By Ali Inuwa
A couple of years ago, Alhaji Mohammad Asheikh, 52, used to be a major transporter in Gamboru, headquarters of Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno.
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.
