CATTLE TRADE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF   MAIGATARI ECONOMY IN JIGAWA STATE NIGERIA 1960-2010

ABSTRACT

This study examines cattle trade and its place in the development of Maigatari economy in Jigawa  state,  Nigeria  between  1960-2010.It  is  an  important  variable  in  the  country’s development  equation.  It  is  a  trade  dominated  by Nigerians  and  Nigeriens  including  a proportion of the local people. Then government  through the Ministry of  Agriculture and Natural Resources with the support of non-governmental  organization such as Directory of International Development (DFID) has been concerned with upgrading the sector as well as the contribution of the trade to the economic  development of the community. Government efforts have been focused on balancing the protein requirements of its citizens to achieve an acceptable human growth. This has failed due to inadequate consideration given to the cattle trade. This study recuperates the unsung history of cattle trade and highlights its proper place in the economic  development of Maigatari  community and Nigeria  in general.  Important aspects of  Maigatari economy,  especially cattle production and its spread effects to other sectors in the economy are brought into focus. Relying on the fieldwork data, derived from oral  Interview and written data elicited from libraries and other stakeholders in the cattle sector, the study evaluates the impact of the trade on the economy and people of Maigatari. The research shows that an increase in cattle production created a good atmosphere for cattle trade. Also the cattle trade has been a source of income and nutritional products. In spite of all  these  benefits,  cattle  trade  is  faced  with  problems  such  as  farmer/grazier  conflicts, harassment on the road, and lack of funds on the part of the cattle rearers, insecurity, and lack of education. Based on the available data from the fieldwork, the work presents suggestions on  how  government   and   other   agencies   could   come  together   to   foster   sustainable development in the cattle trade not only in Maigatari but also in Nigeria at large. The method of research applied of quantitative as well as qualitative, chronological and inter- disciplinary thematic with 1960-2010 as the time frame.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Maigatari town is the headquarter  of Maigatari  Local Government  Area, found  in Jigawa State of Northern Nigeria. It is located about 139 kilometers from Dutse, the  state capital, as shown in map 1. The population of Maigatari was estimated in the 2006 national population census to be about 17,715  inhabitants.1   The inhabitants of the area  are mainly Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Igbo and Yoruba. Maigatari is bordered in north by Niger Republic and in the South by Gumel Local Government  Area (LGA).  It shares  borders with Sule Tankarkar LGA, to the east and Malam Madori (LGA) to the west and north east with Yobe State. Maigatari covers an area of 1500 square meters out of which 1250 square kilometers serve as grazing and cattle route2. The area lies in the  geographical zone known as Sahel- savanna.

The cattle market of Maigatari is located at the extreme end of Northern Nigeria and shares a common border with Niger Republic (See Map I) besides cattle, the market, like all Nigerian markets, sells a variety of goods, including food items such as millet,  fish, sauce ingredients, vegetable and other agricultural produce.

Cattle trade is a major pillar of the local economy and even though many people specialize  in trade in a variety of animals, such as cattle, camels, donkeys,  horses, goats, sheep  and  chicken,  among  others,  cattle  remains  the  predominant  article  of trade  in the market; hence the name Maigatari Cattle market.

The market was established in 1929 as a stop-over by merchants from Niger Republic coming to Nigeria to sell raffia, potash and cattle.3.  From its humble beginning, the market,

over time, has attracted people from different places such as Igbo land and the Yoruba land.

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Map I: Showing the Study Area

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Initially, sheds meant for other goods in the town served as collecting and exporting center for the various cattle merchants. Some of the cattle were imported while some were bred in Nigeria and exported to other neighboring countries.4

The vegetation is predominantly grassland.  The Sahel- savannah vegetation  covers

most  of  the  landscape.   Four   types  of  grasses   dominate   the  grass  field;   these   are Dectyloctaniun,  (gude-gude)  Denchrus,,  Digitaria, and paspalum. Maigatari  experiences  a climatic condition similar to that of the Sahara desert and is faced with the problem of desert encroachment and scanty annual rainfall5. The climatic condition and  soil type support the cultivation of cowpea, sorghum, millet and beans, groundnuts, maize, and benniseed.

The town has a network of roads: one route goes southwards and links Kano, Gezawa Koguyan Sabuwa, Garki Dadinduniya, Danladi, Kakuditsuru, and Gumel. A northern route goes from Dingas, Bangaya, Dogo-dogo, to Maigatari. The western route runs from Malam- Madori  through  Gumel  to  Maigatari  while  an  eastern  route  runs  from  Babura  through Yandamo,   Sule Tankarkar  and Gumel to Maigataria (as shown  in Map II). A track road leads   from Maifaru via Danmakama, Dangwanki   to  Maigatari 6. There are various other trade routes that are linked with Maigatari.   For example through the routes, commodities were transported by motor vehicles as well as by pack animals within and outside Maigatari community.  Cattle  and  other  items  from  Maigatari  are  sold  in  local,  state  and  regional markets,  especially  within  neighboring  communities  and  the  southern  parts  of  Nigeria.

Maigatari is not connected to rail and water transport.

Map II: Showing the trade routes and sources of cattle sold in Maigatari Cattle Market (as indicated by the arrows).

Like other parts of Nigeria, Maigatari has two climatic seasons: the rainy season and the  dry  season:  The  rainy  season  spans  from  June  to  September  with  an  interval from September to November. This period is called “kaka”(in Hausa language), harvesting period. Hamattan  (sanyi  in  Hausa  language)  caused  by cold  and  dusty  northeast  winds  occurs between October and February. The dry season usually has a  high temperature; the mean

annual temperature is about 44oC.

In distant  pre-colonial  times,  the rainfall in the  area was less scanty than it is  at present.  The rainfall  in those  times  supported  some  forest  vegetation  with rich  wildlife. However, with time, human activities greatly diminished  most of the primeval  vegetation. The annual burning of savanna trees by cattle rearers for pasture and the felling of trees for

agriculture, fuel, and building purposes has greatly denuded the grass fields of most of their natural vegetation.

Maigatari, like some other Nigerian towns, promoted and still promotes cattle trade as a principal  agent  of  socio-economic  development.  Cattle  made  their  first  appearance  in Maigatari grass fields from Niger and spread to other parts of Nigeria many centuries ago7.

The market holds weekly on Thursdays, though some transactions start on Wednesday and

goes on up to Saturday. The market is patronized  by both Nigerians  and Nigeriens.  This business  between  Nigerian  and  Niger  Republic  merchants  has  continued  to  attract  more traders from all over Nigeria. Hence, the merchants converge at the village every week.

Over  time¸  Maigatari  livestock  market  gradually  metamorphosed  into  a  popular rendezvous for selling various kinds of animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, camels, donkeys, horses and local chickens; but cattle is the most prominent of all the  livestock sold in the market.  Also,  some craft items produced  locally are sold; such  as  calabash,  leather,  and knives.  Ploughs,  local  chairs,  hats,  and  pots  amongst  others,  are  exchanged  for  some commodities that are not produced in Maigatari. These include yams, gari, sugarcane, potash, clothes, kola nuts, palm oil and oranges, amongst others from other places.

The organization of trade in Maigatari is predominantly in the hands of the Hausa and is complex.  Only some minor changes have occurred in the organization since its inception8. The market was headed by Sarkin Kasuwa under the custody of Maigatari Local Government

Authority and Jigawa State government. He was assisted by some officials from both local and state  governments  to supervise  the smooth running of market affairs. These  officials include vigilante groups, the police, revenue collectors and inspectors.

It is not possible to give accurate data or a sound quantitative analysis of the number of cattle supplied to Maigatari cattle market during this period of study due to scanty data on the  subject  matter.  However,  useful  hints  collected  from both written  records  and  other

sources  suggest  that  a  growing  number  of  cattle  were  sourced  from  different  places. According to Maigatari Livestock Veterinary Control Post (M LVCP) records, cattle supplied to Maigatari in 1995, stood at 16,243. The figures recorded as follows: 14,771 cattle in 1996;

and 17,370 in 2006 and then dropped to 15,770 in 2007.9 Same sources show that the number

reached 2000 cattle per week in 2011, goats and sheep’s, 1500; donkeys, 1000 and 500 for camels and 200 for horses.  It needs to be stressed that not all cattle that enter the Maigatari pass through the MLVCP.

As  the  population  of  Nigeria  increases,  there  have  been  more  mouths  to  feed. Livestock products, especially cattle beef, constitute a significant part of the diet  for more than 50% of the population. Other products like milk, hides and skins, and butter, are highly consumed in parts of the country, especially in the east, west, and the middle belt as well as

outside Nigeria.10

One of the major challenges confronting Maigatari cattle trade is how to feed  this growing population.  This requires developing a strategy for livestock production  facilities and capable institutions to harness the potentials of animals traded. It is needless to emphasize

the role cattle plays in the economic development of Nigeria.  Agriculture is the main stay of

Maigatari  economy,  over  70% of the population  engage  in this activity,  which  includes farming, food processing and livestock production. Red Mbororo breed of cattle dominates other cattle species in terms of the number reared and the life of the people revolves around cattle. While men head and sell cattle, women engage in subsidiary activities such as milking the animal, preparing butter and selling the by-products.11

Cattle breeding serves as the main source of animal protein for the people, and three major  variants  of  extensive  cattle  production  system  have  remained  predominant.  They include the pure pastoralists for whom cattle breeding is the main, if not the only economic, pursuit. The agro-pastoralists  practice  crop farming and at the  same time rear cattle. The

extensive system of cattle rearing is based on indigenous breeds of long horn cattle notably the Red Mbororo in Nigeria in general, particularly in Maigatari, Jigawa State12.

Before Nigeria’s independence, cattle trade in Maigatari was administered under the Land and Native Authority Ordinance. Cattle control rules were enacted in Northern Nigeria by colonial government. This remained in vogue until the British colonized Northern Nigeria.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria became independent on 1st  October, 1960 and attained her

republican status in1963. The post colonial government’s interest in the cattle trade focused on increased  production  of livestock.  In the past,  cattle  development  strategies  failed  to increase the number of productive animals due to appropriate packages of technology13. In

2007,  as  a  result  of  the  government  interest  in  increasing  livestock  productivity,  some

measures  were  taken  to  bring  about  an  improvement  in  the  sector.  These  include  the following:

1.        Construction of boreholes

2.        Construction of good roads

3.        Reduction of tax per head of livestock from N200 to N100 and later from N100  to

N50.

4.        Granting of soft loans to farmers, especially with regard for animal rearing or production.

5.        Creation of a government   veterinary pharmaceutical office.

The government of Jigawa State promotes Maigatari cattle trade as a principal agent of socio-economic and cultural development by establishing a free border market  zone for every individual  to come and invest. Being the largest market  for cattle in  the state, the development and contribution of Maigatari in cattle trade and its economic and social impact have been widely recognized. It is up to the government to put in more effort to make the

cattle  trade  attains  its  full  potentialities14.  Onwuka  Njoku  states  that,  development  is

concerned  with  how  best  to  harness  available  human  and  natural  resources,  so  that  the productive forces in society are released. This involves economic utilization of manpower in a  way  that  not  only  raises  productivity  but  also  makes  it  self  -generating  and  self  –

sustaining15

Statement of the Problem

There is a potent domestic cattle trade sector in Maigatari which is  predominantly informal,  consisting of many subsistence  enterprises,  but with a huge  contribution  to the economy of the study area.   This is in addition to some other  market activities, spreading across the towns and villages of the study area; most of these have indirect nexus with the cattle trade.

Before now, research attention  on cattle trade has been focused mostly on  Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Lagos. Maigatari has not been given any research attention since its emergence as a cattle market in the 1960s. Yet, the town plays an important role in this aspect of the economy.  In fact, Maigatari occupies a leading  place  in the cattle trade and other commercial  activities.  It enjoys  the status  of a  town  with a very fast  growth  of trading activities. Most of these commercial activities, like cattle trade and crafts, have not gained the attention of historians. The neglect of this market town by researchers leaves a lacuna in our understanding of the economy of the area over time; For instance, with respect to distribution of agricultural products and imports within Jigawa state. Maigatari plays a central role. It also serves as an entrepot in the trade of Jigawa State and neighboring states as well as with Niger Republic. The need to fill out this lacuna therefore can hardly be over-stressed.

Purpose of the Study

The  broad  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  research  cattle  trade  in  Maigatari  from  a historical perspective. In this regard, the following issues will be investigated and analyzed: the genesis and organization of the trade, and the role played by cattle as an epicenter of trade

in Maigatari. Factors such as environmental, location and political, that have aided the rise of cattle trade to prominence and those which have impeded it from attaining its full potentials will also be discussed.

Significance of the Study

The study has both academic and practical significance.  Firstly, by filling in  some niches in the existing  literature,  the study will be advancing scholarly  knowledge  on the subject matter. Speculations arising from lack of knowledge of the subject will be laid to rest. Hopefully, this study will also stimulate further research in related areas. Secondly, the place of  this  trade  in  creating  a  bond  of  unity  among  the  people  of  diverse  ethnic  origins participating  in it should  be of immense  benefit  to Nigeria  currently  grappling  with the problem of nation building. The example of unity in diversity can be copied and applied in the sociology of a diversified nation of different cultures.

Thirdly, the job opportunities which cattle trade provides would be discussed along with its socio-economic benefit. This is of special significance in view of the alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria, such  jobs as those of revenue collectors, security personnel, cattle agents otherwise known as (Dillalai)  transporters, animal residue collectors butchers known as “Pawa”, food vendors (Dako) and haulage businessmen. This will reduce the prevailing level of unemployment and increase economic growth by giving jobless youths a means to gain some income.

Fourthly,  the  study  hopes  to  provide  useful  data  and  suggestions  to  guide  the government in finding ways to instill nationalism, patriotism, mutual trust and confidence by coming together through trade, especially among Nigerians from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds and some effective ways in unifying citizens.  Fifthly, the study will shed useful light on the immense benefit of the bilateral understanding between Nigeria and Niger Republic and possibly with other countries.

Theoretical Framework

The theory of location advantage is very apt as a tool of analysis in this work and will be applied. This theory states that a town, district or region can be very advantaged as a result of its strategic geographical location. Such location confers superior advantage to the region, town or district in relation to its neighbors. This theory is very much akin to the theory of comparative  advantage  popular  among  economists  such  as  David  Ricardo.  In  fact,  the location  theory is concerned  with the  geographical  location  of  economic  activity;  it has become  an  internal  part  of  economic  geography  and  regional  science.  It  addresses  the question of what economic activity that takes place where: and why in a sense of comparative

advantage 16

Maigatari market rose to pre-eminence  from the 1960s as a result of the  following considerations. First, it is strategically located and mediates trade between Niger Republic to the north and    Nigeria to the south. Niger Republic is a major  cattle  breeder with scanty domestic  market.  On  the  other  hand,  Nigeria  with  its  huge  population,  land  mass  and economic power, is a huge market for cattle. Significantly, livestock does not breed well in most parts of Nigeria, especially the southern parts which are tsetse fly infested, characterized by many months of heavy rainfall and relative   but seasonal absence of adequate grass or fodder.

Secondly,  Maigatari  is  headquarters  of  Maigatari  Local  Government  Area.  This position enables it to pull commercial activities  to itself. This makes it a nerve  center of administrative  and  political  activities  which,  in  turn,  generate  considerable  commercial activities

Third, Maigatari is the nerve center of a network of roads that links it with many commercial centers not only in Nigeria but in countries bordering Nigeria. This  locational

advantage  gives  the  town  a  strong  pull  effect  on  the  neighboring  and  even  distant communities with which it has trade relations.

Scope of the Study

The study focuses on Maigatari in Jigawa state and its linkages to cattle trade. The time frame covers the period 1960– 2010; that is a period of fifty years. There are reasons for the time span. The year 1960 was chosen because, although Maigatari cattle market had been in existence since 1929, it was only in 1960 that a road link was constructed to link the town and  Kano,  the  commercial  emporium  of Northern  Nigeria.  The advent  of that  road  link resulted in a huge expansion of the cattle industry in Maigatari. Cattle dealers who had used Kano as their base began to explore and exploit the potentials of Maigatari. And the business has grown with the passage of time.

This work terminates in 2010 because that was the year the Jigawa State government, through the Net Care Limited, made a serious attempt to ascertain the volume of cattle traded in Maigatari. Secondly, by 2010 the government had set up a committee to look into recurrent farmer-pastoralist  conflicts  in the state.  The committee  visited  Niger  Republic.  All these efforts were geared towards boosting cattle production and cattle trade at Maigatari.

Sources and Methods

The data for this research were elicited from two sources: namely primary sources and secondary sources.   Primary data were collected from oral informants. Most of  whom are very informed on the subject of this research, primary material were gotten from Jigawa State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (JARDA), Jigawa  State Empowerment  and Development Strategy Summit, and Maigatari Local Government Revenue and Agriculture Departments.    The  secondary  sources  include  literature  and  data  relevant  to  the  work, available in various university libraries in Nigeria, such as University of Nigeria Nsukka and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

As is the vogue in contemporary research works; this study employs interdisciplinary approach  by  borrowing  the  tools  of  related   disciplines   like   Economics,   Geography, Sociology, Statistic etc. Such tools include the use of theories, tables, percentages and ratios. The chapter arrangement combines themes with chronology while the discussion and analysis of issues combine the qualitative with the quantitative approach, as available data permit. The grouping of ideas into chapters is based on specific historical benchmarks.

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