The establishment and actual inauguration of a National Committee on Famine Relief for the Republic of Niger by President Olusegun Obasanjo is both a diplomatic masterstroke and a genuine move to come to the aid of a friendly and brotherly nation and people, writes Salisu Na’inna Dambatta.

Niger Republic, the country that shares a lot in common with Nigeria, is facing a devastating famine caused by the combined effects of a long drought in the food-producing portions of that country, and a merciless onslaught on the patches of crops that sprouted in the last rainy season by a swarm of locusts.

The food scarcity and its devastating impact is visible on the frail bodies of malnourished children, emaciated adults and the remains of thousands of livestock. It is manifested on a massive social dislocation and agony among the estimated 3.6 million people caught in its painful web.

Reports from parts of Niger, especially the densely populated Sahelian southern parts that share border with Nigeria, and the central areas in the inhospitable Sahara desert, indicate that nearly 800,000 children are especially vulnerable, even as hundreds of them have already died of starvation. More are in danger, hence the need for Nigeria to rally for them, to assist them and contribute in saving those that could be rescued by a small, worthy sacrifice.

A country of 11,665,937 citizens and faced by recurring droughts and with only 3.4 per cent of its vast territory as arable, it is described by an informational document published on the Internet as “landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world: northern four-fifths is desert, southern one fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture.”

Blessed with deposits of uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt and petroleum, the country’s current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is made up of 39 per cent contributed by agriculture; 44 per cent generated by the service sector and the balance of 17 per cent put in by industry. However, more than 60 per cent of the population lives below poverty line.

Nigeria and Niger are cooperating closely at multi-lateral and bilateral levels. Both countries are in the ECOWAS, the African Union, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the River Niger Joint Commission, the United Nations Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement and a dozen other regional and global organisations.

In fact, Niger has cooperated and consequently developed a unique understanding with Nigeria over the utilisation of the waters of River Niger by foregoing an option to damn it upstream, which would have eroded the opportunity for Nigeria to develop the hydropower generating stations at Kainji and Jebba. A percentage of the power generated from the hydropower station at Kainji is transmitted to Niger.

Majority of the people of Niger Republic have strong ties and affinities with the peoples in Nigerian states sharing border with that country. At least 90.8 per cent of the people of Niger are Hausa, Zabarmawa, Fulani, Kanuri or Shuwa Arabs, just like the people in Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states. There are countless socio-economic contacts on daily basis, in shared markets and festivities such as Argungu fishing festival, in mosques during marriage, naming or funeral rites. Herdsmen from both sides share grazing reserves. Inter-marriages across the borders are regarded as normal and very common.

The facts stated in the preceding paragraph and the natural tendency of Nigerians to be their brothers’ keepers are some of the reasons for the swift and generous response to aid the famine victims of Niger Republic. In Kano, a private radio station is mobilising individual donors and it is serving as a collector of donations. The Government of Kebbi State has dispatched 33 trailers laden with rice, millet, sorghum and maize to Niger for those in need of help. Governor Muhammad Adamu Aliero also promised to send drugs and medical personnel for the sick in the areas affected by famine. It would be appropriate for the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to consider mobilising volunteers from its rank to go to Niger and assist. The Nigerian Red Cross and the two Islamic Aid Groups should consider contributing what they can.

It is significant that Jigawa state was the first state in Nigeria to deliver foodstuff worth over N57 million to the victims of the famine in Niger. Borno state offered N30 million; Yobe, N25 million, Katsina foodstuff worth N30 million; Sokoto N35 million; Niger N30 million worth of foodstuff, while Kaduna state has earmarked millions of Naira in emergency aid for Niger famine victims, as announced by the Chairman of the National Committee for Niger Famine Relief, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, the Speaker, House of Representatives.

The corporate giants of Nigeria that contributed generously to so many worthy causes in the recent past, especially to the victims of tsunami and other disasters, have another opportunity in the Niger calamity to once more do good to humanity by donating generously. Their contribution would undoubtedly be a plus for the good name of Nigeria and solidify their individual image as socially responsible and caring organisations.

However, it is not immodest to state here that even before other countries in the world realised the extent of the heartbreaking situation in Niger, Nigeria has silently been partnering with that country as huge quantities of commodities, manufactured goods and petroleum products are regularly ferried across the border without much formal let or hindrance.

As stated earlier, consumers from Niger attend markets in Nigerian border towns and cities in the hinterland, including Lagos, Onitsha and Aba, to purchase foodstuff and other goods. It is widely known that from time to time the currencies of both countries are used in paying for goods and services on each side of the border. So, when Nigeria officially sold grains to the World Food Programme (WFP) for delivery to Niger a few weeks ago, this writer regarded it as just a complex extension of the daily commercial transactions between the citizens of the two countries.

The Nigerien community in Nigeria is one of the largest on earth. Some members of that community are entrepreneurs who have invested heavily in Nigeria, thereby creating employment for Nigerians to the extent that the question of their nationality is no longer an issue.

So, if people from Niger would come and buy from Nigerians or invest their hard-earned money in our country when the going was good for them, it is only proper for Nigeria and Nigerians to come together and assist them in their hour of need. This is one element of a special relationship.

One other factor that contributed in making the relationship between Niger and Nigeria so special is that the 1,497 kilometre-long border we share is probably the most peaceful. It is rare for criminals or bandits, cattle rustlers or invading soldiers from Niger to cross into Nigeria and cause havoc. This cannot be said of one or two of our neighbours that seem to be spoiling for war with our country without any provocation whatsoever.

In the final analysis, given the positive role Nigeria plays in Africa and across the world in peace keeping operations, facilitating conciliation between or among disputants and giving leadership among peers, it is only natural for President Olusegun Obasanjo to set up the Masari Committee in the belief that Nigerians would show compassion, solidarity and generousity to the famine victims in Niger Republic. This spirit was demonstrated for the Asian Tsunami victims, for the Russians when they had a disaster and for countless other causes. It can be repeated for the benefit of our special friends and neighbours.

Indeed, it would be a historic continuation of our good neighborliness, which was extended to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and other countries. It is also a practical manifestation of our concern for the welfare of fellow human beings.