The abundance of unsold livestock in markets and streets in the last few days shows that many Nigerians could not afford the Eid Kabir sacrifice.
Prof. Mohammed Madawaki, an economist at the Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Maiduguri, expressed this view in a telephone interview.
He said: “Eid al-Adha is a significant religious celebration that Muslims plan for all year.
“This year, rams and cows are everywhere, but people simply cannot afford them. That’s why many sellers are still stuck with their animals.”
Madawaki noted that a few years ago, an average-sized ram sold for between N100,000 and N150,000.
He regretted that the prices of rams and other livestock had gone too high, making it harder for an average family to afford them.
“Today, the prices are so high that it has become a luxury; it is not that people don’t want to buy, it is that they can’t,” he said.
The economist urged the Federal Government to support the agriculture and energy sectors more.
He said that such support would help to lower the cost of raising animals and make them more affordable.
“When agriculture is subsidised, farmers and herders won’t spend too much to feed and raise their animals.
” Also, energy prices affect everything — from transporting livestock to running businesses.
“If we can reduce these costs, prices will come down, and people can buy more,” he added.
Alhaji Musa Adamu, a livestock seller at NEPA Bus Stop livestock market at Ejigbo, Isolo Egbe Road, Lagos State, also described the prices of rams and cows as very high.
He said that many people who used to buy whole rams resorted to buying parts.
According to him, some people bought goats or chickens instead.
“Customers are not coming like before. They look at the prices and walk away,” he said.
According to Adamu, small rams sell for between N200,000 and N400,000, while medium-sized ones go for N450,000 to N600,000, and big rams sell for N600,000 and above.
He said that some big rams sold for as high as N1.2 million.
Mr Balogun Aielegun, a businessman, told NAN in Lagos that he couldn’t buy a ram for Eid Kabir this year.
He said he teamed up with four friends to buy one for N500,000.
“I didn’t get enough meat to share with my family, friends and neighbours.
“Because this is a celebration, we could not ignore providing the meat; we just did our best,” he said.
