Listen to this articleSokoto, Nigeria: For Yakubu Garba, a farmer residing in Shinaka village of Sokoto state, northwest Nigeria, local canoes know locally as Jirgi have been a lifeline, helping him access his farmland across the Rima River and transport his harvests back to Shinaka.
The Rima River is located in the northern part of Nigeria, fed by the Goulbi de Maradi river in neighbouring Niger Republic. The Rima is a dry riverbed for much of the year, flowing only during the rainy season. However, this seasonal flow can lead to flooding during the wet season, causing problems for communities along the river.
Garba admits that the Jirgi have made a huge difference in the lives of the people of Shinaka. Before their emergence, he describes crossing the Rima River as a nightmare, and farmers often lost their farmlands due to lack of access, “without this canoe there is no access to our farms, and we cannot take our crops home,” he explains.
“This,” he adds – pointing to a dented area in the landscape where a pepper farm once stood– “comes after the loss of some farmlands to flooding.”
Agriculture is the lifeblood of Sokoto’s economy with at least 80% of the population relying on it in some way and the steady flood along the river’s plains threatens the livelihoods of many people. Abubakar Sani, a resident of Shinaka, describes how the river was once shallow enough to wade through, but eventually became too deep and wide to cross on foot. “We live in Shinaka and our rice farm is located at the entrance of Tsitse,” he told The SolutionsPaper.
While the Jirgi is a valuable resource for farmers, it does have its drawbacks. Farmers often complain about the unsustainability of the Jirgi, as the canoes are prone to leaking, and damaging their crops.
Gboyega Olorunfemi, an environmental sustainability expert, notes that the affected communities have had to rely on the Jirgi system due to the failure of government at all levels to address the problem.
The Jirgi Paddlers
The suffering caused by the flooding on farming communities of Tsitse and Shinaka has been especially prominent since 2010, when several farmlands along the river’s plains were destroyed. According to locals, the recurrent floods were caused by the failure of the Goronyo Dam to release water from its reservoir during the dry season. When the rainy season comes, the dam spills over a large amount of water, forming a powerful flood that sweeps away villages and farmlands.
Abubakar Sani, now 30 years old, recalls how his father built a canoe out of birch bark after the Rima River level rose in 2010. Sani, then only 13 years old, was in charge of bailing water out of the canoe with a bowl as his father paddled.
While the canoe was originally intended for personal use, it quickly became a vital form of transportation for the residents of Tsitse and Shinaka. Every morning, there was a long queue of farmers, motorcycle riders, and other villagers waiting to be transported across the river.
The canoe was not well-suited for the task of transporting people and their goods, as it was leaky and required constant bailing but with more and more people relying on the canoe for transportation, it began to take a toll on his family’s farming work. In order to make up for the lost productivity, Abubakar’s father began charging a fee for the rides, “but still, this price is not fixed since some might not be able to afford that amount. So we take any amount to help them,” Abubakar explains.
The Jirgi can carry up to five farmers and their motorbikes at a time, as well as other goods. However, there is a concern about the capacity of the canoes and the risk of capsizing. The boats are not designed to carry heavy loads, and there is a risk of them tipping over if they are overloaded.
Ibrahim Muhammed, another farmer in Shinaka, started using the Jirgi for transportation in 2015, but for a different reason. After witnessing the destruction caused by the Rima River, he felt compelled to help the community by providing a passage across the river.
“What really inspired this work was to reduce the distress that the river had caused fellow farmers because this particular water not only barred access to many farms but flooded numerous farmlands and destroyed them.
“For me, there is no fixed amount to what I charge. My passengers give me what they can afford. Paddling also doesn’t prevent me from farming,” Muhammed told The SolutionPaper.
Other challenges
One of the main problems farmers face when using the Jirgi is that their crops often get wet from the water leaking into the canoe. Yusuf Usman, a 32-year-old farmer in Shinaka, explains that millet needs to be dry-stored for at least a day or two before it can be used. However, if the millet gets soaked with water from the canoe, it takes much longer to dry out, sometimes up to a week or more.
Camels are particularly susceptible to the dangers of the river because of their size. This is a difficult and dangerous task, as the animals can easily become stuck in the river’s muddy banks or swept away by the current. “Camels suffer a lot in this river because the owners will have no choice but to take the camels into the river leaving the animals helpless,” Abubakar notes.
The lack of safety is not the only problem with the Jirgi system – there are also significant restrictions on when the paddlers can work. Due to security concerns, the paddlers do not work at night, which limits the transport of goods and people during certain hours.
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What should be done?
Gboyega Olorunfemi, an environmental sustainability expert, said that the communities affected by the floods have been forced to adopt the Jirgi system because the government has failed to respond to the problem.
Olorunfemi explained that the failure of the government to address the issue of the Goronyo Dam has left the communities with no other choice but to use the dangerous and unreliable systems. “The local government should immediately provide motorised boats for the use of the community, construction of a passable bridge should follow,” Olorunfemi added.
According to Olorunfemi, the safety concerns associated with the Jirgi system could be alleviated by the use of motorised boats and improved jetties, similar to those established by the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in Nigeria’s southwest to enhance waterway transportation within the state, and facilitate convenient access to coastal areas using commercialised jetty boats.
Nonetheless, Abubakar and his father have taken on apprentices to help them operate the Jirgi. Jalo Ibrahim and Shafiu, two teenagers from Tsitse, have been learning how to handle the canoe under Abubakar’s tutelage for a year now.
Abubakar told The SolutionsPaper that the apprentices start by removing water from the canoe, but gradually progress to learning how to paddle and, eventually, to ferrying passengers on their own. This training has become crucial to ensuring that the Jirgi system continues to operate, and provides a regular transportation system for farmers and other villagers.
Editors Credit
Chinonso Kenneth, Zubaida Baba Ibrahim
Muritala Abdullahi is a dedicated journalist known for uncovering solutions within complex stories, inspiring change and fostering hope through impactful, global narratives.
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