Niger’s food economy remains under threat as attacks drive traders, farmers off roads

The roads may have reopened, but for many farmers, traders and drivers in parts of Niger State, the fear that forced them off the roads has not disappeared.

Earlier this month, commercial drivers along the Mokwa-New Bussa axis suspended loading and blocked roads in protest against repeated attacks, kidnappings and killings of motorists and passengers.

The action disrupted movement before police intervention led to the reopening of the roads on August 10.

But the return of vehicles has not restored normal economic activity.

Across Borgu, farmers say insecurity is making it difficult to reach their farms or move harvested crops to markets, while traders who once travelled to rural communities to buy food are increasingly staying away.

The disruption has created a chain of losses: farmers struggle to move produce, traders avoid risky routes, drivers lose passengers and income, while consumers face the consequences when supplies become scarce.

For Alhaji Danladi Abdullahi, treasurer of the Niger State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, the situation had become unbearable.

Abdullahi told DAILY POST that NURTW executives in New Bussa and Wawa alerted the state executive after drivers became increasingly concerned about attacks along the routes.

He said the state executive later received a call that drivers would not load passengers because of frequent kidnappings and killings of their colleagues.

According to him, six drivers were killed within the period, while about eight others remained in captivity. The union paid ransom for four victims, while one escaped.

Abdullahi said the union had yet to calculate the total amount spent because the incidents occurred in different locations, including Mokwa, Wawa, Gufanti and New Bussa.

“We don’t spend less than N3 million to secure a victim,” he said, adding that kidnappers sometimes demanded motorcycles in addition to ransom, with each costing more than N2 million.

In one case, he said the kidnappers demanded N80 million.

“Where do we get that from?” He asked.

Abdullahi noted that drivers were often the first targets because once a driver was captured, passengers were also exposed.

“If they get the driver, they will get the passengers,” he said.

The union treasurer added that the attackers sometimes blocked roads with large stones, forcing vehicles to stop.

The Chairman of the Niger State chapter of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, Alhaji Alhassan Usman Shiroro, also decried the rate of kidnappings in the state and appealed to drivers to remain calm, saying the government was working to tackle insecurity and make the roads safe and motorable.

The Niger State Police Command acknowledged that highway kidnapping incidents had occurred in the state but said it could not provide specific figures covering the incidents over time.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the police, the military and other security agencies had conducted joint clearance operations and patrols along vulnerable routes, while operational bases had been established at designated locations.

He said armoured personnel carriers, patrol vehicles, gun trucks, lorries and vans had been deployed, adding that increased visibility had improved response time to distress calls.

“Our collective efforts as security agencies have a significant impact in reducing the level of attacks,” Abiodun said, listing air operations, intelligence sharing, patrols and increased security visibility among measures helping to reduce attacks.

The police spokesman said arrests had been made, some terrorists neutralised during operations, while arms, ammunition and abducted victims had been recovered.

He said the measures would be intensified.

Abdullahi said the security intervention had also made a difference, with personnel deployed along affected routes, particularly around Babana and areas close to the national park.

He disclosed that patrol vehicles were provided by the state government, Mokwa Local Government, the area commander and the emir in tackling the situation.

DAILY POST reports that tollowing the intervention, NURTW officials met with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago and later with drivers, appealing to them to return to work.

The union leaders also said they had continued sharing information about unsafe routes and advised drivers to report incidents to security agencies and local authorities.

For residents, however, improved security has not immediately translated into confidence.

Malam Abubakar, a Wawa resident, told DAILY POST at Enagi that the situation had improved following the deployment of security personnel, particularly around the national park.

He stated that there had been no recent reports of kidnapping in his immediate area, but that residents remained afraid to travel.

“The situation has improved with the presence of security agencies, especially around the national parks where a lot of abductions and killings take place,” he said.

“Many people don’t want to travel that route for now. There is a lot of panic among our people,” he added.

That fragile confidence was again tested on August 21 when the police said suspected terrorists invaded Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages through Dekara District of Borgu and later attacked Kpenya mosque during prayers, abducting an unspecified number of people, while others escaped into a nearby forest.

The police said no life was lost and that a joint security detachment had been deployed for assessment and rescue operations.

For farmers in Borgu communities, insecurity has affected not only where they farm but also how they sell what they produce.

Musa Hamidu told DAILY POST that farmers sometimes move their crops to markets in groups or rely on drivers willing to travel the routes.

He the drivers take the produce to market and hand it to people who sell it before returning the proceeds to the farmers.

“But when tension rises”, Hamidu said, “farmers sometimes do not take their produce to market at all.”

“When there are a lot of products in a market, prices could drop. When they are scarce because farmers are unable to bring them to the market, it raises the prices,” he disclosed.

He explained that farmers could also be forced to sell cheaply when they transport their produce to market but buyers fail to arrive.

Hamidu said farmers in security-prone parts of Borgu Kingdom, including Borgu and Agwara LGAs, were farming less, with some no longer having access to their farms because parts of their communities had been overtaken by bandits and terrorists.

Hadiza Zubairu told our correspondent that markets in the affected areas were no longer as full because farmers could not transport their produce, making it difficult for families to provide for their children.

She said some farmers now depend on farms shared by others because they no longer have access to their own.

The insecurity has also changed how traders in Minna source food.

Hajiya Jummai, a Chanchaga-based trader, who visits markets across the state, said she previously travelled to Babana and other rural markets around Borgu to buy grains and other food items.

But, according to her, she stopped travelling to some of them because of insecurity.

“I usually go to Babana and others such as Mariga and Kontagora in the state, but the security situation made us stop,” she stated.

Jummai said traders feared attacks on markets, recalling incidents in the Borgu area where people were killed and kidnapped.

She also disclosed that a fellow market woman was kidnapped in a Shiroro market over two years ago and had still not returned.

Another trader, Mama James, said many traders, particularly yam dealers, had stopped travelling to distant village markets.

“We don’t go far again,” she said, adding that many farmers from whom traders previously bought yams had relocated from their communities because of insecurity.

With traders staying away from some village markets, markets closer to Minna have become alternatives.

Mama James said many traders now depend on Tungan-Goro, Chanchaga, popularly known as Kasuwan Alert, Beji, Paiko and other nearby markets.

Mallam Bello, a grain seller at Kure Ultra Modern Market, explained that traders now wait for farmers to bring their produce closer to the city.

“We just wait for villagers to bring their foodstuff to the Wednesday or Saturday market at Kure market or Thursday around Kasuwan Gwari market. We buy from them and store, or we order, they bring them by themselves,” he said.

The Arrangement Can Benefit Buyers

Buyers at Kasuwan-Gwadabe in Kure market said increased supplies when farmers bring large quantities of produce closer to Minna can push prices down.

But farmers say the benefit comes at their expense.

Mrs Hajara, a maize seller, said farmers now spend more transporting their produce because traders who previously travelled to their villages no longer come, with the additional cost eating into their profits.

The impact is also being felt in traditional rural markets. Wawa holds its market on Wednesdays, Babana on Mondays, Gufanti on Sundays, while New Bussa has markets on Mondays and Sundays.

Residents said the markets, especially Babana and Gufanti, previously attracted buyers from across Niger, the South-East and South-West, as well as neighbouring countries.

They bought maize, guinea corn, beans, cattle, rams and farming inputs, but residents said the markets are no longer as full as they used to be.

Mohammed, who has plied the routes for more than a decade, said insecurity had changed the economics of the business.

He stated, “Because people don’t travel like before, it’s affecting our financial situation. It’s becoming hard to care for families.”

According to him, he still travelled the roads while praying for protection and added that many passengers were afraid to travel.

Transport officials at Abuja Park in Minna, Lapai and Kpakungu similarly said insecurity had reduced movement along the affected routes and increased hardship for drivers.

For Niger, the lesson is clear: farmers and traders can adapt by changing markets, travelling in groups or relying on trusted drivers, but these are temporary coping measures, as they cannot replace secure roads.

In Borgu, security agencies have increased patrols and deployments, while transport unions are sharing information and advising drivers on unsafe routes.

Farmers and traders have also found alternative ways to keep food moving.

But the August 21 abduction at Kpenya Mosque shows how fragile the recovery remains.

For farmers, traders and drivers, the real measure of improvement will not simply be whether vehicles return to the roads. It will be whether farmers can safely reach their farms, traders can return to rural markets and drivers can move people and produce without fear.

Until that happens, the reopening of the roads will remain only a partial recovery, because when insecurity keeps food from moving freely from farms to markets, the cost is ultimately borne by everyone at the food table.