Six hundred and sixty traders from Maiduguri Monday Market most of who suffered loses following serial attacks on the market by Boko Haram insurgents got a total of N126 million shared to them as loan from the N2 billion accessed by the state from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The state government has said that all beneficiaries of the loan will only refund the actual amount collected by them while the state government will pay the interest accruing from the loan on behalf of the beneficiaries. Commenting on the loan, President of Borno State Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Industry, Alhaji Modu Rigiya said it was the first time any government in the state will facilitate loan for traders with interests free. He lauded Governor Shettima for what he described as his extreme compassion for the citizens of his state and the economy. Some of the beneficiaries that spoke to Daily Trust said the loan is reviving their crumbling businesses but noted that business may not resume fully in the state until all the route leading to the neighbouring countries are reopened.
They commended the CBN and the state government for the loan, saying it was a great effort capable of ensuring that they do not go out of business and urged all the traders to comply with the conditions of the loan. One of the beneficiaries, Modu Alhaji Fannami said he sells jewelry and wrist watches, adding, “I was on my sick bed when I heard of the attack that destroyed my shop. I had to visit the market the next day and had a lot of difficulties tracing my shop until my neighbor showed me some rumbles and said that was where my shop was. “The shop was brought down by the effect of the bomb that exploded not too far from my shop. My younger brother looking after the shop died in the blast. Not a pin was removed from the shop. Everything in there was looted and I had to sell some of my personal effects to pay for my hospital bills. I went to the Motor Park and became a tout to get what to eat. It is this loan that I will use to start all over again,” he said. Another beneficiary, Alhaji Zanna said though there was a bomb attack one particular day in the market not too far from his shop, the attack did not have any effect on his shop, adding, “When we were told to lock up our shops and leave the market, I locked my shop and left but by the time I returned the next day, I found that my shop was raised down by fire. I didn’t know how it happened. “A trader whose shop was not badly affected gave me female and children blouses worth N6,000 that I have been hawking around and using the profit to feed my two wives and five children until the governor called us and gave us this loan. I will use my own share to re-establish my business,” he said. One of the traders, Mala Alhaji Modu said the central market in Maiduguri the Borno state capital, Monday market is one of the major institutions in the state that suffered seriously from bomb and suicide attacks from the Boko Haram that destroyed the market, killed hundreds of business men, women and customers in the attacks. He said a substantial portion of the market was burnt and destroyed.
The incessant attacks coupled with the closure of the Borno end of the border between Nigeria and Niger, Chad and Cameroun negatively affected business in the market reducing patronage to below 30 per cent. He noted that most of the people doing business in the market had their investments either ruined or drastically reduced due to the effect of the attacks on the market as shop owners with investment running into millions of naira turned to motor park touts or roadside hawkers. “Almost 60 percent of goods in every shop is gone because it must have either been looted or destroyed by the insurgents. Some of the business men in the market, whose shops were emptied, were forced out of business,” he said. Concerned by the poor fortunes of the businessmen in the market, Governor, Kashim Shettima sought for and obtained a two billion naira loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and distributed part of it on loan to the 660 business men some of who were affected by insurgency.
The governor who lamented that the state government is not buoyant enough financially to distribute two billion naira free to the business men, however, Shettima told the beneficiaries to only refund the exact amount given to them as loan while the state government will pay the interest for them. The loan which is being accessed by the beneficiaries through the Borno State Renaissance Micro-Finance Bank established by the state government, was targeted at reviving business in the state. Speaking during the distribution of cheques to the 660 benefiting traders, Governor Shettima said, “The loans were meant to support citizens either into existing entrepreneurs or citizens trained at the Maiduguri based CBN entrepreneurship development center and ready to go into small and medium scale businesses to become self employed. “All citizens, particularly women and youth are the major targets of the loan which has a repayment period as a key condition to be monitored by the micro finance bank located in Maiduguri,” he said. Shettima emphasized that the money was not a free grant but an interest free loan which is revolving in nature hence beneficiaries must take the issue of paying back within stipulated time very seriously.
The governor also said as part of his administration’s effort towards helping the traders to recover from the devastating effect of the Boko Haram attacks, the traders are relieved of paying rents for the stores they are occupying in the Monday market for three months. Shettima explained that the state government owns the market and allocates the shops in it and collects monthly rent from traders, saying the rent is used to maintain services and infrastructure in the market and also to pay government workers taking care of the market.
He said with the three months rent waiver granted to the traders, fund must be sourced by the government to ensure continuity of service in the market within the three months the traders will not be paying for rent, saying the decision was to cushion the effects of poor trading faced by traders as a result of reoccurring insurgency attacks. Speaking earlier before the flag -off of disbursement of the loan, the Managing Director, Borno Renaissance Microfinance Bank, Mrs Zainab Umar Kolo said the sum of one hundred and twenty six million naira was earmarked for the 660 beneficiaries. She said, so far the sum of two hundred and twenty five million naira had been disbursed by the bank and urged all other beneficiaries to assemble at the bank's premises to access the loans disbursed through electronic transfers.
Source: Dailytrust.com.ng
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