
To sustain the family, Elizabeth said she decided to be serious with the Fara business she started out of boredom in 2009. Fara or para (grasshopper) is seen by farmers as a pest but others see it as food and a good source of protein. Elizabeth who does not have a shop stays by the road side on the busy Damboa Road with one table where she displays the fried para, her firewood, different sizes of measuring bowls, trays, frying pan, tripod stone where the pan sits for her to fry the para. Fara which is likened to prawns is peculiar to the people in the north and most especially those in Maiduguri. It is usually eaten as snack. Elizabeth resumes work around 4pm and closes by 10pm while the town and its residents plan to go to bed. Fara is loved by the young and old. A woman who appeared in her late 60s was seen amidst the children who were stretching their hands with naira notes from N20 to N50 to buy and have a taste of fara. Grasshoppers or Fara are medium to large insects. Adult length is 1 to 7 cm, depending on the species. They have chewing mouthparts, two pairs of wings, one narrow and tough, and the other wide and flexible, and long hind legs for jumping. They are often considered to be more harmful than helpful when it comes to their interaction with vegetation and crops. As herbivores, grasshoppers contribute to the environment. Their feces return nutrients to the earth, acting as fertilizer for the local vegetation.
Also, as they are a favorite food item for birds, rodents and other creatures, they help other populations survive. In various parts of the world, grasshoppers are eaten either as a delicacy or consumed as simply another source of protein, minerals and lower in cholesterol than beef or pork.
On its flipside, the widespread infestation of grasshoppers poses serious risk to water supplies as they invade streams, ponds and wells. The bugs drown and contaminate the water quickly. Grasshoppers landing on train tracks can create a slick, dangerous situation for trains coming down the rails. The trains become significantly delayed in reaching their destinations due to the slower speed that is required to safely traverse the slippery rails through widespread grasshopper invasions.
Narrating her daily activities and how she became the breadwinner to our Reporter who went to buy and have a taste of the much talked about Fara, Elizabeth said: “I started this business since 2009 because I observed the love people have for it and I also discovered that there is profit in it
but I didn’t take it serious then. I get the fara (Grasshopper) from the Kanuri people who catch it in the bush. I go to low-cost market in Shagari to buy it. After buying it, I bring it home, remove the feathers, per-boil with salt, seasoning, lime orange to wash off the sour taste and after that, I dry outside for a while and then I pack it and start frying. This process takes only one day and I buy one or two bags daily. When I started in 2009, the bag was sold at the rate of 1500 but today, the bag is now N18,000. What I gain from the business is not much but because I don’t have any other source of income, I decided to stick to it.
On what caused the hike in the price, she said: “The price is because of the problem of Boko Haram that is happening in the bush. The places where they usually catch the grasshoppers have been burnt by Boko Haram and so the numbers of grasshoppers our suppliers catch is reduced because they feed on leaves and because the bushes are burnt, I guess they relocated to other part.”
On how she is able to sustain the family, Elizabeth said: “I have three children and I take care of them with the proceeds of this business. I am from Benue state but marriage brought me to Borno and it has made it my home even when I am not comfortable with it. My husband’s support me doing this business. My children are 7, 4 and 2. During the peak of the crisis, I thought of returning to my village or just leaving Maiduguri and we even travelled to Abuja at some point but we were stranded in Abuja because the cost of living in Abuja is very high, so I had to return to Maiduguri to continue my fara business. My husband used to work at an electronics shop but during the hit of the attack, we ran to Abuja for safety and when
relative peace returned to the town, we returned but he could not get the job back.
“The shop was burnt and he is currently jobless though he is seriously making effort to get something doing but it has not been easy. My wish right now is for him to get a job because the little I make from my fara business is what is sustaining the family. The big bowl is sold at N2000 but before the crisis, it was around N500 to 800. I buy like two bags daily and I sell almost everything. The gain I get from it is not much again because of the Boko Haram insurgency and also because even from the little gain we make, I still have to remove money for transportation, firewood, oil, seasoning, salt, pepper. I don’t have enough money to make the fara business grow beyond this”, she lamented.