Ahead of the Islamic festival, Eid-el-Kabir, muslims in Lagos State are complaining of inability to buy rams owing to the prohibitive costs.
It is traditionally mandatory for muslims who have the means to buy rams for the celebration.
However, the economic situation has made it difficult.
A ram of average size, The Next Edition gathered, costs not less than N60,000.
In view of the prohibitive costs, some Nigerians who could afford rams last year, have been found to be unable to buy this year.
Habeeb Salako a businessman, who lives at Mushin in Lagos, said he was able to buy one ram unlike the past when he used to by two.
Speaking with The Next Edition in a telephone interview, he said, “It is sad because I can’t afford to share as much as I used to in the past. Last year I bought two rams. It is a tradition for me. Now the meat I will share for charity will reduce drastically.”
Asked how much he bought his ram, he said, “I bought my ram for N60, 000. In the past, that would get you two.”
Another Lagos resident, Jafar Mohammed, said that he could not buy ram this time around because of the price. “This is the first time that I am not buying a ram since I became an adult. Business is not as rosy and to make matters worse, the rams are now very expensive.”
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Some cattle dealers in Lagos who had stocked ram for sale ahead of Eid-el-Kabirare also complaining of low patronage.
One of them in a telephone interview with The Next Edition said it was not business as usual as a result of the poor state of the nation’s economy.
Musa Danlami, a cattle dealer at Ashade/Mangoro market, Lagos, said they had been forced by the situation to sell some of the rams on credit due to slow pace of business.
Another ram seller, Hamid Saliu, who plies his trade at Maza Maza close to Festac Town, complained bitterly about the situation and attributed the development to non-payment of salaries by many employers, causing low purchasing power of residents.
Eid-el-Kabir is an Islamic festival that Muslims all over the world celebrate, with offering of rams as sacrifice.
