Rocks are every traveller’s companion in most parts of Nigeria. But for this widow and her family that crush stones in Nasarawa Eggon local government area for a living, it is more of a backbreaking dictator to their finances.
The rocks are as hard as they look at Ali Zaga Hills, Nasarawa Eggon local government area of Nasarawa State, but U’mah Yusuf crushes them for a living. True, she sometimes works with a team, but they are not her employees, neither are they colleagues – this team is made up of her four children.
So, in a twist of fate, rocks have become her business, their fragmentation, her responsibility. But they do not attack the rocks with their iron implements without going through a number of processes, she explains.
“First, before breaking any rock, we have to set fire to it, using huge woods for a very long time,” U’mah explains.
Gradually, the fire softens the rocks, thus making it easier for their iron implements, which include a hammer and chisel, to crush them. The rocks are split into many fragments depending on the prescription given by their prospective buyers. So before that selling standard is attained, U’mah and her children toil for long hours, with the sweat trickling down their hardworking backs. After all, they must survive.
But the mother of four had not always been a ‘rock crusher,’ nor had her children. Three years ago there was a husband who catered for the family’s needs.
“But he died. With no one to assist us, I had to start fending for the family. That was how I started breaking and selling rocks. It puts food on the table. My late husband’s ill health took all the savings we had and I incurred much debt while trying to settle the hospital bills then,” U’mah says sorrowfully.
Her work is stressful and so she admits not enjoying the moments she spends hammering on rocks that manage to fetch the much needed money for the family of five to survive.
“It requires a lot of energy and one needs much strength to keep at it. But right now it is our only means of sustenance, so I get my children involved also in order to reduce the amount of labour,” the widow explains.
Alternatives do not always abound when it comes to earning a living. U’mah attributes her choice of work to getting stuck without another opportunity to explore. She laments risking her children’s health by involving them in the painful enterprise. But intriguingly, it appears she is blessed with children who are more than willing to assist her in putting food on the table. Unlike some parents, she does not have to ask or insist.
“While in school they always have it at the back of their minds that I am here working. So they are always eager to come around and help out, especially during holidays. While other children their age relax at home at such times or play games with their peers, they are right here with me,” she narrates with pride and a tinge of emotion. “I wish I could get another business to engage in so that they will stop going through this hard labour at their tender ages.”
Like most mothers, she dreams of a day when her children will attain impressive heights in the society. For her, watching them rub shoulders with the high and mighty in the society would be a dream come true.
“That is why I want them to have the basic education that others their age are having. When they become great, my suffering in life would be over,” U’mah says, exuding a lot of hope.
The mother of four is not alone in her dream land. Her first child, a 15-year-old, has made that clear to her. She recalls him saying: “Mummy, I want to be a doctor when I grow up. I want to save lives and put smiles on the faces of those who come in contact with me.”
She confesses that this is a “lofty dream,” but she is not giving up just yet: “I always need to encourage him that it’s possible to realise his dream despite our glaring poverty. We will continue to pray and work harder. Who knows, maybe, one day providence would smile on us and he could be the best doctor he can be.”
Her first son’s dream of being a doctor quickly brings to mind the pathetic nature of their present state.
“When it comes to feeding, we manage whatever we are able to afford at a particular time. Especially now that we are fasting, it hasn’t been easy. When we wake up in the morning and there’s no food, we make do with water before we go to work. When we get to the location, we work from morning till night without food, hoping that after the day’s work whatever we earn would be used for dinner.”
Unfortunately, most times U’mah and her family have to contend with business people who always buy on credit and end up disappointing them.
“Customers would come with their trucks and load up and take the stones to various parts of the country with the excuse that they will pay when the products are sold. Some of them return to give excuses, while others pay part of the money with the promise to balance up later.
Sometimes we do not get anything in the end. After that, it is fruitless to go after them for our money because the response is sometimes unpleasant,” the widow says.
Apart from having to deal with bad creditors, the family has to contend with land owners and other needs that make for the smooth running of the business.
“We pay them, buy firewood, and pay a few extra hands that help out. What we have in the end may end up being for feeding alone,” she reveals.
“Sometimes those who get contracts to supply large quantities hire us as extra hands and pay us between N2,000 and N3,000, depending on the quantity of stones we deliver,” U’mah explains
But amidst this hassles of life, she makes a bold statement, saying emphatically that: “The most important thing is that this work puts food on our table and pays the children’s school fees.”
