STAR FEAT Story of Nigeria
This ancient market, situated in Dawaki town of Kanke local government area in Plateau state, has earned resounding fame across most parts of the North-east, North-west and South-south Nigeria as the country’s largest dog market.
Here, young and average dogs, mostly locally bred with visible signs of malnourishment are seen chained by mostly women who trek the almost two kilometre distance from Dawaki town or other Ngas speaking communities every Thursday ,to sell them off at a price. The market, originally established to focus on livestock, today boasts of having one of the largest and most lucrative baobab (Kuka) leaves section which when purchased in bulk, are often sold off in other parts of the state as well as other northern states like Kano, Kaduna and Borno. Though still a local market, Dawaki has become so fundamental that locals say it serves as a window that connects the North and South, Nigeria with other neighbouring Sub-Saharan African countries.
Dawaki, initially a family market
Dawaki market was established as a family market to meet the needs of an extended family as they gather on specific days to trade and exchange goods. The then traditional ruler in the area had established the market almost 300 years ago, according to the Chairman of Marketers Association in the area, Alh. Sule Maidoki. “Our grandparents met the market, our great grand parents also met the market, it has existed for over 300 years based on oral records,” he told our correspondents who were on a working visit to Dawaki. Maidoki, a well respected man among the traders narrated as he took Daily Trust correspondents on a tour, that the market used to be situated in the heart of what later became Dawaki village. It had gradually attracted people from neighbouring villages who began to build houses, leading to a congestion that eventually squeezed the market into a tight corner. This, he said was what warranted the need to relocate the market to its present location in 2016. The new site, situated along the highway and barely 46 kilometres to Tafawa Balewa local government area in Bauchi state, attracts natives and foreigners from other parts of the state, who visit weekly to buy and sell dogs and other commodities.
Presently, the new site lacks modern stalls, and traders often endure much during the rainy season, said the Secretary of the market, Yatem Jeftha Dauda. “Even the few stalls put together were blown off by the wind in April, and since then, efforts to build better stalls have not been successful,” he said.
Like a typical village market, most of the stalls are locally constructed by the traders with tree branches, zinc as well as thatch. Except for a few offices and warehouses built by the gate side which makes the market attractive from the outside, other structures are either uncompleted or locally made.
Maidoki who is also Ngas by tribe and the Auditor of the market association at the state level, explained that the notable market like the community, earned the name, ‘Dawaki’ (horses) due to its strategic location as the main spot where horse riders from Bauchi, Kano and other northern states in search of slaves to buy, used to converge during precolonial times. He further explained that as people began to build a life around the market, the entire town was then called Dawaki.
The Secretary of the market, Yatem Jeftha Dauda noted that though the market is an all year round one, it bustles more during the dry season. Other live stocks such as goats, sheep, pigs are sold in the market, but it is dog trading that propels all other business activities, as well as serves as the attracting force that pulls traders from Cross River state, and other South-south states to the market. Dog business also sends Kanke men as far as Niger Republic, Chad, and other northern states in search of dogs.
The traders from the South-south are often called Calabar traders who usually arrive at intervals in about 13 Lorries, “but when the rainy season is at its peak, they come in only about four Lorries on weekly basis. Sometimes they have a breakdown on the road and won’t arrive on the market day. But their customers will still wait for them with the dogs till the next day,” said Dauda.
The market often generates between N70,000-N100,000 every market day ,as every item brought in for trading is taxed. For each Jerry can of palm oil, the market collects revenue of N50 and the same amount is collected for each livestock brought into the market. “Due to the hardship, our agents sometimes give discounts. For instance, anyone who comes in with 10 dogs would be asked to pay for only five and in the case of those who sell fish and other petty items, we collect N50 from each trader. But this also depends on the season, and as usual we generate the most revenue from the dog sellers,” Dauda explained.
Dogs are the attracting forces
The Ngas men of Kanke are famous for their knack in native medicine and often travel to upper northern states such as Kano, Maiduguri and Katsina as well as countries like Chad and Niger Republic, to cure patients whose illnesses may have defied conventional medicine. “When they successfully nurse their patients back to health, they are usually rewarded with dogs. These dogs are brought back home to their wives to sell at the Dawaki market,” said Alhaji Sule Maidoki. Though some men buy dogs and bring home from various parts of the country, often times, the dogs are given in exchange for the expertise of the Kanke people in traditional medicine. Once inside Dawaki market, the almost submissive barks that sound more like mourns, are heard from hundreds of dogs seen in chains. Again, the few dogs that bark are not aggressive to their handlers, passersby and strangers. Though this calm disposition of the dogs when brought to the market is surprising and often unknown to many, the secret as hinted to Daily Trust is linked to a mysterious cultural practice known among dog handlers of Kanke origin who are well-known to be great dog handlers as well as eaters. Every Thursday, as early as 6:00 am, traders troop to