• Benue IDPs, widows make life better selling loaves
From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
In Benue State, some poor widows and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have found a lifeline for themselves selling loaves of bread, all thanks to the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC) Limited.
In May 2024, BIPC set up a bakery to provide fresh bread for the local market. It is part of the initiatives of BIPC to halt the monopoly of the bread market by a few vendors. Widows, IDPs, the elderly, young men and women have found a way to put food on their tables by buying and selling bread.
Acka Franca, a single mother, was struggling to make ends meet when she stumbled into the bread selling business. She had tried selling food in the past, but was unsuccessful. She tried her hands on small-scale farming but it could hardly sustain her.
However, when the bread factory was launched, she saw a window of opportunity in it and bought into it. She set off selling on the streets. She told Daily Sun: “I’m grateful for this bread business. It has done well by putting food on my table and settled a lot of my bills and my children. I buy 60 loaves of bread a day and sell them all. I started the business with N8,000. Now, I make up to N4,000 a day.”
Looking back, she wondered what would have been her fate without the opportunity of the bread business: “If not this bread I’m selling, I don’t know what would have become of me.”
She advised her gender against sitting at home or waiting for their husbands to give them money for all their needs. She believed that they could help make their lives better by working and earning resources that could cater for basic items such as condiments, okro, pepper and others.
Ngoyem Varvar, a widow, also benefited from the bread business. Years ago, she was sacked from her community by Fulani herdsmen and struggled through to feed her six children. However, when she started selling bread, dawn came and her life changed: “One day in 2024, these herdsmen attacked our village in Zaki Biam, in Ukum LGA, and killed my husband. We fled with nothing, not even foodstuff. And, thereafter, it was difficult. We were feeding from hand to mouth. My children were out of school. I couldn’t put them in another school.
“When I came to Makurdi, one woman introduced me to this bread business. She told me that if I started, I would not be begging people for money again. Her prophecy has come to pass. I started and I am grateful I listened to her.”
Zege Doris, another widow with five children, also found solace in the bread business. She was able to pay her daughter’s school fees and earn up to N50,000 a month: “Before now, I was selling food in one of the shops down the road but the owner sold the house. I was looking for another thing to do so that my children would not starve. One of my friends told me about this place and I decided to see what they were doing.
“Last week, I paid the school fees for one of my daughters who was sent out of school since. It was about N17,000. I use to buy 60 loaves and I will sell it all. Apart from all my expenses, I make N2,000 every day
“What I’m earning is enough for me. I’m very happy with my God. I have even been inviting other ladies that I know to come and join us. In a month, I earn up to N50,000. It’s very encouraging. I thank our governor for this opportunity.”
Ephraim Iorhemen, a resident, told Daily Sun: “The bread factory has come as a succour to many lives. It has provided indirect job opportunities for many people, including widows and IDPs.
“The company has come as a succour. It has really given life to not only widows, but also some people who had nothing to do. Now people are able to earn a living through this indirect job.
“It has improved lives in various homes. People are able to engage themselves in meaningful job, earning a day an average of N3,000 to N4,000.”
During the launch of the factory, BIPC managing director, Raymond Asemakaha, emphasised the importance of the bread factory in providing employment opportunities and stimulating economic growth, saying: “The bakery is a strategic short-term initiative designed to provide high quality products that meet the needs of the people.”