 The Amalgamated Union of Food, Stuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria says it will embark on a nationwide strike over alleged illegal roadblocks and multiple taxation on its members. The National President of the Union, Mr Mohamed Teher, stated this. We call that the union had, in March, gone on the strike following similar allegations including extortion of her members and attacks on its members in some parts of the country. The union had earlier embacked on a 16-industrial action which was suspended after the intervention of Governor Yahya Bello of Kogi. While joining us to discuss this is Ahmed Al-Larama, he is a General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Food, Stuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria. Thank you very much, Ahmed, for joining us. Thank you. You're welcome. Great. Most times when stories like this come into our bulletins or makes the news, people really wonder if this is what traders or people who supply food to the different parts of the country have to deal with. Now, the most recent is the onion sellers who have said that they are not going to come to the south if they do not get some form of protection for the people who are supplying this and for the truck drivers. Paint a picture to Nigerians as to what exactly the plight of your people have been so far. Well, good evening. Actually, as you have said, our onion association of Nigeria are in back on strike just because of insecurity problems that are facing, affecting our members seriously on the road and the end users. That is the place that they use to upload their property. Actually, our members that is onion sellers association of Nigeria now are on nationwide strike. The reason why they have gone on nationwide strike is that there is a lot of problems that are facing our members. Those onion sellers association of Nigeria is an affiliate members to Amalgamated Union of Food, Stuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria. So, there is insecurity. It happens that our people, that is our members are carrying their goods in order to go and sell it in all parts of Nigeria. But it happens that there is no security. It happens that, of recent in Emore State, today is five days ago, our members carrying onions, two trailers were being attacked and has been despised to people, unknown people. They scattered all the trailers. They have attacked all the onions without reason. These E-pop boys were the ones responsible for all doing that. How do you know that these are E-pop members? Where they arrested and where they pointed to as E-pop members and that these people were said to be responsible? Or this is an insinuation you are making because you feel that that's what's happening in that area? Yes, precisely. The reason why I say it's an E-pop member is that it happens in Emore State. Are these the same people saying people should stay at home? That the same day they said nobody should come out. It happens that our members are on their way moving. Those gang of boys come out and attack the trailers, pack all the books. That is the onions that are inside the trailers. That is why I now say it's an E-pop member that used to pack all the goods. It has been shown in the world, in the media, that you will see those gang of boys, boys and girls, women and boys, who are being responsible for packing all that onions. That is why I say it's an E-pop member that is responsible for packing. OK. I mean, you're entitled to your opinion but again I'm going to probe. Could you have a call to you that maybe certain people have taken advantage of the sit at home to cost mayhem? It also occurred to you that maybe there are people, because as far as I know, the reports that have come from these attacks, they have been termed as unknown gunmen. Now until the police is able to unmask these unknown gunmen, don't you think that it would be responsible to tag E-pop members as the people who are attacking onion trucks? I'm wondering to what end would E-pop be attacking onion trucks coming to emo state? That is why we are asking. That is why the problem now, as we have seen, is it because we are doing a normal business that is why these people are being aware they are responsible for all these cases that we are a normal business people, we are doing a legal business business, we are doing a legal business and there is no reason why. When somebody carries his own goods in as far as he is Nigerian, he is doing a legal business. I see no reason why some gang of boys were being attacked, all his motor, all his property destroyed, even if it happens that the person stays within there, they will kill him, because it happens within the same day that our people, our members, they carry a cartel. When they are passage, it happens that the same problem, they burn the motor, they burn the whole cow that are inside. So that is why we are now saying that hence there is no security. We have reported this issue many occasions to the agencies that are consigned but there is no action has been taken. Ever if you remember on 24 February 2021 we have embarked on nationwide strike, all of us, that is unlimited union of food stock and cutting units of Nigeria. We have called for a nationwide strike, even there is a new deal that is His Excellency Yahya Bello, whose Mr President sent him to come and intervene into the issue, he called us, discussed with us, believed with us that we should go and we should call up this strike and go for our normal businesses. We told him that we have problems. He pleaded with us. We tell him that there is a condition, that condition until it feels before we go back to our normal businesses. He said we should mention the condition. We have our demands. These demands are first of all there is insecurity. If you carry your goods from where so ever in this country, into other parts of Nigeria, you have no security. Secondly, there is multiple taxation. If you load a trailer of a cow from Adamawa, wanted to reach Potapol or Cross River, or where so ever in the South South, you will hold a money up to 450,000 eraff in the money that hold looms and security agencies that will collect at your hand. We have been paid unnecessarily why we are doing a normal business and we ask all our members that they should pay a revenue. Where so ever the area that you loaded your goods, you have to pay a revenue. Whether it is a local government, whether it is a state government, whether even if it is a federal government and then is a place of uploading, at the same time you are going to pay for all that revenue. So the reason why now all these ones in the middle road, some people, hot looms, some gang of oil, you see them in the night, there are over 20 of them, all 30, who cutlerise some sticks, if they ask you to give them money, if you refuse to pay, they will beat you up, they will carry your goods wherever you carry to upload it, and they run some oil you must pay before you pass it. So Mr Ahmed, I've listened to everything that you've said and I'm going to let you continue to speak, because this seems to me as a failure on the part of government. These seem to be a line up of things that are happening to you and members of your association because government has failed to grant us security. Because that is the number one priority of every government, I'm talking about states and federal government, security of lives and property and you fall in that category of lives and property. So if you are being taxed many times, that's also a failure on the part of government because that has to be properly looked into. The fact that your people are being attacked in the first instance because you have to come from, let's say from Yola to Cross River and you are being attacked at every point or you are asked to pay monies because there are certain hoodlums where there should be, I mean we have so many police checkpoints from state to state, sometimes from local government to local government. So this seems like a failure of government and from what you have said to me tonight, the government has not necessarily told you what they will do to put an end to the insecurity that you are asking an end to. But the government has begged you to continue to send food to certain parts of the country. How do they intend for you to do that? Well, as I'm saying, as I told you, those security that you are talking about, even them who are working tonight, you will see many checkpoints of police and soldiers. Them too, they were collecting money from army but they were exhausting money and took less of that hoodlums. That is why I told you, if you are carrying your goods from Adamawa to Rivers or Cross Rivers, at least you must hold a 450,000 era before you reach a final destination. All this is an illegal money being collected from these hoodlums. We are all Nigerian, my sister. We are not abiders. We are doing a normal business. It is not government that are giving us, it is not government that are giving us money to this business. We as a union, we are the one, like me, maybe I will sell my farm or I will sell my car to come and buy all the things to go and sell in order to get a daily need me and my family. But it happens as if we are not in Nigeria. If you are going from one side of Nigeria to the other side, you will still take money. Serious money. So that is why we are now crying. We have reached every agency, every security agency, every sector that we are supposed to meet and tell out our problem, but nothing has been done. Even the time as I told you, federal government sent his Excellency, a higher below, because he said to come out in Chinese. He pleaded with us. He asked us that all our demand will be paid. So what is the way forward? Because we want to know, I mean, withholding your food stuff, your cattle, everything that needs to go to different parts of the country means that you are in Nigeria and it is going to suffer. We are not going to be able to get food enough to go around. What is the way forward? And I am going to ask again, it is harder on the average Nigerian. How do you intend to get government's attention? Yes, you have complained, but this strike action might not necessarily hit the government as much as it will hit us. What do you envisage to do after now because you have tried everything else and nothing is working? Where do we go from here, in closing? Well, as you asked, even we don't want to go on strike. It is condition that will lead us to go on strike because we are on Nigeria and we know if we stop moving all this boost up everybody, even including me, we feel defend. So it is all good and we don't like it in that way. But as a low-abidest Nigerian, doing a normal business, we have led all our problems to the agencies that are supposed to be informed, but nothing has been done. What are we going to do? We have to live our products. We have to live that. It is our own personal money that is going to do with these normal businesses. But we also have reports of those products going bad. I mean, you are also losing money. Have you thought about going to the different government agencies to protest? I mean, that is a legal way of getting government's attention. How about that option? Yes, we are going to lose a lot of... It is we that we are going to super modern anybody because we are the one that are funding these products and at the same time, we are the one that are doing the businesses. Therefore, if it happens that I will carry my goods, the one that I produce in the farm, carry it in the motor, pay for a driver, carry it with the driver, with my boy, if I carry it to go there, all the proteins are going to do it. Instead of being such, I have to prepare to stay in one place, leave my goods with me so that it is only one loose that I am going to lose. Instead of me to lose my motor, to lose my boy, to lose the people that are at the same time lose my capital. I have no option. But we are appealing to the government to look at into this problem. This problem, we are all Nigerians. This problem is affecting us all the time. Well, we have to go. We have to go. It's quite unfortunate. I feel the pain in your voice. A lot of my Ahmad is the director or part of the Food, Stuff and Cattle Dealers Association of Nigeria. Thank you very much for speaking with us. We appreciate it. You're welcome. Thank you all for being part of the conversation. We apologise for the internet connection and the issues that we've had, but we've had a great time having you watch the show. We'll see you tomorrow on Plus Politics. I'm Mary Anna Cole.