From: Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
All timber markets across Bauchi State have been closed down indefinitely due to what operators described as oppression, extortion and maltreatment by Hunters council a security outfit under the Bauchi State Government.
The timber sellers on Monday embarked on a peaceful protest within the main timber market at the Muda Lawal market, Bauchi to express their displeasure over the situation they have allegedly found themselves in.
Chairman of Timber Sellers Association, Igbo branch, Barr Maduabuchi Okonkwo said that they were forced to take the hard decision because there was no alternative left for them.
Okonkwo said that in the last 4 months, 14 vehicles loaded with woods had been arrested and detained by the hunters and had to be bailed by the members a development he said is making life very difficult for them considering that they are not making much gains due to the increase in transportation cost.
He said members are losing not less than N3m daily each time a vehicle loaded with woods is arrested by the hunters.
Okonkwo said "the essence of the protest is that, for a long time Bauchi State Government stopped the sawing of wood in Bauchi forests so we decided to be going to the East to buy our wood."
"But when we come back to Bauchi, the same Government that stopped us from sawing wood in the state will still stop our wood and be given us different reasons and asking us different questions."
"And after that they seize our wood, after seizing our woods, and charge us to court and fine us, that is what we are protesting against. We are not sewing these woods from Bauchi State, we are sewing it from the East and mellaina tree is not found anywhere in Bauchi state unless in the forest."
Okonkwo said that, " We are getting mellaina from Benue, Anambra, and Kogi States, in fact all over the East but for the North, it is only in Taraba and close to Cameroon, not in Bauchi state. Bauchi State Government has outlawed sawing woods and we have since stopped in order to obey their laws, yet, they are arresting our vehicles with woods."
He said that the Hunters Association are the group arresting and detaining their vehicles loaded with woods and always fining them huge sums of money which he did not disclose before releasing their vehicles.
"We have been stressed and stretched so much, now we are saying, enough is enough, we can no longer bear it, we can no longer tolerate it, let them stop arresting our vehicles loaded with woods, let them stop holding our materials which we bought with our legitimate money. That is the reason you saw all of us here for a peaceful demonstration in Bauchi."
Asked what they actually want from the Government, he said that, "We want Government to warn the people that are disturbing us, let them stop arresting and holding our woods and the vehicles."
"We are pleading to the Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir to intervene. You can see that we are not violent, we are not cursing anyone but only pleading with the Governor to tell the hunters to stop tormenting us."
Okonkwo said, "From today, all timber markets in Bauchi state have been closed down indefinitely because we do not close the markets that means automatically what they are doing, we are happy. We are closing the market until they listen to us. Until then, the markets remain closed."
"God will provide what we will be eating until we reopen the markets, if we get to another point, we will beg to survive. Some of our members don't have what to eat but we have to make sacrifices to get the problem solved."
The Chairman of the Hausa section of the Timber Association, Ayuba Abubakar alleged that on each vehicle arrested, they pay not less than N150, 000 to get it released.
He said, they suffer to go to the far East to get the wood since it was banned in Bauchi state only to be arrested in Bauchi state lamenting that, "It is only in Bauchi state that we are victimised. We will pass through many states without any hitches."
Ayuba said that the members have lost their sources of livelihood due to the activities of the hunters in spite of the fact that they go outside of the state to get the woods.
He said, the membership of the Association across the state is over One million who all eke out their daily living from the various markets, calling on the Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir to act immediately before the situation degenerates.
The members of the association during the peaceful protest within the market, displayed placards with different inscriptions.
Effort to speak to the commander of the Hunters Association failed at the time of filing this report he was not in the office and his phone was not going thru. But we are still looking for him to get their side story.
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