Borno’s economy groans under the yoke of Boko Haram insurgency
His company — Gamboru Transport Company – then had about 15 trucks in its fleet.
However, Asheikh is now a pauper living on charity, as his once-thriving business has collapsed; thanks to the Boko Haram insurgency.
Recounting his ordeal, Asheikh said that his business nosedived after suspected Boko Haram insurgents launched several attacks on his vehicles on different routes.
“I used to be a major transporter in Gamboru; I had about 15 vehicles, mostly trailers and articulated lorries.
“Unfortunately, I lost everything within a very short time to Boko Haram attacks,” he said.
Asheikh said: “It all started in November 2013 when I lost three trailers conveying goods from Kano to Maiduguri during an attack in Benishiekh, the headquarters of Kaga LGA.
“The trailers were destroyed in an early morning attack by the insurgents, who also killed the drivers.”
He said that he lost another trailer in December 2013 in another attack within the same vicinity in Benisheikh.
“When the November attacks occurred, we asked our drivers to hold on for a while but as soon as they started operation in December, one of my trailers was attacked again in Benisheikh,” he moaned.
Asheikh said that he lost three other vehicles in a row in Mafa in January 2014.
“In January this year, I lost three articulated vehicles conveying cement to the Republic of Cameroun during an attack in Mafa, headquarters of Mafa LGA.
“I also suffered another huge loss in May when I lost three trailers at the Ngala park,” he said, adding: “The trailers were burnt while they were loading cows for transportation to the southern part of the country.
“As it is now, I have lost everything but I thank God that I am still alive,” he added.
Asheikh, who is currently taking refuge in a friend’s house in Maiduguri, said that he had been surviving on the goodwill of his friends and former associates.
He, however, noted that a number of people similarly had a harrowing experience as a result of the insurgency.
“So many people have lost their means of livelihood to the insurgency; we believe that the whole thing is a trial from God and it will end one day,” he said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Alhaji Bello Maduganari, the Chairman of the Maiduguri chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said that several members of the union suffered a similar fate.
He specifically said that the Boko Haram violence had destroyed the livelihood of over 1, 000 members of the union in the last few years.
“We lost over 50 members between January 2013 and August 2014, due to attacks on major roads by the insurgents.
“Besides, more than 1,000 commercial vehicles were destroyed during the Boko Haram attacks,” he said, adding: “In Bama alone, over 200 commercial vehicles were destroyed.”
Maduganari, however, noted that the situation was not different in other places like Damboa, Konduga, Mafa, Dikwa and Marte, among others.
“We have large number of members who are now unemployed, as their vehicles were destroyed in the attacks.
“At present, most of them have nothing to do because they have lost their means of livelihood,” he added.
The NURTW leader said that some of the union members had resorted to begging, all in a desperate need to eke out a living.
‘In all honesty, the situation is quite terrible but we thank the state government for providing occasional aid for our members, particularly during festivities.
“Last Sallah, the state government donated bags of rice, sugar and other food items to the union; we shared out these items to our members in need,” Maduganari said.
Also speaking, Alhaji Modu Bukar, the Chairman of the Monday Market Traders Association, said that the insurgency had virtually destroyed the economic base of the state.
“As I am speaking to you now, over 3,000 traders have been pushed out of business in Maiduguri alone. Traders from Bama, Gamboru, Biu and other towns have also suffered huge losses,” he said.
Bukar, nonetheless, noted that traders in the Monday Market were quite lucky to have survived several attempts to set the market ablaze.
“The Bama market was set ablaze in 2011 and the entire structure was reduced to ashes.
“Although government awarded a contract for the market’s reconstruction, the insurgents returned several times to destroy the new market under construction,” he added.
Bukar said: “In Beneshiekh, Marte and other places, several lock-up shops constructed by the government have been completely razed.
“Even in places like Baga and Konduga, fishing villages were attacked on several occasions and hundreds of people were killed.”
Bukar lamented that the development had created an army of unemployed persons across the state.
He appealed to the Borno State Government and the Federal Government to initiate an economic empowerment programme to tackle the growing unemployment crisis.
Commenting on the issue, Dr Ibrahim Umara of the Department of Political Science, University of Maiduguri, described the situation as pathetic.
He stressed that the Borno State Government must initiate a holistic approach towards revamping the state’s economy after the end of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Reacting, Gov. Kashim Shettima said that his administration was aware of the economic problems created by the Boko Haram crisis.
Shettima said that the government was working on plans to secure a N2 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for small-scale industrialists in the state.
He said that the rationale behind the move was to kick-start the state’s economy by providing soft loans to entrepreneurs whose businesses were affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
“The CBN has accepted to provide a N2 billion loan to small-scale industrialists in the state.
“Part of the money will be distributed to our businessmen in different parts of the state as loan to enable them to revive their businesses, which were destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgency,’’ he said.
Shettima said that the government will also look at the possibility of extending the loan to members of the state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) because of their role in maintaining the state economy.
“We are also making contact with the Bank of Industry to secure a N1 billion loan for our industrialists to enable them to replenish their business,’’ he added.
The governor, however, expressed some reservations on the interest rate being charged on loans by the country’s financial institutions.
“My fears on these loans have to do with the interest element; if the interest rate goes beyond two digits, it will be difficult for industrialists to break even and still pay back the loan,’’ he said.
Nevertheless, Shettima said that the state government would take the responsibility of paying the interest on the loan, while the beneficiaries would be expected to pay back the loan only.
Also speaking, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, the Deputy Governor, said that plans were underway to distribute 500 buses to NURTW members in the state on loan basis to cushion the effect of the insurgency.
Mustapha told newsmen in Maiduguri that the state government would also subsidise the vehicles by 50 per cent to enable the beneficiaries to achieve a breakthrough and make profits.
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