“You simply can’t miss the elegant camels, which are ever so visible in this semi-arid state
My contact tells me that very close to the border with the Republic of Niger, one finds traders who own upwards of five hundred camels, tall quiet animals who never seem to forget any good or bad deed done. A single man could own a thousand camels, or even double the number, he emphasises. In places such as Tangaza, Illela, Tambuwal, Sabon Birni, Gudu, Gada, communities with rare and beautiful names, can be found camels in great numbers, both big and small. Their wide eyes gaze at you inquisitively.
As part of a journey that took me to Rabah, the hometown of late Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, camels could be seen in many of the communities along the way, and in some of the valleys which dot the landscape.
Abubakar Kani is one of the executives of the Camel traders association, and we meet him at the Sokoto Main Market. According to him there are up to three hundred camel traders operating from the market, and he adds that some camels are brought into the country from Mali and Niger. In some of the smaller communities, camels may number from fifty to a hundred, but this depends on the location, he states. He informs Daily Trust that a large camel may cost between one hundred and eighty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand Naira.
Camels play many roles in this part of the North West. Some are bought to be slaughtered, while some work on the farm much as Oxen do by pulling the plough, while many buy camels to serve as a means of transportation. Kani draws attention to one fact “twenty years ago there were