Ram Prices Soar, Sellers Lament Very Low Patronage
The coming salah may not be with its usual pomp and pageantry in Nigeria as the costs of rams across the country have soared and sellers keep lamenting of very unusually low patronage.
Muslims slaughter rams and other acceptable animals including camel to mark the Eid-el-Kabir festival. But this year’s festival may be bleak as inflation bites harder and uncertainties surround the economy of the most populous African country.
Online Parrot News went round some cities and ram markets across the southwest geopolitical zone, where Ileya Festival is common in the southern region of Nigeria.
While several of the rams appear malnourished, they go for high prices. Our correspondents at Osogbo said that an “average” ram sells for N150,000 while very good ones cost as high as N500,000. At the same time, there were some selling for around N100,000.
A seller, who simply gave his name as Kabir, said that it’s the worst time for him since he has been selling rams for Ileya Festival. He said that he had been able to sell just 10 since last week when he started displaying the rams. He added that he had to even lower the price for the buyers to come.
Our correspondents also visited Ibadan, Ijebu, Iwo, Ondo Town to check how the ram markets are fearing. In Iwo, a trader specifically said, “It (Eid-el-Kabir) is going to be a bleak festival. It’s unimaginable that people are not coming to price (sic) let alone to buy a ram”.
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