Sellers, Buyers Groan As Soaring Livestock Prices Dampen Sallah Cheer.
It was the eve of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration and the chaos occasioned by last-minute sales and purchases at the popular Kara cattle market along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was palpable.
A flock of sheep bleated helplessly as loaders pulled them towards a waiting truck. On the highway, horns blared as some vehicles parked on the surface course of the road waiting to convey some cows, rams, and goats tethered around the solid line, ground vehicular movement on both lanes of the expressway to a halt.
A few metres away, Alhaji Ibrahim Suleiman stared at the sea of livestock in the market in bewilderment. He stood, arms akimbo, as he pondered his next move.
Since his retirement, Suleiman had resolved to live with his family on a moderate budget to enable them to cope with the biting economic reality in Nigeria, but the cost of returning home without a ram worried him.
The rams this year are very costly, I budgeted ₦500,000 for two rams but with what I’m seeing now, I have to change my budget. I am willing to buy if they will sell two rams for ₦550,000, otherwise, I’ll have to go home, look for additional money, and return tomorrow,” he lamented.
“Last year, I bought two rams for ₦450,000 and they were very big. The sellers say they are bringing the rams from Niger Republic and they said their government over there closed the border stopping the rams from coming to Nigeria and making the ones available very expensive,” he added
Sellers, Buyers Groan As Soaring Livestock Prices Dampen Sallah Cheer.
It was the eve of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration and the chaos occasioned by last-minute sales and purchases at the popular Kara cattle market along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was palpable.
A flock of sheep bleated helplessly as loaders pulled them towards a waiting truck. On the highway, horns blared as some vehicles parked on the surface course of the road waiting to convey some cows, rams, and goats tethered around the solid line, ground vehicular movement on both lanes of the expressway to a halt.
A few metres away, Alhaji Ibrahim Suleiman stared at the sea of livestock in the market in bewilderment. He stood, arms akimbo, as he pondered his next move.
Since his retirement, Suleiman had resolved to live with his family on a moderate budget to enable them to cope with the biting economic reality in Nigeria, but the cost of returning home without a ram worried him.
The rams this year are very costly, I budgeted ₦500,000 for two rams but with what I’m seeing now, I have to change my budget. I am willing to buy if they will sell two rams for ₦550,000, otherwise, I’ll have to go home, look for additional money, and return tomorrow,” he lamented.
“Last year, I bought two rams for ₦450,000 and they were very big. The sellers say they are bringing the rams from Niger Republic and they said their government over there closed the border stopping the rams from coming to Nigeria and making the ones available very expensive,” he added
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