GOMBE AND ITS CRAZY CAPITALISTS

GOMBE AND ITS CRAZY CAPITALISTS
When I left NEW DEMOCRAT newspapers early this month to newly established People’s Daily, the management of the latter decided to send me down to Gombe as their correspondent. Being an indigene is like sending me back home, and many congratulated me because I was leaving Abuja with its high cost of living. As an indigene of Gombe there are things I ought not to say about the state don rufa mana asiri, but the behaviour of Gombe marketers is a cause for concern for anyone, particularly an indigene.
It is pathetic in a state like Gombe and the state capital where majority of the marketers are Muslims that this is happening and nobody bother to talk. This attitude, by traders and marketers - concerning their exploitative, monopolistic and sometimes extortionist behaviour is second to none in this country. I have stayed in so many places including Kano, where they are attributed with ‘Kano ko dame kazo an fika’ but Kanawa have to bow down to these crazy capitalists called marketers in Gombe. Could you imagine that I bought a tablet of soap in Abuja N40, but in Gombe it is N45? Na Shehu mayun naira ga yawan sallah ba imani.
I am saying this not because I am experiencing this for the first time, but because what happened especially before and after Ramadan is condemnable. We all know what the common man went through in the past few months especially from April through August this year; the high cost of food stuff never witnessed in the history of the nation, shortage of foodstuff itself etc, but these people (the Gombe marketers) were, as I was told denying their counterparts in neighbouring Taraba to bring in yam to Gombe market because according to them that would bring the price of maize down thereby affecting the assumed profits they were to make.
For several weeks the Taraba yam marketers have to take their yam to Bajoga in Funakaye LGA to sell it to people from Yobe and Bauchi states. What is this for God sake? It is not only this. I was also told that the Association of Orange Sellers in Gombe market have a roster for their members dictating who and who could be allow to go and bring in orange from Makurdi to come and sell. In the specified days nobody is allowed to sell his orange except those specified by the leadership until those who brought in their completely sell their goods.
There was a time, I know this myself that Grains Merchants Association of Tudun Hatsi, Gombe would not allow marketers from South-East to go to village markets to buy grains by themselves. What they normally do was to be middle men – exploiting the two, the go to the village markets and buy from farmers at a very low price, let’s say a bag of maize sell N3000 in Tudu, when the go to the villages they will buy it at the rate of N1500 and sell it to these South-East marketers for N3500 claiming that they have to pay for transportation and other charges which if calculated will not be more than N100 per bag.
I cannot say it is pathetic rather unfortunate that in a Muslim society such is happening and scholars are not talking because the persons who engaged in such are members of ‘our’ Islamic group and contribute immensely to the group, and therefore they cannot draw their attention.
I feel a moral burden to write and tell the world that this is what is happening and if the authorities concern read this can at least talk to them and put sense into their heads.
Kabiru Danladi,
Lawanti Village, KM25 along Gombe-Bauchi Road,
Akko Local Government Area,
Gombe State.
Kblondon2003@yahoo.com
08054546764, 08035150369