• The urban food security of Nigeria (and of million rural maize farmers and consumers) is conditioned, mediated, determined by traders. • The north-south long supply chain of maize is crucial to the country’s food security and its performance is in the hands of traders and conditioned by the quality of infrastructure and services. • Contrary to traditional views, traders rely on a well-developed third party logistics service sector market, and a warehouse rental market. • Extremely little (less than 1%) waste/loss of maize in the supply chain which mainly consists of handling of bags of maize. • Trader credit (advances) to farmers is near absent. • Traders and the trade and logistic segments of the maize value chain warrant more attention by researchers and policy makers.