Cow dealers in the southern part of the country from Nguru town in Yobe State have bemoaned the incessant losses incur as a result of their cows dying on transit.
This is caused by the longer numbers of days it takes to get the animals to their final destination as a result of bad roads connecting them to the other parts of the country.
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Speaking to Daily Trust on Sunday at the Nguru major cow market, one of the dealers, Alhaji Muhammad Dauda, popularly known as Alhaji Tiyal, said apart from the challenges they were facing in the South which involved the killing of their people and cows, they also experience huge loss as a result of the bad condition of the roads.
He said they would successfully buy their cows and get them ready for transporting to the Southern part of the country, but due to bad roads, some of them will fall sick while some even die.
“This is our major problem in this business. The South remains one of our biggest catchment areas where our cows are purchased. But to get the animals delivered successfully is the problem. Last week, I lost one cow, with another one getting sick. We had no option than to slaughter it and the price had to crash. This now happens almost every day and not to me only.
“The most dangerous place is Niger State. Anybody who supplies cows to the South prays to pass Niger State. Once you pass there, then they are likely to get to your destination successfully. For over seven years, we don’t ply routes like Birnin-Gwari and Tegina. We now go through Lambata and Bida, and still, they are not good.”
Alhaji Tiyal, who said he has been in the business for over 15 years, noted that it remained his biggest source of income, adding that he buys cows from Niger Republic because they are cheaper there.
“From here, we take our cows to Lagos, Isheri, Ibadan and Ilorin. Some of us take theirs to Lokpanta and other South eastern parts of the country. But sometimes, within these villages in the south, we encounter challenges. Some of them will burn and kill our cows and even our people.”
According to him, between 10 and 15 trailer loads of cows are sent to the South every week. “This is because of the rain. During the dry season, we take over 30 trailers from here to the South. The business is really employing many people and that is why we need to be considered too,” he explained.
The leadership of the cow dealers in Nguru also called on the federal government to repair the roads to improve their businesses and generate more employment for the citizens.
