Shehu Usman Jibril is the chairman of Mile 12 International Market. In this interview with Newsbreak’s Oluwafemi Ashaolu, Jibril, who hails from Sokoto State, talks about the proposed relocation of the market, last month’s food blockade to South, farmers/herders crises and other issues.
You studied Political Science at the University of Calabar. How did you venture into administration of Mile 12 International Market?
The target of going to school is not that you have to be in the formal sector. You will find yourself among people where you can express yourself, where you can do things. Today, you see people who studied Agriculture in school but are in the banking sector. You will find people who studied Engineering working in banks. That is the Nigeria of today for you.
My aim of going to school was not to work for government. I just wanted to be Independent. Today in the market where I am, I am doing my business. And the way it is in business, just as somebody who was elected as a house of assembly member, when you are in the house, your intention is not to go there to become the speaker, but to represent the people. Then along the line if you are given the opportunity, people see the prospect in you and they believe you can do something, then they can make you leader of the house, speaker of the house. Some can get to the level of deputy speaker and so on.
So my aim of going to school was to be educated, be among people, work with those people I can mingle with. It makes it easier for me to communicate and I have seen the impact of education severally. Like we were in Brazil and Brazilians don’t speak English or Spanish. They speak Portuguese. So how we were able to communicate was that I wrote what I wanted in English on their phones and they translated it to Portuguese and vice versa. If I hadn’t gone to school, they won’t translate Hausa for me. So market is a different thing, business is a different thing.
You were the former Financial Secretary of the market before you emerged as chairman. In the election that brought you into office, your opponent only got three votes as against yours which was 133 votes. How were you able to do that?
I was formerly the general secretary of the market, then later I became the financial secretary. That was before the election. And prior to that time, people believed in me because the former chairman, Alhaji Haruna Muhammed, would travel far to the north and leave me for like three months to handle the affairs of the market because he is a farmer. As a farmer, you have to be there to witness things yourself. So he would be in the north for almost three months. So people saw me as a semi or mini-chairman. So whenever the chairman was not around people believe in me to handle things.
So my experience as the former secretary and financial secretary of the market helped me. They believed I had the the experience and the person I defeated doesn’t have much experience in administration.
You speak Yoruba fluently. How long have you been in Lagos?
It’s not about how long. I was born and raised in Abeokuta, Ogun State. And of course, if you were born and bred in Abeokuta, Osogbo, Lagos, Oyo, you should be able to speak Yoruba fluently. I grew up with all my Yoruba friends and even in Lagos here, I have so many of them. This is a language that we listened to very well and speak very well. So it’s easier for us to speak it. Just like you have so many Hausa people in the Eastern part of the country; Enugu, Port Harcourt, Calabar and they speak Igbo very well as if they are Igbo as well.
We also have Yorubas in the North that speak Hausa very well. You won’t even be able to identify them as Yoruba and even Igbos too. So that is the mix.
The Lagos State Government under the former governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, wanted to relocate Mile 12 International Market to Agbowa in Ikorodu. So what happened?
That is why a lot of people are thanking me for emerging as chairman of Mile 12 International Market. At that time, the governor had the right to move whatever he wanted to move going by the constitution of the country. But in the case of former governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, I think with due respect, he didn’t do his homework very well that time because we have been here for almost 40 years.
The market was a thick bush before our grandfather came to make it what it is today, even though at that time, there was no development. People urinated outside, sold outside the market, there was traffic. And there used to be tribal fights. But when we came in, I changed all these things. And why I said the-then governor (Ambode) didn’t do his homework well is because where you were taking us to in Imota, is a place that is not even good for us at all.
Number one, there is no road there. Number two, it is a thick bush, no bank, and there are a lot of ritual practices along that axis. Majority of us here are Muslims. With the rituals there, there will always be clashes. So to us, it doesn’t solve the problem. For us, the governor (Ambode) could have said ‘what can we do’, how do we resolve this matter’?
Luckily enough for us, he left before taking the decision to relocate the market. And when this governor came in, he assured us that he is not going to move Mile 12 market provided two things are done. One, there should not be any fight. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said it time and again, that for Mile 12 market not to be relocated, there must not be any fight. Two, the market should not cause traffic. Three, the market shouldn’t be dirty. And to God be the glory, everything he mentioned, we have taken care of them. You can see that there is no traffic. I’ve been the market chairman now for over a year and half, there hasn’t been any fight. Even during the #EndSARS protests that people anticipated something would happen, nothing happened.
I was called by several dignitaries and I told them that Mile 12 market was in safe hands. At that time, the market was the most peaceful area in the state that anyone could just go to. We had to talk to those boys that we anticipated could foment trouble and they agreed with me for us to live in peace together. So the current governor of Lagos State assured us that he is not moving the market. Nobody has said any bad thing about Mile 12 market to the governor since I came in. There have been a lot of development, we have done so many things that impressed him. And I’m sure the governor too is happy with the way things are going in Mile 12 market.
Mile 12 is not more beautiful than it was before. People pass at night and say ‘this is nice’. How did these initiatives come?
Of course, as an experienced administrator of the market, I told you earlier that I’ve been the market secretary and the financial secretary. And from the inception of this market till date, body has ever occupied the offices I’ve held. I’ve been the secretary and the financial secretary.
Since the establishment of this market, nobody has held those positions like I did. Now I’m the chairman. Those are the key positions in the market. When you hold one, you are good to go, but I have the three altogether, so if I don’t have the experience to secure the market, it means something is wrong with me. With my little education, I think I can make it a better place.
And I’ve been to various countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Ethiopia and i saw how they are able to manage their markets, even though not as big as this one. I saw how they modernised their markets and I’ve learnt a lot from that. So those are the things taking place here now.
Cart and wheelbarrow pushers who help people convey their goods out of the market don’t use the pedestrian bridge provided by the government. They cross the main road instead. Is the market looking at doing something about that?
Even with the wheelbarrow, the Lagos State Government are just being lenient with us. The state government doesn’t want wheelbarrows on the streets. Our initial plan was that they should use the wheelbarrow for customers from the market to the bus-stop, where whoever owns the goods can easily offload into the car or lorry to wherever they are going.
We didn’t instruct them to move around with it. You’ll see someone pushing wheelbarrow to Ojota, Oregun, 7up, you go to so many places and see them. Some can even go to Ikorodu pushing wheelbarrow. This is not acceptable to us in the market. Our instruction to wheelbarrow pushers is ‘don’t go beyond the bus stop here’. But sometimes because no one is monitoring them, they just move to far places, which is out of our hand.
Last week, you said Mile 12 takes about 60 per cent of perishable food items that comes to Lagos State. Like how many trucks bring food items to the market every day?
We stopped counting the number of trucks that bring food to the market every day because of the construction work that is ongoing in the area. So a number of trucks come in at a time. There is a place we usually ask them to hold on. While they come, we can just number 20 trucks of tomatoes and 20 trucks of onions. We just number them, give them tally number and they come in so that the place doesn’t get jam packed with a lot of things.
Let me bring you to the recent food blockade to the South. You publicly spoke against the move by the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN). Why was your opinion different?
I still insist that I won’t be part of such thing. I’m one of the strong members of the union. But in this particular case, I told them I won’t be part of them and I will say it anywhere. My reason for that is because after the incident in Ibadan occurred, four governors from the North came. They came to address people and asked for peace and sanity in the area. My expectation is for the union to ask one of the governors ‘where are we now’?
Yes an incident happened, people were killed, a lot of property had been lost. ‘You people have come to see governors in the south’, what was your discussion with them, what are the measures you are going to take’?. ‘What are the promises’? If they are not satisfied, then the union could have given an ultimatum. They could say ‘we are giving you an ultimatum of this number of days, if it is not addressed, we will embark on strike’. But that was not done. They just decided to go on strike. That is number one.
Number two, this thing happened in Ibadan, nothing of such happened in Ogun, Osun, Ekiti or Ondo State. It didn’t happen in Lagos State, only in Oyo State. So if you want to deal with people of Oyo, you can deal with them, not all the southern states who were innocent. It was part of the reason I gave them; Lagos State Government has helped us. There was a time these perishable food items, we didn’t take them anywhere during the pandemic. All the Eastern governors and some governors in the south did not allow these things to be brought to their states from the north because of the pandemic.
It was only Lagos State government that allowed you (AUFCDN) to bring your goods. And you enjoyed it, made your money. This was the only market Lagos State government left to do business during the pandemic. So why do you want to punish Lagos State? I will not be part of it. Lagos State, I will not pay them back that way. I had to pay the state back for the good they’ve done. That was the reason I didn’t join the strike. And they (union) reasoned with me and nobody blamed me because of my decision.
You mean all the union members agreed with your stance?
Some of them understood with me, some did not. Some said I’ve joined politics, I’ve done this and that. But I told them my position is genuine. We have no issue with the Lagos State government; we are living in peace with the state government and we have a good rapport with them, so this is Lagos State and we cannot do that.
The union demanded N475 billion compensation from the Federal Government for members who were killed during the #EndSARS protests in the country and the Sasa market crisis. However, some Nigerians complained that the demand is outrageous?
It’s not about the money. You don’t look at the money. The money the union demanded for cannot bring back the lives of those people. There is amount of money the federal government will give them that will bring back the life of one person. Give them all the money in this country, it won’t bring back the life of one person.
But when they say compensation, it has to do with what they will give the families of those who were killed, it has to do with what they will give farmers for the tomatoes in the farm that got spoilt, the one that was coming to the market but because of the blockade, it got spoilt. So it’s a huge amount of money that they are going to pay people.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State brokered peace and ensured that the strike was called off. Afterwards, the governor said God used him to avoid bloodbath in the country. Do you agree?
No, I don’t think so. I know some of the people who usually bring food items to the market. Because like i told you, I’m one of the union’s strong pillars. If I was with them, I would have been the one to speak to the President on behalf of the union.
So many of my friends who reasoned with me were not with them. Those ones (friends) allowed goods to the South. It won’t cause any war. It has happened before. We seized goods for two weeks and nothing happened because they had a genuine case. But this is not a serious case that will bring war to the country. No.
Some prominent Yoruba leaders, including OPC leader, Gani Adams, during the time of the blockade started a campaign that people in the south should boycott beef. Some people said such could have aggravated the situation and cause bloodletting. Do you think so?
I’m sure Gani Adams had plenty cows. That was why he said so. May be had plenty to eat in his home because someone who has nothing, there is no way you will tell him not to eat beef. Are we in a war situation? Even during war, you don’t stop food. It was one of the reason why I didn’t participate in the strike and i will never participate in ceasing things either from the north to the south or from the south to the north. I won’t be part of that.
The compensation AUFCDN is demanding has not been paid or even negotiated. What advice would you give to the aggrieved members of the union?
The good part of it is that they have a good link. They have a very good link in Governor Yahaya Bello. He is a youth and of course he has an ambition to be the country’s president. The association has plenty members. I’m a member and I have about 20,000 followers, so the governor will not play with us. I believe with him, the governor will definitely get them what they want. I’m sure and very optimistic Yahaya Bello can do that.
As a stakeholder, how do you think we can address the farmer/herder crisis?
Government should arrange grazing for herders. Sometimes you need to make sacrifices. For peace to reign, there is absolutely no reason why the Governor of Oyo State will not provide a place for herders to put their animals.
The Oyo State governor has said land won’t be given to herders for free because they are going to use the property for business?
You see, sometimes, the cows that you see do not belong to just one person. It could be owned by a group. But if that will bring peace, if selling of lands will bring peace, the Fulanis should buy. If the Federal Government can subsidize it in each state, that is, the federal government should pay part of the money, while the herders pay the other part, it will be fine.
How much effect did the crisis in Sasa had on trucks bringing food items to Lagos from the north?
Is there a way any truck coming from the North would not pass through Ibadan? It is not possible. How many trucks of food items does Ibadan collect? So if they damaged 100 trucks in Ibadan, definitely almost 80 of those trucks were for us in Mile 12 market. Because most of these trucks come through Ibadan to Lagos. And no body is asking us ‘what happened and how did you go about it because we were silent’.
If Mile 12 market had been part of that strike, it would have affected so many things in a state that has well over 22 million people. So for instance, if Mile 12 market stops to receive goods, there will be problem.
So how did you handle the situation?
We handled it with maturity. We behaved as if nothing happened to us, so we can please Lagos State and we don’t want where people would think it is a religious matter. We are still taking time to see how we can sort some issues.
Was it that you compensated traders who lost goods because of that crisis?
Some of the trucks belonged to us. We are still trying to see what we can assist people who lost properties
The market recent launched a sanitation initiative. What was the idea behind it?
We want to ensure that the market is always clean. This is a market where we sell food items. The governor of the state, American ambassador and all other ambassadors in Lagos eat food. So once you eat in this state, one or two or three things they bring for you should be from Mile 12 market. And there is absolute need for us to keep things hygienic; to have tomatoes, onions e.t.c in a very good place.
That is why we try to provide shades, so that we do not expose what we sell to the sun. That is why we are trying to see that the market is clean. Even from any embassy, they can just decide and say ‘let us stroll to Mile 12 market and get some perishable items’. That was why we put in place Environmental Sanitation Officers that would be cleaning the market seven days a week.
Do you have an ambition to join politics in the future?
I’m a politician. Already, I’m a politician, but you have to get to the bridge first before you cross it. For now, I’m the chairman of Mile 12 International Market and I have a mandate to direct the affairs of the market for another two and half years, when I finish and the market believes I can still do more, then we’ll see.
It will be on the CV that you have been this, you have been that. So it has to do with managing people and learning more through experience. We’ll see how it goes when we get to the bigger picture and I believe with my position as chairman of this market, it will be easy for me to become anything I want to become in Nigeria by the virtue of the number of people I constantly meet. I’m a true Tinubu-grassroot person.
I deal with poor people who are not rich, people whose investments are not more than N3,000, N4,000. The highest may be N5,000. And since we live with these people peacefully, I think it will be easier for us to occupy other positions where we can do it.
You are from Sokoto State. Would you go back to Sokoto to nurture your political ambition?
When the time comes. You see, everything is absolutely in the hands of God. It is God who will decide what I would do next. But I’m very optimistic that after my position here, I would get a better position.
Are you also a farmer?
Yes, I do farm. But what I farm is grains and maize. Every year, I farm maize. I’ve planted maize already this year and next year, I will do the same.
The chairman of Ikosi-Isheri praised you when she visited the market to launch the sanitation initiative last week. How would you describe her support for your administration of the market?
You have said it. Of course, she didn’t just come to the market and start praising me. She must have seen one or two things you have done for her to praise you. That was what she did. She came to the market, she is part of us in the market, she knows a lot about us in the market. She knows what the market used to be and what it is now.
Our relationship is very cordial, we are very close. Whenever there is anything, she calls us to address. If there is anything we see too, we call her to address also. There is good understanding between us.
What are the other plans you have for the market?
You are going to see that the market will become one of the best in Lagos. We are planning to see that the market is better organised than it is, because it used to be ‘Arewa Perishable’, but now, whoever wants to mention the market will say ‘Mile 12 International Market’.
Myself, the Trustees and the executive members of the market changed the name from Arewa Perishable to Mile 12 International Market and it is widely accepted. Anyone who wants to make reference to the market in the media; social media, on television, they keep mentioning ‘Mile 12 International Market’, which is a big us for us. That alone, is a plus for us. We will continue to look at how to make the market better and by God’s grace, it will happen.
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