Most Nigeria-Niger Republic border communities are currently gripped by an atmosphere of likely hostility and uncertainty, following the ultimatum given to the military junta in Republic of Niger by the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, to power.
Already, the border communities have begun to experience some forms of hardship because of the economic sanctions imposed on the Niger junta by ECOWAS leaders.
Movements across the borders and within the communities are gradually coming to a halt, just as socio-economic activities have been paralysed, with trade and commerce the worst hit.
Our correspondents report that the people are living in perpetual fear of the unknown.
Disenchanted by the development, residents of Jibia-Magama border community in Katsina State have criticised the decision of ECOWAS leaders to invade Niger.
According to them, the shutdown of the border has crippled the socio-economic activities in the area, making the youth jobless and encouraging street begging as the best option to survive the hardship.
The resolution of ECOWAS leaders is affecting the livelihood of the Jibia-Magama border, with lots of them living in the uncertainty of what may happen next.
LEADERSHIP Weekend observed that the Jibia-Magama border has been shut down, and no vehicular movement is allowed in or out of the area, while a few trucks were seen parked along the roads.
According to our correspondents who visited the place, individuals were seen on foot crossing to a nearby town to attend a local market in Dan Isah community in the Nigerien territory.
There are also local traders who have also devised means to maneuver their way into local markets to buy and sell just to survive the hardship caused by the border closure and fuel subsidy removal that has skyrocketed prices of commodities.
Although security operatives have mounted roadblocks in some of the illegal routes to check the excess of such movement, people still find their way in because they can’t withstand the untold hardship.
One of the residents, Alhaji Abubakar Magama, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that they are not happy with the decision to close the border, which has rendered their youths jobless and terrified, causing hatred between them and the neighbouring Nigerien citizens.
He said, “We don’t know anything about subsidy before except now. All we knew then is Nigeria had available cheap foodstuffs, but the reverse is the case. No citizen of Nigeria can boast of eating one square meal a day or feed a visitor because of the hardship we face.
“For us to transport food to Jibia from Katsina State capital, we have to spend double the price of goods bought in the market because of multiple checkpoints. And now the closure of the border has made things more difficult for us. We want the government to tell us if we are part of Nigeria or Niger Republic?”
Also, Musa Shehu, one of the persons seen inside a truck parked at the Jibia-Magama border, has been there for over a week since the closure of the border.
He said most of the trucks stranded are heading to Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja but were unfortunately stopped from entering Nigeria due to the order.
Shehu added that he is running short of funds to feed on, urging the government to assist by opening the border to allow for business activities in the state and the nation in general.
Our correspondent who visited residents of Dolekaina, Tungar Sule and Kamba on the Nigerian side of the border, as well as Tungar Gyado and Peka in Niger Republic last weekend reports that most of the people interviewed from the two communities expressed anger and dissatisfaction with the current threat of invasion and standby force of ECOWAS.
According to them, since the military overthrew the civilian government in Niger, people in the communities, particularly those on the borders between Nigeria and Niger are living in a terrible situation.
They lamented that life has become unbearable due to the cut-off of electricity, hike in foodstuffs, fuel, and other essential commodities.
Speaking with our correspondent in Dole Kaina (Nigeria) the village head of the area, Alhaji Sani Dolekaina, said both communities of Dole kaina, Nigeria and Dole Kaina, France were not happy with the present development.
He said before the coup the two communities were living in peace and harmony, and there were inter-marriages, traditional games, football games, congregational eating and other social cohesion between them.
He said what they want now is peace and unity which, according to him, could only be obtained through dialogue.
Also, a district head of Dolekaina France, Alhaji Mohmud Yousofu, said though nothing has changed in terms of the relationship between Niger and Nigeria, the cost of living has gone up.
Most of the border communities around Maigatari local government of Jigawa State declared the sanctions imposed on Niger as a sanction imposed on all of them, describing the people of Niger as their kith and kin, business partners and good neighbours.
The imaginary border between Nigeria and Niger is porous, with the communities sharing everything in common, including farmlands market, culture, tribe and religion, to the extent some communities in Nigeria have their graveyard on the Niger side and vice-versa.
According to the chairman of Maigatari market, one of the biggest livestock and grains markets in Jigawa State and a border town, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, commercial activities have been paralysed in their market since the beginning of the crisis.
“We are not happy with the military coup in Niger Republic and we are also not happy with the sanctions imposed on the country because we, the businessmen and other ordinary citizens of both countries, are the real victims”.
The secretary, Association of Cattle Sellers of Maigatari Market, Alhaji Muhammad Duwa, said the removal of fuel subsidy has affected their businesses and with the crisis and subsequent sanction imposed on Niger Republic, everything has been crippled in their market and the area.
“Today we are no longer what we were in the past. The sanctions have disconnected us with our main business partners. Niger peoples brought livestock to our market and in return they buy foodstuffs and other essential commodities from us, but the sanction has completely cut off the transaction. We are all in critical situation”.
Sale Ado, a commercial car driver who has spent over 20 years transporting people and goods between Nigeria and Niger Republic, said the political crisis has thrown them into economic and social uncertainty.
He explained that the border closure between Nigeria and Niger has brought transport and business activities to a standstill and has made life hard for them and their families.
A commercial truck driver, Ali Dan’uku, said he and four of his boys depend on the truck as their main source of livelihoods, but with the sanction imposed on Niger republic, all of them are now redundant.
“All my life, I have only visited Kaduna and Kano States in Nigeria, but there is no state in Niger Republic that I have not been to, either to carry or deliver goods. We in the border communities are more inclined to Niger than Nigeria in terms of business relationship.”
And as much as the political leadership of ECOWAS is trying to undo the coup that took place in Niger with sanctions and the threat of force, they have effectively unleashed another problem in the border communities, leading to a humanitarian crisis that could affect millions of people living in the border communities.
Narrating their ordeal, women in Jobe village, a border community, Amina Ali, Fatima Musa and Raliyat Musa Sa’id, said they are now compelled to go to the bush in search of food.
They said the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic has paralysed commercial activities in the area and rendered their children jobless.
“This crisis is affecting us badly; it is after 12noon now, none of us has had breakfast because we don’t have food to eat. So, we are calling for an immediate relaxation of the border closure and resolution of the disagreement before the situation gets worse,” the women begged.
The vice chairman, Association of Heavy-Duty Trucks, working between Nigeria and Niger in Maigatari local government area, said the situation around border towns was negatively affecting their members in Nigeria and Niger Republic.
“Our job is in jeopardy. I personally have 15 trucks under me, but all of them are off the roads. The roads are closed; we have practically lost our jobs; we don’t know what to do,” he said.
Malam Shehu Isa of Adare town in Niger Republic who was trapped in between the crisis revealed that he visited his brothers in Ladan village of Maigatari local government area and now he wants to go back to his family in Niger but all roads and routes are closed.
He described the situation as worse than the COVID-19 lockdown.
Before now, Illela was a boisterous town that was full of life with no dull moments. It is home for all and like every border town, business thrives. The town with countless porous routes lived up to its billing as a beehive of smuggling.
It is also a lucrative route for immigrants to Europe through North Africa. The Illela International Cattle Market is a melting pot for animal traders from as far as Chad and Mali and enjoys patronage from every part of Nigeria.
There are two types of businessmen at the border, those ready to follow the laid down regulations by the government and those bent on cutting corners to sabotage the government.
Now that there is restriction of movement on the Illela/Kwanni route, transporters, traders, licensed clearing agents, and other businesses operating in the corridor are frontline victims.
To smugglers whose modus operandi remains an open secret, it is no more business as usual, as the closure of the border has put a halt to their trade.
Salmanu Abdullahi, a resident of Illela who confessed that the only trade he knows is smuggling said life has been rough and tough for him and his cohorts since the closure of the border, as all business activities that depended on free movement of goods and persons across the border were completely grounded.
He said, “The border closure really crippled commercial activities around here. It is more dangerous for those of us that ply illegal routes.
“Since the border closure, those of us that operate with rickety vehicles and fitted additional fuel tanks to store 100 or more litres of petroleum products and smuggle to Niger Republic under the cover of darkness to return to Nigeria with smuggled bags of rice are now on forced holiday.”
Even with the ban on sale of fuel at border towns and recent removal of subsidy on petrol, smuggling of the product through illegal and porous routes around Illela border town has not abated.
Investigations revealed that though petroleum product is a scarce commodity within the border town, residents and motorists travel to Gwadabawa, another local government to get their supply.
Prior to the closure of the border, they either carry bags of rice from Kwanni in Niger Republic to Illela or ferry passenger without ECOWAS passports either way through Gidan Kamin, Bakin Dutse, Geti, Babadede, Gidan Ketsu and Tabanni illegal route.
Nura Usman, our correspondent’s tour guide round Illela border town, corroborated Salmanu Abdullahi’s lamentation.
He said, “Because of our closeness with the Republic of Niger, anything that affects them affects us. This decision to close the Illela border with the Niger Republic like the last administration did in 2019, which lasted for about two years, has started affecting our lifestyle.
More than 100 trucks belonging to Dangote Cement Company and several other articulated vehicles were caught up in the web of the border closure at both ends of the Niger Republic and Nigeria.
Aminu Illela, a 38-year-old father of six with a thriving ice-block business, is right now in a dilemma as the border closure has paralysed his business.
In his narration, Aminu said, “The business I do is going to Niger Republic every day to buy iced blocks, bring to Illela and sell because they have constant electricity that is supplied to them from Nigeria, whereas, we don’t have electricity supply in Illela.
“I usually buy between N80,000 to N100,000 iced blocks every day to sell, but since the border was closed, there is no way to enter Niger Republic. I even heard that Nigeria has stopped supplying electricity to Niger.
“Right now, there is no business; we are surviving on the little money I saved. I hope the border will be reopened on time so that I don’t tamper with the capital for my business.
“I learnt that in Niger Republic, the people have started agonising over scarcity of fuel, cement, soft drinks and other perishable products that are brought in from Nigeria on a daily basis.”
The closure of the Illela border was not cheering news to traders at the Illela international cattle market, where thousands of traders in cows, rams, cattle, and camels, as far as Togo, Chad and Mali, converge for business.
Chairman of the cattle section, Bashir Zubairu, stated: “The market was the worst hit since the closure of the Illela land border, as herds of cows cannot be brought to the market.
“The decision to close the border was totally strange to nomadic herdsmen, who move about with their animals in search of pasture. Those who are already heading to Illela international cattle market had to divert their animals to other nearby countries. The scarcity of animals in the market reduced business activities and revenue in the market.
“As I speak with you, the closure of the border has started affecting our business negatively because the exchange rate of Naira to scarce CFA will make business dull.”
Worried by the threat of military operations to restore democratic order using the ECOWAS Standby Force, Alhaji Mijinyawa Auta, a PDP stalwart and transporter with articulated trucks plying Sokoto-Niamey routes, advised ECOWAS heads of states to exercise some restraint.
“Feelers from Niamey indicate that Niger Republic is upset with ECOWAS, particularly Nigeria. With the cut of electricity supply from Nigeria, Niger Republic is now experiencing darkness they have never seen before.
“The situation is so bad that hospitals cannot perform surgery on patients. Using generators as an alternative is not pocket-friendly, taking into consideration the exorbitant cost of fuel.
“Financial transactions have been blocked; they depend on food, especially from Nigeria, and that too has been blocked with the closure of land borders,” he stated.
Alhaji Aminu Dan’Iya, chairman, Sokoto State Customs Licensed Agents, also lamented the dilemma of over 100 of his members, who had been out of business since the border was closed.
The residents of the communities around Geidam and Mainesorowa, Nigeria-Niger border area in Yobe State, have said that the sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS over Niger military junta, especially the border closure, have crippled business activities in the area.
When our correspondents visited Geidam-Mainesorowa, Nigeria-Niger border villages such as Abbari, Bature-Wango, Bula-Barnaye, Garin-Gada, Ngomari and Adjuri of border junction, the communities expressed dismay that the border closure, since implementation, has hit them economically.
The chairman, Geidam Traders Association, who is also the zonal chairman of Fisheries Association, Yobe State, Alhaji Abdulrashid Abba, said attacking Niger among other sanctions will only create more hardship on the already existing privation necessitated by the activities of Boko Haram in the area.
“As border communities we are not in support of any military action against the Niger Republic. Immediately after the ECOWAS pronouncement 14 of us at the executive level met and openly opposed the decision because our area up to Damagaram and Kegime in Niger are part of former Kanem Borno hence we are one.
“Because of the border closure, a sachet of spaghetti that hitherto was sold at less than N300 is now over N500. President Bola Tinubu and indeed ECOWAS have to understand that we are not yet out of the Boko Haram crisis let alone igniting another crisis”.