The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fishermen

  • Talking about The Fishermen

    Talking about The Fishermen

    A 28year old Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma is among the shortlist for this year’s Booker Prize for Literature. His debut book titled The Fishermen is judged as one of the best books of the Booker Prize list for 2015. In the literary circle Obioma has already been described as another Chinua Achebe in the making.

    Jessica Craig, who started representing Chigozie Obioma in March 2013 and brought him to Pontas as a client says:

    “This has been an unforgettable journey from March 2013 when I first read the first paragraph of The Fishermen in which the mother and father are described as the two ventricles of their boys’ home which would flood with blood if the boys poked them, and I knew from then that my heart would be torn open by this novel and that Chigozie Obioma would prove to be a writer of exceptional insight, imagination, and skill.  I will never forget the first conversation I had about Chigozie’s writing with Elena Lappin, the excitement of when she immediately read the manuscript and her first words when she called me were “Bull’s eye!”. And even though she and Adam Freudenheim were just starting the ONE imprint, I knew they would publish The Fishermen with all the passion, care, and vision that is essential for launching a serious new writer into the world.  I will never forget the excitement during the London Book Fair 2014 when the manuscript was ready to be shown to international editors and on the first day of the fair the North American rights were sold to Little, Brown and French rights to Editions de l’Olivier and German, Brazilian, and Italian editors were falling in love with the novel too. And today it is undeniable that Chigozie Obioma has emerged as one of the most formidably talented authors of his generation. All of us at Pontas are proud to represent him and overjoyed to celebrate this momentous achievement and many more with him.”

    The six names were announced during the week by chair of judges Michael Wood at a press conference at the offices of sponsor Man Group in the UK.

    Marlon James becomes the first Jamaican-born author to be shortlisted, while Chigozie Obioma is the third Nigerian to be nominated, after Ben Okri (The Famished Road, 1991) and Chinua Achebe (Anthills of the Savannah, 1987). One former nominee, Tom McCarthy, makes the list.

    The 2015 winner will be announced on Tuesday, 13 October, in London.First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker Prize was traditionally open to authors from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, and Zimbabwe. However, in September 2013 it was announced that the 2014 edition of the prize would be open to American writers for the first time.

    There were just two Africans out of the 13 authors on the longlist this year: Obioma, for The Fishermen, and Laila Lalami, for The Moor’s Account. Lalami was, however, identified as a United States national by the Prize, although she was born in Morocco.

  • Fed Govt trains fishermen

    The Federal Government has disbursed 24 Yahama out­board marine boat engines, 50 bundles of fishing nets, 10,000 pieces of SH-20 floats and 100 units of marine ropes to Itsekiri Fishermen Cooperative in the Niger Delta.

    Deputy Director, Ar­tisanal Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Olusegun Babatunde, while presenting the equipment and inputs in Abuja, said the gesture was in line with government’s effort in increasing local production of fishes with additional 200,000 metric tonnes in Nigeria.

    A statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, said artisanal fishing has contributed 80 percent of fishes produced locally in Nigeria.

    The Federal Government, he said, has designed a programme targeted at 27 states engaged in artisanal fishing with focus on 200 fishermen per state.

    He added that such fish­ermen were expected to ben­efit from the empowerment drive in form of fishing in­puts like boats and canoes as a way of support and not subsidy from government.

    Receiving the fishing in­puts on behalf of Itsekiri Fishermen Cooperative, Mrs Ritalori Ogbebor said the gesture would reduce restiveness in Niger Delta.

    She, however, said gov­ernment’s gesture would also address some of the grievances in the region and pleaded for more as­sistance in swamp rice pro­duction and piggery.

    According to her, such assistance could be in the area of equipment for rice processing, harvesting and polishing.

  • Govt empowers Itsekiri fishermen co-operatives

    The Federal Government has empowered Itsekiri Fishermen Co-operatives in the Niger Delta with 24 Yamaha outboard Marine boat Engines, Fishing Nets, Floats and Marine ropes.

    Presenting the equipment and input to the representative of the Olu of Warri and the facilitator of the government support, Mrs Rita Lori Ogbebor at the ministry’s Store in Sheda, Abuja, the Deputy Director, Artisenal Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,  Mr. Olusegun Babatunde, stated that the gesture was in line with government effort at increasing local production of fishes with an additional 200,000metric tonnes in Nigeria.

    Babatunde said artisanal fishing has contributed to the 80 per cent  of fishes produced locally in Nigeria, saying the inputs would provide employment opportunities to the Itsekiri Youths and helped them in contributing their quota to the fisheries sector in the country.

    He said the government has designed a programme that is targeted at 27 selected states that are engaged in artisanal fishing with focus on 200 fishermen per state. According to him, such fishermen are expected to benefit from the empowerment drive in form of fishing inputs like boats and canoes, as a way of support and not subsidy from government.

    Receiving the fishing inputs on behalf of the Itsekiri Fishermen Co-operatives, Mrs  Ogbebor, thanked the Federal Government for empowering the youth in the region, saying the gesture would reduce restiveness in the Niger Delta.

    Mrs Ogbebor stated that government gesture would also address some of the grievances in the Niger-Delta region and pleaded for more assistance in swamp rice production and piggery. She said such assistance could be in the area of equipment for rice processing, harvesting and polishing.

     

  • Pepper soup lovers get N800,000 as Lagos lauds fishermen

    The Lagos State Government has celebrated fishermen, fish processors and other stakeholders in the aquaculture industry. It also splashed N800,000 on winners of the pepper soup eating competition.

    The event, sponsored by Nestle, makers of Maggi seasoning, was attended by captains of industry, traditional rulers, top government officials and other citizens.

    Donald Grace, who won the pepper soup competition, went home with N500, 000, the first runner-up, Daniel Osas, N200,000 and Tajudeen Agunbiade, the  second runner-up, N100,000.

    At the 2014 Annual Seafood Festival held at the Bar Beach, Governor Babatunde Fashola thanked the fishermen and women from across the riverine areas – Epe, Badagry, Bariga, Eti-Osa and others. He said what his administration tried to do in instituting the festival was to bring the rural fishing folks to the city once a year as the build-up to end of year activities. He said the event is one of the series that characterise the end of every year.

    Other activities that marked the end of the year, Fashola said, included the Beach Soccer event, the countdown and the Christmas festivities which lead to the New Year, adding, “I hope that you will all do what is necessary to sustain these activities.”

    The Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperative, Prince Gbolahan Lawal said the annual festival which started in 2012 was meant to expose fishing communities to the different business opportunities that abound in the fishing business.

    Lawal who noted that the festival has opened windows of opportunities to boost commercial activities in their areas, said the seafood celebration would also stimulate investors’ interest in fishery industry.

    He said over 100 mobile stands were set up for fish farmers from various riverine communities, and commended Lagosians for coming out to celebrate the festival.

    Lawal said:”Market is one of the major challenges of fish farmers, but this festival has provided an array of opportunities for them to build capacity, bring them closer to the markets so as boost their economy and eradicate poverty.”

    Meanwhile, the festival also paraded equipment suppliers, fish feed millers, supplement dealers, fish processors, fish farmers, artisanal fishermen, culinary services and assorted fish based menus, cooking competition and raffle draw.

     

  • Akwa Ibom fishermen demand N250b compensation from oil firm

    Fishermen in Unyenge community, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, have demanded N250 billion compensation from an oil company, Universal Energy Resources Ltd. (UERL).

    The fishermen told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mbo on Sunday that they made the demand under the aegis of Famous Fishing Organisation (FFO).

    The chairman of the organisation, Mr Johnson Harry, told NAN that the members were affected by the August 15 oil spill from the company’s oil field in Stubb Creek.

    According to him, the spill emptied about 2,000 barrels of crude into the Ede Akpa River in the area and has prevented them from fishing— their only source of their livelihood.

    He also said the oil company should pay adequate compensation to farmers in the community who were also affected by the oil spill.

    “The oil flowed to Ede Akpa River where we do our fishing activities and destroyed our fishing equipment and as a result, we can no longer fish in the river again,’’ he said.

    He said the oil spill also destroyed farmlands in the area, affecting the livelihood of 5,000 farmers in Unyenge community.

    Harry said the spill had caused untold hardship to the people of the area, and that some of their members had died of hunger and starvation, as a result.

    “We cannot farm, and according to international standard, if there is an oil spill, you have to wait for 10 years before you can start farming again,’’ Harry said.

    “The hazardous substances coming from the spilled crude has destroyed aquatic life, raffia palms and fishing nets.

    “Even the air we breath in the area have been affecting our health and we no longer go out for fishing,’’ he said.

    Harry urged UERL to clean up the affected lands and waters in the area, according to international standard.

    The Public Affairs Officer of the company, Mr Aniefiok Iwaudofia, confirmed the incident, saying the cause of the spill was equipment failure from a ruptured flange on the tank outlet.

    He, however, said that the quantity of crude spilled into the river was only about three barrels.

    “It is important to note that the spill was immediately and effectively contained within the Stubb Creek well pad.

    “The little that poured on the UERL acquired Right of Way (ROW) was scooped and the top soil excavated and back-filled with fresh sand,’’ he said.

    Iwaudofia assured the host community that the management would continue to engage in practice and processes designed to effectively manage the hazards of its operations.

     

  • The millionaire fishermen of Delta

    With over 14,500 ponds spanning five clusters located on miles of swampy land, the Uvwie Fish Farmers Multipurpose Society in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta owns what is arguably one of the biggest fish farm settlements in the West African sub-region.

    About six to nine tons of catfish is produced daily from the ponds, owned by over 6,500 members. This fish flood the markets of Effurun, Warri and other neighbouring towns. This has helped stabilise the price of fish in the past three years.

    The Chairman of the society, Deacon Henry Ogbodu, told a team of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) recently brought in by the Delta State Ministry of Poverty Alleviation that with technical support and assistance his members could produce catfish to feed a good percentage of the nation’s population.

    Already, he said the intervention of the Delta State Government through the Commissioner, Dr. Antonia Ashiedu in the past four years has boosted production from barely over 1,000 pounds in Ekpan to its present capacity.

    Interestingly, the farm is owned by thousands of hitherto unemployed locals, who decided to take their destinies in their own hands instead of waiting for government to provide job. These entrepreneurs now employ thousands of youths from Ekpan and other communities in Uvwie Local Government Area. This has in turn reduced the restiveness in the crisis-prone kingdom.

    Ufuoma Idama, an Industrial Mathematics graduate of the Delta State University, owns six large ponds. He told our reporter that he gave up on job hunting after several years of scouring the ‘Wanted’ pages of newspapers for opening and hundreds of job interviews ending with promises of “We will get back to you” that never materialised.

    When The Nation visited the massive farm located off Ufuoma Street in Ekpan recently, the young man was bustling with confidence. Why not? He owns six ponds, some of which are ripe for harvest that could yield profit of up to N500,000 each after six just months.

    “It is not all rosy; it takes a lot of hard work because this business is really cabbage in cabbage out. You must invest money, time and your attention to get the best of the farm,” he told our reporter.

    Ogbodu told the team led by UNIDO’s Senior Industrial Development Officers/Chief Rural Entrepreneurship and Human Security Unit, Aurelia Calabro-Bellamoli that fish produced from the farm were as tasty as those from the river because they are bred with water from the nearby river, which is channelled or piped through webs of canal through the ponds. He explained that the six-hourly high and low tide of the river fill and drain the ponds, eliminating stagnancy which is harmful to the fish.

    He commended the government for its support, particularly in the area of providing infrastructure, including tarring the road leading to the farm; technical and manpower development training, which saw the training of over 200 members at the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) in a train-the-trainers programme that has benefited thousands of its members.

    The most viable support, he said, was the micro credit loans given to member, which led to production leaping by over 1,400 per cent in the past four years. The loan, which has grown to tens of millions over the past two years, he said, has helped members expand to no end.

    Yet, the fish farmer said the society was not without challenges. He listed some of the tests facing his members to include fund for expansion, technical support, particularly in the area of fingerlings, value addition through packaging, smoking and marketing of their products.

    He said: “We need technical support to produce feed to reduce our cost of production. We also need funds for new and improved fingerlings, water treatment. We also need value addition because the local women who buy from us cannot cope with the volume of fish we produce. We want to be able to export to other states and possibly outside Nigeria.”

    He further added, “For instance, our members cannot produce optimally in order not to create glut in the market. We can only harvest about nine tons daily, even though we have the capacity to produce up to 15tons.”

    Of the nine tons of fish produced daily, he said about 10 – 20 percent were smoked by women who have located their businesses in the heart of the farm to provide ready services to consumers.

    However, Ogbodu, whose ponds have increased from two to 200, recalled a sad period when crude oil from a leaky barge wiped ponds of his members in 2011. He said efforts to get the alleged pollutant – neighbouring Chevron Nigeria Limited – to compensate his members who lost millions of naira failed.

    “What was lost as a result of that incident put so many of us out of operation. Credit facilities that were taken for cultivation went down the drain. The issue remains a very bitter experience for us, but we believe that one day justice will be served,” he added.

    Calabro-Bellamoli commended the leadership of the farmers, noting that “in those days the big fish eats the small one, but with cooperation, the small fishes now eat the big ones.”

    While urging the coops member not to sleep, the UNIDO team leader assured that it will work with the Delta State Government to bring the fish farmers “a little ahead through value addition that is sustainable.”

    Other members of the team include Frank Hartwich and Jesse Ojobo, agric experts as well as Jaroslav Cabak, who is a leather product expert. They promised to have more interactive sessions with the farmers in order to find the best form of help to offer them in the areas listed by Ogbodu in his address.

  • Fishermen ask for help

    Fishermen in Difa riverside community of Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State have appealed to the state government to assist them with fishing gadgets or funds to boost their occupation.

    The leader of the fishermen, popularly known as ‘Sarkin Ruwa,’ Malam Haruna Manaja, made the appeal while speaking with journalists in the area.

    Manaja noted that most of the fishermen in the village were forced to abandon their occupation due to lack of money to buy fishing nets, canoes, hooks and other items necessary for the business.

    The fishermen boss, who said there were about 100 fishermen in the village about 10 years ago, expressed regrets that most of them were forced to abandon the job due to lack of fishing items.

    ‘’About eight years ago, we had about 100 fishermen in this village who were earning their living through fishing.

    ‘’But as I talk to you now, we have just over 30 or at most 40 persons fishing now.

    ‘’Some of them left fishing for farming and others for other menial jobs, because they could not afford to buy fishing items, ‘’ he said.

    The sarkin ruwa also decried the damages done to the fishing items by hippopotamuses in the river and called on the government to permit them to kill ‘troublesome’ hippopotamuses in the river.

    He stated that the fishermen were empowered as the income generated through the fish business was able to sustain them.

     

    He said that unemployment and idleness among the citizenry would be reduced and more people, especially youths, if the economy received a boost.

    The leader recalled that he and some of his colleagues lost their canoes to last year’s flooding.

    The reports that Difa, one of the communities on the shores of the Dadin Kowa dam, is famous in fishing activities.

  • Fishermen ask for help

    Fishermen ask for help

    Fishermen in Difa riverside community of Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State have appealed to the state government to assist them with fishing gadgets or funds to boost their occupation.

    The leader of the fishermen, popularly known as ‘Sarkin Ruwa,’ Malam Haruna Manaja, made the appeal while speaking with journalists in the area.

    Manaja noted that most of the fishermen in the village were forced to abandon their occupation due to lack of money to buy fishing nets, canoes, hooks and other items necessary for the business.

    The fishermen boss, who said there were about 100 fishermen in the village about 10 years ago, expressed regrets that most of them were forced to abandon the job due to lack of fishing items.

    ‘’About eight years ago, we had about 100 fishermen in this village who were earning their living through fishing.

    ‘’But as I talk to you now, we have just over 30 or at most 40 persons fishing now.

    ‘’Some of them left fishing for farming and others for other menial jobs, because they could not afford to buy fishing items, ‘’ he said.

    The sarkin ruwa also decried the damages done to the fishing items by hippopotamuses in the river and called on the government to permit them to kill ‘troublesome’ hippopotamuses in the river.

    He stated that the fishermen were empowered as the income generated through the fish business was able to sustain them.

    He said that unemployment and idleness among the citizenry would be reduced and more people, especially youths, if the economy received a boost.

    The leader recalled that he and some of his colleagues lost their canoes to last year’s flooding.

    The reports that Difa, one of the communities on the shores of the Dadin Kowa dam, is famous in fishing activities.

  • Pipeline vandalism: 11 fishermen face trial April 17

    A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed April 17 for the trial of 11 fishermen charged with vandalism of an oil pipeline belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Justice Musa Kurya fixed the date on Friday, after the Nigerian Prisons Service failed to produce the accused in court.

    A prison warder told the court that he only realised that the case was due for trial when he arrived in court.

    The accused are Sidi Egbayelo, (29); Sunday Shadrach, (39); Edem Okon, (30); Godwin Kofa, (28); Rosemon Neito, (30); Ejona Kpamkpam, (23) and Moses Victor (28).

    Others are Chris Sunday, (29); Peter Gay, (21); Remo Uchugwu, (23) and Mike Sabato, (29).

    They are in court on a four-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, vandalism and unlawful possession of petroleum products.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the accused were arraigned on February 7 and had all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Each of them was granted bail in the sum of N2 million, with two sureties in like sum.

    NAN also reports that the accused are still remanded because they are yet to perfect their bail conditions.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Justin Enang had told the court that the accused were apprehended by a police team on December 21, 2012.

    He said they were apprehended at about 1p.m, at Atlas Cove, Lagos.

     

  • 11 fishermen arraigned over pipeline vandalism

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded 11 fishermen on a four-count charge of conspiracy, theft, unlawful possession of petroleum products and vandalism of pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

    The accused are Sidi Egbayelo, 29; Sunday Shadrach, 39; Edem Okon, 30; Godwin Kofa, 28; Rosemon Neito 30, and Ejona Kpamkpam, 23.

    Others are Moses Victor, 28; Chris Sunday, 29; Peter Gay, 21; Remo Uchugwu, 23, and Mike Sabato 29.

    The accused, who were arraigned by the police denied the charges and pleaded not guilty to the offences.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Justin Enang, told the court that the accused were arrested by a team of policemen on surveillance on December 21 last year at the Atlas Cove, Lagos.

    According to the prosecutor, about 220 drums containing petroleum products valued at N5.335 million were recovered from them.

    He said the alleged offences contravened sections 390 and 516 of the Criminal Code, section 17(a) and ( b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

    Counsel to the accused, Mr. M.C Anthony, prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail on liberal terms as they knew nothing of the alleged offence.

    He said they were ordinary fishermen who were going about their business when they were arrested.

    The prosecutor, however, objected to the bail application moved by the defence counsel and urged the court to remand the accused.

    He said that the offences were about economic sabotage and should not be treated lightly.

    Enang also argued that were the accused to jump bail, it would be difficult to trace them since they had no permanent address.

    After listening to the submissions of both counsel, Justice Musa Kurya ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the case was adjourned to February 11 for further mention.