The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Zamfara

  • Zamfara Assembly passes resolution against online TV

    Zamfara Assembly passes resolution against online TV

    Zamfara State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging the state Attorney- General, Mr Sani Abdulaziz, to sue a Gusau-based online television.

    This followed the adoption of a motion by the Majority Leader, Alhaji Bello Mazawaje, at yesterday’s plenary in Gusau.

    Read Also: Angolan President invites Tinubu

    Presenting the motion, Mazawaje urged the house to sue the online station for spreading fake news.

    Seconding the motion, the majority whip, Alhaji Rilwanu Marafa (PDP-Anka Constituency) urged the house to take the matter seriously because its reputation was at stake.

    After deliberations, the lawmakers adopted the motion.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that an online television station had transmitted an audio clip insinuating bribery allegations against the lawmakers.

    The station alleged that former Governor Abdul’aziz Yari bribed the lawmakers with N100 million.

  • Zamfara partners Russia on agric, health, others

    Zamfara  State Government is to partner the Russian Government to develop critical sectors of its economy.

    This was discussed at a meeting between the Zamfara State Governor, Dr. Bello Matawalle, and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Mr Alexey Shebarshin, at the Russian Embassy in Abuja.

    The meeting focused on improving the agriculture, education and health sectors as well as solid minerals development and exploration.

    Shebarshin said Russia was ready to work with Zamfara to improve its economy.

    He added that his country, which specialised in minerals exploration and excavation, will provide Zamfara State with expertise to enhance its economy for global marketing .

    He also extended an invitation to the governor for the upcoming first Russia/African Union  Summit on October 24 and 25, which will focus on fostering economic, political and cultural cooperations

    He further said during the summit, the governor would be invited to visit one of the biggest Russian gold mining companies transformed by high technology mining equipment.

    Earlier in his address, Matawalle said he was at the Russian Federation Embassy to seek for a partnership on how best to develop his state’s critical sectors of the economy and to have foreign investors, especially in agriculture and solid minerals.

    Matawalle said his decision to visit the Russian embassy is to make Zamfara benefit from the expertise of Russia which it is known for in developing countries by extending same to Zamfara through transfer of technology.

    This according to the governor has made Russia a formidable ally of all nations that desire true and meaningful development.

    Matawalle solicited the partnership of the Russian government in transforming Zamfara State Agricultural sector to make it an all year round activity, with greater benefit to the farmers through the deployment of modern farming technology.

     

    On the solid minerals, the Governor informed the Russian Ambassador that various minerals are available in the State in a commercial quantities which include gold, uranium, manganese, kaolin, granite, tantalite and Zinc and requested the Russian Government to come and invest in the State solid minerals Exploration.

    He further said that on Education his Government wishes to partner with the Russian Government to provide scholarship for the indigenes of the State considering Russia’s reputation of academic excellence globally.

  • ‘Zamfara should learn from 2019 polls’

    Former Zamfara State Governor Ahmed Sani Yerima served in the Senate between 2007 and 2019. In this interview with TONY AKOWE, he speaks on why he introduced the Sharia law in the Northwest state, the electoral misfortune of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last general elections and how to prevent a re-occurrence of the protracted crisis.

    How do you feel that the state where you once governed on the platform of the APC has been taken over by the PDP and what would you attribute to the loss?

    As a politician, I will not be happy because it is a sad thing. As a politician, we believe that God has power over all things. I believe it is an act of God and that what happened has to happen. Everybody has to play his role to come to what we are seeing today. The major cause is the breaches of rules. As you know, we had meetings within the party and the President, the Vice President and the National Chairman were all there and we agreed that the primaries would be direct, indirect or through consensus. The party felt that they were not comfortable with the arrangement in Zamfara. A committee was set up in Zamfara, just like every other state, but the committee came back without conducting any primary. As a result, another panel was set up. Everybody knows what happened after that. I tried my best to help resolve the situation, but, as you know, the governor was my product. God gave him that position and I led the struggle to bring him to that position. We had problems with my former successor who was my deputy for eight years and we decided that there will be no more problems again. People did not know what really happened between us. The cause of our quarrel was the fact that after endorsing him, we endorsed Yari as his running mate. We campaigned together until seven days to election. After collecting his INEC form, he came to me at night and said he wanted me to replace Yari and I told him it was not possible. That was the cause of all the problems. At the end, Yari met me arguing with him and his people, because at that time, he had already established his own empire as the incoming governor and Yari said he will never be deputy. He said if I impose him as his deputy, after the election, he will use the state assembly to remove him. So, a decision was reached to replace Yari and allow him to go to House of Representatives. From then onwards, I said I will never come out openly to speak on anything Yari is doing. I will meet him in his room, advice him and if he takes the advice and do well, I will be happy. So, I did my best as the father figure within the APC in Zamfara State, by not openly criticizing Yari or any other party chieftain in the media. What happened had to happen. I tried to mediate by liaising with the governor, the state chapter, other chieftains and the national chairman. Eventually, we landed ourselves in the position we found ourselves. However, the same person that is governor today was my commissioner for eight years. He came to the House of Representatives when I came to the Senate on the platform of the ANPP. That is why people were surprised when I went to congratulate him. I believe that party politics should end as soon as elections are over and the winner is declared. As an elder in the state, I had to go and congratulate him and wish him well. I will continue to advise him, so that Zamfara will continue to have peace and prosperity.

    Is there any possibility that the APC will reclaim the state in the next four years?

    Let me tell you one thing. Since 1998/99, when the current dispensation started, we have never lost election in Zamfara State. The APP, which later transformed into the ANPP, was one of the three major parties that merged to form the APC. In 1998/1999, I became governor and was re-elected in 2003 and when I was leaving in 2007, we elected my former deputy. But, he later defected to the PDP and that was the only time they ruled the state. But in 2011, we defeated him. The present governor became governor following the Supreme Court ruling. We will never, by the grace of God, loss election in Zamfara again.

    But, what is on ground does not suggest that the APC will have an easy ride in 2023, especially with the division within the fold. As a leader, what are you doing to bring the warring parties together?

    It is all part of politics. From the beginning, when it all started, all these factions believed I will be able to solve the problem. I tried to do that initially, but it didn’t work. As I speak with you, every so-called faction knows its position. But, we are going to wait for the intervention of the national secretariat. What is likely going to happen is restructuring of the party. We have to look at the structure again and make sure that we bring them together, by using the party machinery to harmonise the groups and come up with a solid structure.

    What gives you the impression that the APC will reclaim the state in 2023?

    Let me cast your mind back to 1998/99. That time, when the APP, the PDP and the AD contested the local government election in Zamfara, my party, the APP, won seven out of the 14 local governments, including the state capital. One of the candidates who lost in the chairmanship contest was the current governor. He contested the chairmanship of his local government under my party and lost. I appointed him Commissioner for Local Government to supervise the person that defeated him. That is what is bringing us together. What you see him doing now is not only his work. He was my commissioner for eight years before coming to the House of Representative when I came to the Senate. It is a combination of advises that he is listening to, and it is all of us working and not him alone. In view of that, you will now know whether it will be easy or difficult for us in Zamfara. Don’t be surprised if he moves to the APC.

    Are you worried that the once peaceful Zamfara state is now a theatre of banditry?

    I am very worried. When I was governor, I did everything I could to the extent that the then IGP under the Obasanjo government wrote a report that Zamfara is virtually crime free. The records are there. They even put our crime rate at two per cent, even though I don’t know the criteria they used to arrive at that. But what happened after me started with cattle rustling during the tenure of the governor who took over from me. So, it did not start now. From cattle rustling, kidnapping started and what I can call semi insurgency started. Today, armed bandits will just enter a village and start killing people in form of revenge. What happened is that the former governor formed what he called vigilante group and this group started attacking the Fulanis who they believed were the cattle rustlers. It got to a level that a Fulani man will come to the market and they will kill him. From that time, the Fulanis started carrying arms in place of their normal stick to defend themselves. Everyone had believed that it is something that can only be resolved through military action. But, the current administration has started talking to them and they have started responding. Recently, the bandits released a good number of people, some of whom are from Sokoto State. Criminality can start small and gradually enlarge. So, it is not a question of military action alone to address it. This method of talking to them to lay down their arms is working. They know these people and they know the terrain. We should adopt a two-pronged approach to resolve the crisis: negotiation, as well as the military action. So, the carrot and stick approach may be what we should adopt.

    Traditional rulers have been accused of backing some bandits. How true is this allegation? Why will they get themselves in such thing?

    Two things: one is the level of poverty in the society. People have forgotten that during the era of former President Jonathan, the economy was virtually on its knees, because of the level of corruption. By the time this administration came in, the task before it was not just fighting corruption, but reviving the economy and tackling the security challenges. Boko Haram was already in Abuja and something had to be done. A lot of resources were required to fight the insurgency and the fight against corruption was also not easy. So, by the grace of God, the harvest the following year was good and the economy started changing. That level of poverty that was inherited has started making some people think the other way, including the traditional rulers. The second issue is fear for their lives. Because of the little money they are getting from the bandits, they either try to give them information or hide them or do things that will support them. If you remember, one of the things that happened was the kidnapping of an emir in Zamfara. He was taken away for a long time until ransom was paid before he was released. So, some of the emirs became afraid of the bandits. The Yari administration had to suspend one emir for his alleged role in supporting the bandits. Every traditional ruler now knows that he either supports the government in its bid to address this issue or lose his position. So, I think these two factors — poverty and fear of the bandits — made some of the traditional rulers to back some of the bandits. But now, things are changing.

    You are the first governor to introduce the Sharia legal system in the country. Do you have any regret about it?

    You see, people don’t even know what Sharia is all about. At the time I said I was going to launch Sharia, there was so much outcry. I would have done my project quietly, because the state was 99.9 per cent Muslims and their agitation for Sharia did not start with me. That area comprising Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara were in the fore front of the struggle for the reintroduction of Sharia, because there has been sharia in Nigeria since the beginning of Islam. People thought that sharia is all about when you cut hand or flog people. Sharia has two components. It has the capital punishment which is called hudud and done through adjudication by the courts and what you call ma’amala which has to do with relationship. It regulates the activities of human beings. If you go to Zamfara today or any other state that adopted sharia after we started it in 1999, you will not find prostitution going on right now. You will not find a house or hall publicly where gambling is taking place and you cannot find people consuming alcohol openly. You can only find alcohol in the military barracks or police barracks. They were all successfully banned and the attitude of people has changed. Our girls use to come out with their body open. But, because sharia prohibit that, we introduced a new form of dressing which is called hijab approved by sharia under Islam and today, the entire northern Nigeria, you go to their primary schools, secondary schools and the universities, it is the norm now. If you recall, one lady went to the law school and refused to remove her hijab and it became a national controversy and at the end, she won because she has certain rights under the constitution. Sharia is about attitudinal change which has been achieved and will remain with us for a long time. The society is changing and in all religion, you see some extremists and fundamentalist as well as the moderates. I don’t believe in extremism. We are operating a constitutional system and by the time I came as governor, I understand the fact that I was elected under the constitution and it is the same constitution that I used to enact all the laws I enacted. That is why nobody could challenge it till today. All the laws are being implemented. If you have governors who have the political will to make sure that laws are implemented, you will not have problems, because the laws are already there. You have some governors who are serious and some that are not serious and this is how it is going to continue. It depends on the person on the seat, but the attitudinal change that has been achieved will be there for a long time. You can’t go to my village or any village in Zamfara and say you want to establish a brothel. The people will never allow it. Before I became governor, there were more than 500 brothels in the state capital alone, but today, there is none. Not only in Zamfara. Go to the entire 12 northern states that established sharia and say you want to have a prostitute. My son is 21 years old now and does not know what a prostitute is. He has never seen it. From 1999 till date, there have never been brothels, but that does not mean that people are not misbehaving. If you go to church or mosque or any worship place, they will tell you that God has power over all things. So, if God has power over all things, as a human being, you just need to do your best and leave Him to handle the rest.

  • ‘Banditry killing farming, cattle breeding’

    Rampaging foreign and domestic bandits’ violence and abductions is literally choking people and agriculture to death in Zamfara and other states, a member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Bello Hassan Shinkafi, has said.

    Speaking with The Nation On Sunday, Shinkafi who represents Shinkafi/Zurmi Federal Constituency expressed concern that the widespread insecurity in parts of the North portends serious food insecurity for Nigeria as too many farmers now feel insecure to visit their farms due to rampant killings and abductions.

    “I am telling you authoritatively, that our farmers are now doing next to nothing here (in Zamfara); it is rainy season but now, when some of them go to the farm, these bandits follow people and kill them on their own farms. Even yesterday in my own constituency in Shinkafi, they killed about five people in the farm – right there in their farm; it is not a mere story!In many cases, if they catch you and they did not kill you, they will abduct and go with you and then, ask for a ransom; the ransom they usually demand, even the entire village cannot afford to pay such amount.

    According to Shinkafi, the situation is now so bad that entire inhabitants of many villages have completely stopped rearing cattle, sheep and other domestic animals because it only leas to losses and risky visits from bandits. This, he warned may lead to famine if not checked. “Yes, in many towns and villages, you can no longer do it (cattle rearing); they call you and tell you to come and deliver your cows and livestock, they tell you when and where to bring those things and you must comply because if you fail to do so, your life is gone.

    Read Also: I did my best to address security challenges in Zamfara, says Yari

    “Even in the markets, some people whose cattle had been rustled dare not claim them; if you identify your two stolen cows, those bandits instruct their people to release them to you but once they release your two cows to you, you will be forced to come back with twice that number, it is so serious!The situation portends food insecurity and government should redouble efforts towards tackling the situation with regards to security. Those bandits come out with big boxes of ammunition while you only see our security personnel with a handful of ammunition; so, how can you, as a human being, face such kind of well-armed people?

    “Government should now increase whatever supplies, give our security personnel whatever volume of ammunition they need and give them a free hand to go ahead because many times, the soldiers will say that they had not yet received an order (to go ahead), except in situations where they (soldiers) come face to face with the bandits. So, if you call them to say ‘This is what is happening,’ they will say that they are waiting for an order, before they receive the order or go there, things have already happened. These are the unusual problems we are facing in the area.

    “Also, you only see the military at the local government headquarters and they could be too thinly spread or distant to the rural villages where these killings and abductions happen. In some towns and villages where these killings happen, the bandits come and attack anytime they want and by the time  the military arrive after being called, those bandits would have killed, taken what they want , take away people’s cows and they burn food reserves that they cannot take away. That is the situation, we are in very serious problems in these areas; our people who were big farmers now lack food.

  • Troops neutralise 30 bandits in Zamfara communities

    Troops of “Operation Hadari Daji” have neutralised 30 armed bandits in Zamfara State.

    Acting Force Information Officer Lieutenant Abayomi Oni-Orisan gave the figure while explaining the activities of the troops in getting rid of armed banditry.

    Lt. Oni-Orisan explained that the troops on June 29, while acting on intelligence report, rescued a civilian from armed bandits at Zurmi-Gurbin Baure road.

    He added that the Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji on June 30 also conducted intensive bomb runs at several identified bandits’ camps in Dumburum forest.

    According to the Acting Force Information Officer, the air operation was conducted sequel to exhaustive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations by the Air Component of OPHD in the area, including credible human intelligence gathered from locals.

    Scores of bandits, he said, were effectively neutralised in the operation while others fled the area.

    Lt. Oni-Orisan said more bandits were also neutralised when the fleeing bandits encountered ground troops deployed in blocking positions around the general area, where four of the bandits were equally captured by the troops.

    Two motorcycles and 43 livestock earlier rustled from locals were recovered.

    Similarly, on June 30, the troops apprehended a notorious bandit “Haruna Sani” and two other bandits at Wonaka-Mada road in Tsafe Local Government Area.

    Read Also: Air Force neutralises 20 bandits in Zamfara

    The Acting Force Information Officer said: “The criminals disguised themselves as innocent passersby and attempted to sneak into Gusau for medical treatment of injuries suffered during the ongoing military operations.”

    The troops on  July 1, in response to distress calls, deployed speedily to Bayan Dutse axis in Mada community of Gusau Local Government Area, where armed bandits were rustling herds of cattle and engaged the bandits successfully.

    One bandit was captured and 84 livestock, comprising 73 cows and 10 rams, were recovered.

    On July 2, he said the air component of the operation effectively neutralised 20 armed bandits at a location close to Munhaye town about 15 kilometres from Katsina State sequel to “credible human intelligence that bandits” had gathered for a meeting at a rendezvous close to Munhaye, possibly to attack locals in the vicinity.

    The air component, Lt. Oni-Orisan said, scrambled an Alpha Jet to the area.

    The bandits, numbering over 30 on seeing the jet, attempted to flee the area but the Alpha Jet engaged them with effective fire and neutralising 20 of them.

    Lt. Orisan said the troops of OPHD remain highly motivated, determined and disciplined in professionally executing their mission in line with extant Rules of Engagement (ROE) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) accordingly.

    The Force Commander (FC) Major-General Jide Ogunlade reassured inhabitants of Zamfara State of their safety.

    He also encouraged them to support the ongoing campaign against armed banditry and other criminalities by continuing to provide timely and credible information to the troops to ensure prompt and efficient action.

  • Zamfara: The task before Matawalle

    Sir: Zamfara State’s Governor Bello Matawalle faces a herculean task of restoring the state to its past glory and rebuilding peoples’ confidence and trust in the government which became eroded following the cluelessness and lackadaisical attitude of the immediate past administration. The lack of political will by Abdul’Azeez Yari when he held sway as the governor and chief security officer to confront the challenges which started as mere skirmishes between farmers/herders before boomeranging into a full-blown criminality akin to insurgency has compounded the situation with its spill-over to the neighbouring states of Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

    With the menace still unabated, the subsistence livelihoods in the agrarian communities within the precincts of the Kamuku, Kuyambana and Rugu forests which have become the redoubts of the marauders continue to be threatened just as the lives of the rural dwellers are not spared by the bandits.  The security architecture deployed to quell the internecine violence seemed to be overwhelmed by the sheer bravado of the bandits who brandish all sorts of armaments sourced from Libya through our porous borders.

    Governor Matawalle is not a novice in governance having served as a commissioner in the state and also a former ranking member, House of Representatives. Thus, given his vast knowledge of the endemic problems faced by the state and his fair working knowledge of the security and intelligence community, the governor has his job easily cut out for him in addressing the multifarious security challenges bedevilling the state and its neighbours.

    The need to quickly restore law and order in Zamfara and the contiguous states should be the immediate preoccupation of the governor and his colleagues in the northwest zone. The blueprint for countering these challenges is not far-fetched as there is a surfeit of security and research reports from the security and academic communities that can serve as guide posts to the total eradication of the menace.

    At the moment, the most important priority for the government is to make bold and courageous attempt to smoke out the bandits from their sanctuary through the use of carrot and stick by offering them and members of their family protection and incentives that would make them drop their guns and embrace peace and dialogue.

    These incentives could come in the form of massive distribution of empowerment materials like oxen, livestock, agricultural inputs such as tractors, fertilizers, pesticides, starter packs for the internally-displaced (IDPs) etc. to the affected communities. This would go a long way in restoring the dignity of the antagonists (Fulani pastoralists and farmers) who have lost their means of livelihood due to the unfortunate incidents. Amnesty window should also be made available to the belligerents to give up their arms failing which government could wield the big stick by taking the war to them on all fronts.

    Government should also explore the options of convening a stakeholder’s summit comprising security organizations, the media, civil society, academia, traditional and religious institutions, trade unions, cooperatives, artisans and all relevant ministerial departments and agencies at both federal and states levels to proffer lasting solutions to the problem.

    Durable solutions by way of palliatives could also be sought from federal government agencies like NEMA, National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally-displaced, NDE, SMEDAN, CBN, BOI, BOA and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development amongst others. This would go a long way in complementing the meagre resources of the state.

     

    • Ibrahim Mohammed, Abuja.

  • Zamfara: Supreme Court’s ruling is will of God, says Yari

    Zamfara State outgoing Governor Abdulaziz Yari yesterday described  as the will of God, Friday’s ruling of the Supreme Court voiding the election of all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship, national assembly and state legislative elections.

    Yari would have been a member of the 9th Senate but for the court’s verdict.

    Speaking through his media adviser, Ibrahim Dosara, Yari said he and the APC had accepted the court’s decision.

    The party and its supporters, according to him, had done “everything possible to ensure APC did not lose Zamfara State but as Allah wanted, the party lost the state.”

    Yari who addressed party supporters in Gusau, the state capital on the development, said the members had “also done their best in ensuring the viability and capability of the party to continue to hold on to power to provide more dividends of democracy to the people of the state, but as Allah wanted it, the Supreme Court judgement went the way it happened.”

    Read also: Zamfara winners and losers

    He urged them and other residents of the state to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding.

    He directed security agencies in the state to be more vigilant to ensure adequate protection of lives and property of the people in the state.

    He also promised to carry all members along to the next level and urged them to be more united.

     

  • Zamfara: INEC meets on Supreme Court judgment

    Following the Supreme Court judgment that nullified the mandate of all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recent general elections, the management team of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met yesterday to consider the body’s next line of action.

    The electoral umpire could, however, not arrive at a decision and decided to postpone the meeting till today.

    The decisions taken at today’s meeting will be made public on Monday, according to the commission.

    Today’s meeting is billed to consider the judgment of the Supreme Court and take decisions on the basis of the outcome of the elections earlier held in the state.

    The apex Court had ruled yesterday that Zamfara APC did not conduct any party primaries, hence all the votes gathered in the elections were a waste.

    The court also ruled that the party that emerged as the runner-up in each of the elections should be declared winner.

    The planned meeting of INEC management team was announced yesterday through a press statement signed by Mr.Festus Okoye, a National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.

    Read also: 2019 polls: APC suffers reverses in Zamfara

    The statement reads: “Following the Supreme Court’s judgment delivered today, 24th May, 2019 on the governorship, national and state assembly elections held in Zamfara State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held an emergency meeting to consider the court’s decision.

    “The Supreme Court ruled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not hold valid party primaries as required by law.

    “It held that all the votes scored by the APC in the said elections are wasted votes and declared that the candidates of political parties with the second highest valid votes and the requisite spread should be declared as having been elected.

    “The Commission will meet again tomorrow, Saturday 25th May 2019, to further deliberate on the issues arising from the said judgment, while the final decision on the matter will be communicated to the public on Monday 27th May, 2019.”

  • Zamfara Dep Gov distributes clothes to widows, orphans

    The Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakala has distributed clothing materials to 8,385 indigent persons including widows, orphans and physically challenged.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that thousands of the beneficiaries converged on Deputy Governor’s residence located at at Albarkawa area, Gusau in the early hours of Saturday to receive the items.

    Speaking to newsmen after the distribution of the items, Wakkala said the gesture was aimed at assisting the needy in the Holy month of Ramadan.

    “You know, this is an annual programme. In every Ramadan I provide this assistance to various categories of the needy. This is my own personal assistance to them to enable them celebrate the forthcoming Eid-il-Fitr celebrations in happy mood.

    “This gesture is in line with the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad that give much emphasis on assisting the needy especially during the Holy month of Ramadan”, he said.

    Wakkala noted that the assistance would also go a long way in reducing hardship among the poor in the state.

    He called on the people of the state to use the holy month of Ramadan to pray and seek Allah’s intervention to return peace and stability in the state in particular and Nigeria at large.

  • OUR LIVES WITHOUT OKADA

    Zamfara is one state that has always been reputed for its harsh weather conditions. The heat is usually intense and has been particularly so in the last two months. The usual practice had been for people to stay back in their various business places or find some fun spots to stay until late night when the heat would have subsided and they retire into their homes.

    That, however, is hardly possible now with the night ban placed on commercial motorcycles in the state. With the dusk-to-dawn ban on motorcycles, popularly called okada, the streets which once bubbled with night crawlers conveyed on commercial motorcycles and tricycles are now a shadow of their former selves.

    Although night life in the state had been dealt a blow with the introduction of the Shari’a system of government by the administration of former governor of the state, Ahmed Sani Yeriman Bakura, which outlawed the operation of night clubs, beer parlours and brothels, among others, the ban on okada impelled by the unwholesome activities of bandits and other anti-social elements has compounded the situation lately.

    Hamza Musa, the proprietor of a pharmacy situated at NUJ Secretariat on Sokoto Road in Gusau, the state capital, lamented that the ban on motorcycles has created a vacuum in the lives of the people of the state.

    He said: “The ban on motorcycles has seriously crippled business activities. Personally, I have faced hell many times in the night since the ban was imposed. There was a time I had to trek from my shop to Samaru. I left my shop around 10 pm but did not reach home until about 2.30 am because I had to trek. I rested at intervals because I could not trek the long distance without resting.”

    Musa said he would be left with three choices if he had to stay in his shop beyond 6 pm. The first is to embark on the hellish trek. The second is to sleep in the shop. The third is to patronise the few commercial motorcycle riders who defy the ban to operate at night, charging more than N300 for distances that would ordinarily not cost more than N50.

    The defiant night riders, he noted, are mostly security personnel who seize the chance to have a field day, as they would not be arrested.

    Musa also reckoned that to trek home, he would have to pass through many dangerous points where criminals could forcibly collect his phone or other valuables. “And where the owner is unlucky, they can even machete him or her,” he said.

    The foregoing, he said, are besides the fact that he would have to pass through areas where dogs would harass him and threaten to tear him apart.

    Another commuter, A’isha Sama’ila, said since the ban on okada commenced, she has had to pay about thrice the sum she was spending as transport fare to commercial motorcycle operators who violate the dusk-to-dawn ban.

    According to her, night life in the state has become miserable due to lack of access to vehicles as taxis do not operate at night and the police are always patrolling to ensure full compliance with the ban.

    Abubakar Muhammad, a provision store operator, lamented that he now has to close shop by 5.30 pm or trek for almost an hour to get to his house. Unfortunately, he said, he was enjoying more patronage at night before the ban on okada, as most would-be customers are at their various places of work in  the day time and have only the night to make purchases, including the following day breakfast and other family needs.

    He said he was feeling the negative impact of the ban on motorcycles because of the low patronage of his merchandise, in addition to the fear of small-time criminals who can easily walk into his shop and demand for the money he had made from the day’s sales.

    High cost of food items

    One important consequence of the ban on the use of motorcycles in Gusau and other parts of Zamfara where the ban on okada is imposed is the rise in the price of agricultural products, which is caused by the inability of the farmers, who hitherto employed the services of commercial motorcycle riders to transport their goods home from the bushes where their farmlands are located.

    A lot of villagers, who are engaged in farming in the rural areas and youths, who are in search of daily bread, had acquired motorcycles with which they transported farm produce from remote areas, which are inaccessible to four-wheel vehicles to the point where the goods are loaded into trucks and cars for onward transportation into the towns and villages.

    Mustafa Hassan, an indigene of Muradun Local Government Area, lamented that he has no option now but to sell his motorcycle and move to the city which, he feels, is more secured.

    Hassan said there are two things to worry about, namely the bandits who, he said, can pounce on the inhabitants of the community, particularly on the outskirts, and security personnel, who he said can easily tag one a bandit. He said there is also the danger of being hit in an air strike.

    A group of people from Niger Republic, who were into selling tea and making a fortune from it, recently had to relocate back to their country because they no longer enjoyed patronage, especially at night.

    Rural dwellers are also at the receiving end of banditry and the measures being taken against it as their economies are being ravaged by both.

    Dealers in farm products, who used to go to Zamfara from far and near, particularly the southern part of the country, are now afraid to go to the state to purchase food items. Those who still muster the courage to visit the state would rather stay in their hotels in the town to make their purchases and return to their states.

    The farmers, on the other hand, can no longer bring their products to the town like they were doing before because most drivers are afraid to go into the bush for fear of being apprehended by security operatives.

    A commercial driver, Malam Nasiru Ibrahim, said he, like most of his colleagues, is always living in fear. “But there is nothing we can do because we are trying to get what we can feed our families with. If we give in to fear, we cannot eat. One has to just believe in God. If anyone’s life is taken, we take it as an act of God.”

    There has been a  rumour that the curfew on the use of the motorcycles at night has been relaxed. Ibrahim, who said he was at Shinkafi Local Government Area, one of the worst hit local governments, at the time this report was being compiled, said he had seen some villagers riding their motorcycles into the suburban areas and engaging in various activities following the rumour that the night ban on motorcycles had been lifted