It may sound ironic that the slogan of Borno State is ‘Home of Peace’, especially at this time. The reality is that Maiduguri, the state capital, founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British Colonial Administration, still wears a peaceful look in spite of several attacks. Its beauty is obvious and embellished with breathtaking layout and atmosphere that keeps one wondering if the place is in Nigeria. It is dawn by 5am, while the sun is ready to rise by 6 am.
It is amazing how the roads of Maiduguri are spaciously laid. The city has one of the best layouts in Nigeria, and the vivid colour that the Neem trees (popularly known as Dogonyaro) add to the city is a beauty no state in Nigeria can match. It is near impossible to walk in the city of Maiduguri and suffer dehydration because the rich green trees are everywhere; synthesizing and shielding the inhabitants of from the cruel sun.
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Maiduguri was home to the Kanem-Bornu Empire for centuries. The town consists of two cities: Yerwa to the west and Old ‘Maiduwuri’ to the east. Old ‘Maiduwuri’ was selected by the British as their military headquarters while Yerwa was selected by Shehu Abubakar Garbai of Borno to replace Kukawa as the new traditional capital of the Kanuri people. Maiduguri is home to three markets which include an ultra modern “Monday market” (now daily). There is an ancient museum served by the Maiduguri International Airport. Maiduguri’s Kyarimi Park is also the oldest and largest zoo in Nigeria that attracts thousands of visitors every year before the Boko Haram’s onslaught.
Unfortunately, the fury of the Islamic insurgents in Borno State has expectedly beclouded many including the media from capturing several positive aspects of the state and the peculiarity of its people. The Bama attack; the Baga attack; the Gwoza attack; the Chibok abduction; the Attagara massacre and other multiple attacks in Borno villages have all enjoyed adequate media attention; though not accurately reported in most instances because none was on the spot. Most have been reported from afar while quoting ‘credible’ and incredible sources; and thus leaving out certain information people, especially investors need to make an informed decision on whether to visit the trouble state or not.
While it may not be advisable at the moment to venture into business of any kind in some troubled Borno town and villages following increased insecurity, the city of Maiduguri presents a golden opportunity to positive thinking investors to partner with the locals who understand the business environment of the state. The Borno State Government still rakes in between N4 to N6 million daily internally in spite of the security challenges. This is evidence that people still work and trade in the state and paying their taxes and levies to the government accordingly. First Bank of Nigeria PLC, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) are some of the heavyweight financial institutions represented in Maiduguri. They are not in Maiduguri for joke! It is not ‘ghost’ that transact business with them. They are in Maiduguri not as none-profit organisation but as profit oriented institutions using customers’ money to do business. Shops are not closed in Maiduguri; all the modern and ancient markets do business. Security agencies may have failed in Borno villages but in fairness to them, they have not failed in the city of Maiduguri. The city is heavily secured. The watertight security arrangement in the city is a challenge to the terrorists. Abuja, Nigeria’s Seat of Power, has recently received bomb attacks than the city of Maiduguri.
Amazingly and ironically, while the media and those who do business with it paint a picture of a deserted Maiduguri without relevance in present Nigeria’s economy, risk takers ‘Maidugurians’ and those with business foresight are taking advantage of the situation to make money. At the moment, the population of Maiduguri is increasing daily following the mass exodus of people from villages that have been attacked. This, according to some experts, would mean increase in demand for agricultural produce; since most of the people who fled their homes were farmers.
“You know the residents of some of these villages that have been attacked by the insurgents are farmers. The implication of this is that, there will be shortage of agricultural produce. And mind you, the insurgents have been carrying a lot of food stuffs lately. So, commercial farmers who are bold enough to take farm produce to Maiduguri will definitely make more money than anywhere else in Nigeria. It is a situation people can really take advantage of”, Steve Adebayo, a business development experts told BD SUNDAY in Maiduguri.
He went further to identify other areas investors might be interested in Maiduguri to include: Rescue and Emergency where, according to him, the National Emergency Management (NEMA) has not been able to live up to the expectation of Nigerians in rescuing survivors of the Boko Haram attacks.
“Private sector can partner with the federal and state governments in this regards. You cannot blame NEMA for not responding swiftly to the plights of victims of the attacks. What do you do when adequate security is not provided? What would NEMA do in situations like what happened in Attagara where days after the killing, the Military were yet to visit the place? I think government will also welcome such partnership. I believe privately managed rescue team will do better. Health facility is another area of investment I believe the Borno State Government would be willing to partner with the private sector. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that many are not willing to go there to see for themselves because of the way the city is battered in the media”, he said.
Another peculiar characteristic of the residents of Maiduguri is that, they are not deterred by the activities of the insurgents. They are fearless, resolute, rugged and dogged in the face of global media blacklisting and blackmailing. They go about their daily businesses like any other place in the country. No harassment! No laziness! The Igbos are there; selling motor spare parts, CDs, CVDs, phones, computers, electrical appliances, and other commodity they are known for. The Yoruba are there; the South-Southerners are there! All tribes in the country are adequately represented in Maiduguri; smiling and doing business with their host who seems to have strong appetite for BBQ business. Suya spots are almost everywhere, and no discrimination as Muslims and Christians share the same faith in the business potential of Maiduguri that still makes many smile to the bank. BD SUNDAY can report authoritatively that the situation in Maiduguri is opposite of what is reported.
Emeka Dominic, a resident of Maiduguri from Abia State who deals in electrical appliances told BD SUNDAY in Maiduguri that the security threat in the city cannot be over emphasised, the city has not been objectively reported in the media.
“I have been here for more than seven years. I was skeptical before I decided to come here from Onitsha. I have fully settled down here. My business is doing well and I know business will do better as security improves in the city. The Military are really trying here. My main concern is that what I read and listen to in the media are not accurate. Whenever my people call from home to say they hear so and so happened in Maiduguri, I usually wonder. They do not tell Nigerians we need them to come here and do business with us. We must all join hands as Nigerians to help the state survive economically. As you can see, I am an Igbo man doing business here. Since the Igbos are still here, there is no cause for alarm; because as the saying goes, ‘anywhere in the world you go and did not find Igbos, then run for your life’. Sometimes business is dull and that is not peculiar to Maiduguri”, he said.
Gift Nweke, another resident from Anambra State, said life was relatively cheaper in Maiduguri. She said with N300 she could go to the market and buy items she would use in preparing a pot of soup that will carry her further into the week. “With N30 you can get enough vegetable. I like it here. The place is amazing despite the terror threats. Things are more expensive in the East and in the South-South. With N30, 000 you can get a decent self-contained apartment here for one year. Roof over one’s head and feeding are very essential. The transport fare here is cheaper. Life is generally quiet here and I like it”, she said.
Gift, whose boss is a Maiduguri indigene, said the people of Maiduguri are culturally kind and fair to strangers, adding that ‘Maidugurians’ also like buying expensive things. “They like high quality materials. If you bring any thing that is of low quality here you will buy it yourself! People who want to come to Maiduguri should come. Bombings do not take place here regularly; just know where to go and where to avoid. People move freely here. Life has gone back to normal. Gone are the days when the terrorists strikes at will”, she said.
Abubakar Mohammed, Gift’s boss, also spoke to BD SUNDAY in Maiduguri. He said the peace in the metropolis was as a result of the corporation among residents to chase the insurgents out of Maiduguri city. According to him, even when the Military took over the security of the state following the State of Emergency declared by the Federal Government, the insurgents were still carrying out incessant attacks on innocent residents.
“Things have really changed for the better in Maiduguri since we decided to corporate. It got so bad at the time even with the presence of soldiers that we decided to involve everyone by carrying cutlasses and sticks and chased them out of the place. The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) has also been very helpful in the struggle to stop the insurgents from operating in Maiduguri. It was a miracle; the insurgents carrying guns started running from us carrying cutlasses and sticks. It was corporation that did the magic for us. Businesses are back to the metropolis, but unfortunately the media has refused to report that aspect so that those who may be nursing the interest to come will do so. We are not terrorists that every Nigerian must be told to avoid. It is just few who have decided to terrorize us. There are business opportunities here for those who want them. Borno State share boundary with three countries: Chad, Niger and Cameron. These countries depend heavily on Nigeria for the survival of their respective economies. So, if you invest here, you have the opportunity to take your goods to these countries and make money”, he said passionately while urging government to increase its efforts at the fight against insurgency.
Mu’ aza Isa Mado, general secretary, Fish Producers/Marketers Association (FPMA), told BD SUNDAY in Baga Motor Park, Maiduguri that dried fish marketing in the state was a lucrative business.
He said statistics has recently shown that about 90 percent of fish produced in Nigeria was sold in the local market as cheap source of protein to the growing population. “The challenge we had then was that because of the attack in Baga sometime last year, many fishermen fled the area. Many people were afraid to continue fishing in the lake. But the fish market here in Maiduguri is doing very well as you can see. We have trucks still coming here to deliver goods, the place is not as bad as it is been reported. This is the largest dried fish market in West Africa”. He said.
In April 2013, over 2000 homes in Baga were destroyed and over 185 died in a fight between the Nigerian Military and the Boko Haram Islamist group. Baga, approximately 196km from Maiduguri, is close to Lake Chad. Its “Doron Baga” fish market is located about six kilometres from the town. Baga was a fishing center in the 1960s and 1970s, but the diminishing size of the lake has caused fishermen to move, and others have turned to subsistence farming before the reign of terror in the state. The fish marketers’ scribe however said normalcy was also gradually returning to Baga.
NATHANIEL AKHIGBE
