years after the commissioning of Suleja Modern Abattoir,
activitiea in the place have reached a crescendo with operators paying
great diligence to the practice of division of labour as IBRAHIM
MOHAMMED and EMMA ALOZIE report
According to the late Canadian
communications
theorist, educator, writer
and social reformer, Marshall
McLuhan, 1911-
1980 ‘‘where the whole man is involved
there is no work. Work begins
with the division of labour.”
Perhaps none of the labourers at the
Suleja abattoir are abreast with this
postulation, but on a daily basis they
practise division of labour in a manner
that connotes the widespread acceptance
that it generally increases
individual worker productivity.
From the point where a cow is
bought to the point it is slaughtered
and the meat prepared for sale to
consumers, there are no fewer than
eight persons involved in the chain
of transactions.
Suleja is an ancient border town between
Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory,
and Niger State. It is home to
Nigerians of all hues and colours and
it provides an affordable alternative
to the choking cost of accommodation
in Abuja. This certainly explains
why Suleja, despite its distance and
relative underdevelopment, has become
a sprawling town to both civil
servants and traders.
Located along the Madalla-Suleja
Road is an abattoir. To a first timer in
the town, the first point of attraction
is the dark thick smoke billowing, especially
in the morning hours, which
is usually the peak of business activities
at the abattoir.
On visiting there, especially when
business is at its peak, a first time
caller may be taken aback, fearing
the use of sharp knives. But those
who work there say fightings are
very remote in the place. The abattoir
has its own government and it
runs smoothly.
The head of the abattoir, Mallam
Muntaka Adamu narrates that work
starts as early as 5:30 am and peaks
at about 10 am, when activities at
the abattoir start waning. According
to Mallam Adamu, the abattoir
is divided into segments. From those
who buy the cows to those who keep
then in good care, then those who
slaughter and those who butcher a
Suleja Abattoir: Place where
division of labour is sacrosanct Ten years after the commissioning of Suleja Modern Abattoir,
activitiea in the place have reached a crescendo with operators paying
great diligence to the practice of division of labour as IBRAHIM
MOHAMMED and EMMA ALOZIE report
cow to the those who wash for the
parts for buyers, one cow can employ
at least 15 people.
Mallam Adamu will gleefully inform
you that there is no part of a cow
that is wasted as every part is sold
and generates revenue. For instance,
Mallam Adamu said, the dungs are
sold to farmers who use them as manure
and the horns and the bones are
sold to ceramic companies for making
breakable home wares.
On a typical day when business
booms, over 200 cows are slaughtered,
especially on Fridays and Saturdays
when more buyers are expected.
A typical day’s work starts
when the chief Kama, whose work
is principally to subdue cows, help
tie ropes around them and prepare
them for the slaug