INSECURITY: Funtua and its Economic potentialities in relation with the emergence of Kidnapping activities -By Abubakar Babangida

Funtua is the second largest town in Katsina state apart from Katsina metropolis. Funtua town lies on approximately latitude 11:340 north and 7:200 East. The town is located at the highest point of Hausa plains in the North central highland of more than 733 meters above to the sea level. Funtua town is the headquarters of Funtua Local Government area, which covers an area of 448 km and has a population of roughly 225,571 according to the 2006 census.
The land is fertile and suitable for agricultural production. The Rainy season lasts for about 150 days, which usually stars from May and ends in October. The rainfall is one of the highest received in the Northern part of Nigeria, with an annual average rainfall of 50-50 (about 1120mm). The weather of Funtua is favorable for rainy and dry season’s agricultural production.

The major economic activity of the people of Funtua is predominantly farming. They produce both food and cash crops like Maize, Guinea corn, rice, cotton, groundnut, soya beans and sugarcane. Apart from crop production, the Fulani settlers of Funtua rear animals and conduct fishing activity. Other economic activities were blacksmithing, weaving and dying. These sectors played a vital role in the growth and development of the town. As for commerce many people were found to have been engaged in it especially the commodity trading sector. The Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba participated in long-distance trade and transactions in grain and extension of livestock.

The long-distance trade radiated along two southern axes from Funtua, namely; the western Funtua-Onitsha-Enugu-Aba route. The eastern route was always greeted with assorted manufactured products as items of trade exchange. This is what gave some businessmen the opportunity to pursue both retail and whole sale trading in clothes and other textile and fabrics.

Manufacturing activity was among the economic activities of Funtua town. These include textile production which became important in the whole of southern Katsina particularly in Maska District area, since the pre-colonial period up to the beginning of the 20th century when European goods began to arrive. Funtua has various companies such as, ABJ rice meal, cooking factories, fertilizers factories among many others.

However, weaving spinning for instance became the major non-farming occupations of the area. This was largely because of the cotton and indigo cultivation in the area. Upon this development, weavers and spinners were found all over southern Katsina but more were concentrated in Maska including Funtua town. By mid 1940s, the importance and prospect in cotton production, trade and commercial activities made it possible for Funtua to become one of the headquarters of the Northern Nigerian Marketing Board.
Up to now Funtua is one of the leading food producers of the whole Katsina state.

Despite all all these economic developments in Funtua, the town turned to a terrorists business center which is suitable for them to come and killed or kidnapped any person they like at every hour.
Kidnapping activities turn to a daily activity in Funtua, if they didn’t came in the day time so definitely they will come in the night. Last week they were in Sabuwar Abuja Dutsereme where they kidnapped a young married women with her 5month old baby, a day after in Jabiri where they kidnapped a married woman with her 3 children and Sabuwar Abuja Sokoto bye pass, in a closet time after Sabuwar Abuja, they went to Goruwa and Rafin Dinya all in Funtua Local Government, even yesterday’s night they were in Dutsereme where they killed two people unchallenged.

The question begging for answer in the mind of affected communities is “When will this banditry end”?

Abubakar Babangida write from Funtua and he can be reach at
abubakarbabangida5@gmail.com