A group of northern food commodities traders under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) has insisted that it would not transport food produce to the southwest geopolitical zone.

AUFCDN had days ago commenced an indefinite strike to protest insecurity of its members and their goods in the zone.

Last week, a report by Punch said trailers transporting cows, tomatoes, and other farm produce were prevented from leaving a border town in Niger State to the southern part of the country.

This comes on the heels of ethnic clashes between the Fulanis and Yorubas in Shasha market in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital and other parts of the zone.

Conflicts between Fulani herders and communities in the southwest region have escalated in past years, thereby threatening the security of lives and properties of residents.

AUFCDN on Tuesday told TheCable that it was safer not to transport foodstuff to the South-West region than have its members murdered, as a result of continuous attacks.

Speaking in Kano, an official of the union, Awwalu Aliyu said some of their members were also killed during the recent #EndSARS protests that rocked major cities across Nigeria, while some lost properties.

Mr. Aliyu, when asked for comments on perishable items locked in stores and losses that it may incur, said “It would be better to lose the food items than to lose lives”.

“You’re talking about losing goods; which one is better, to lose a life or to lose property? Losing property is better than losing a life,” he told TheCable.

“We prefer and our people will prefer to lose those farm items or goods than to continue losing their lives,” he said, while noting that those losses can be made up for if the union members are still alive.

While citing that AUFCDN members do not want to wreak havoc in the southwest region, he maintained that people from other geopolitical zones also reside in the North and make billions of naira without threat to lives.

“We do not want to destroy anybody. We do not want to kill anybody. The number of Yorubas and Igbos that reside in Kano and Kaduna alone is far more than the number of northerners in the entire south-west, South-South and South-East,” he said without any credible statistical proof.

“Also, the investments of Yorubas and Igbos in Kano and Kaduna, running into billions of naira is more than the entire investments of northerners in the South-West, South-East and South-South if you remove Dangote. Our people are only petty traders, shoe shiners, fingernail cutters, wheelbarrow pushers, okada riders and so on.”

“Our people in the South don’t have what southerners have in the North. They have farmlands, buildings and a lot of properties that run into billions. We do not intend to touch a needle out of it. We do not intend to destroy anybody’s property. What we want is to have our people protected from being killed.”

According to the news outlet, some farmers have begun to dry their produce to preserve it, as selling rates across Kano are not favourable.

The report also said some tomatoes and beef sellers in both Lagos and Oyo state also lamented over the scarcity of farm produce.