LAGOS, Aug 15, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX)
-- The famine in Niger has driven victims in the West African country to
eat leaves called "Tafasa" to survive, the official News Agency
of Nigeria reported Monday.
Along the boarders between Nigeria and
its northern neighboring country Niger, the edible leaves growing wild
in Nigeria's northern areas have now become a dependable commodity for
the hunger-stricken Nigeriens.
According to an investigation, Tafasa leaves have become a kind of business which sell well in Nigeria's northern border areas because they are cheaper.
In Dankama, a border town with Niger, the leaves are being sold for 120 naira (about 90 US cents) per bag. The leaves are being transported on cow-driven-carts and donkeys in Dankama to cross the boarder into Niger.
Similarly, the Nigeriens are also seen buying maize, millet and beans in the northern border areas, while those who could not afford the grains were seen begging.
One of the Nigerien famine victims, Malama Zaini, a mother of five, said she "now have two children as you can see, three others died of hunger."
Zaini, who looked dejected, added that she would remain in Dankama (Nigeria) until the situation improved.
Meanwhile, many other Nigerien victims were seen entering Nigeria to get food and secure daily-paid jobs in Dankama, Kaita, Jibia and Maiadua border towns in Nigeria.
According to Abdulaziz Haruna, a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Maiadua, about 40 vehicles transport the Nigerien refugees from Kwangwalam town to Kano and other places in Nigeria daily.