By FRED ITUA, CHRISTIAN OKWOR, FAITH JAMES, CHIAMAKA NZENWEAKU ABIGAIL ANOSIKE & ADANNA NNAMANI
Sallah may have come and gone, the whiff of it is, however, yet to ease out of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja residents have not forgotten in a hurry the bleakness and poor celebration that greeted this year’s sallah. The biting economic hardship played a major role in how Muslim faithful domiciled in the nation’s capital marked the day.
Traders who in the past, rushed to the banks with joy, rather counted their losses this year. Challenged by the economic recession, some traders slashed prices of rams and other goods to attract customers.
The recession was the song of traders in all the major markets visited in Abuja city and in the suburbs. For instance, prices of rams sold in Federal Housing, Kubwa, were slashed.
Daily Sun which spoke with some of the ram sellers and traders in Kubwa, Wuse, Garki and Dutse Alhaji markets discovered that the economic situation coupled with astronomical rise in prices of food items and other essential goods affected patronage.
Eid- El- Kabir, which is an annual festival is highly celebrated in commemoration of Ibrahim when he demonstrated his obedience to God (Allah) to sacrifice his son Ismael, whom God exchanged with a ram. In remembrance of this, Muslims gather every year and travel to their different states to give their obeisance to Allah and celebrate with loved ones.
During this period, some of them slaughter rams, buy new clothes and even extend their benevolence to some non-Muslims and the needy, who may not have the money to buy rams. In the past, just few days to the Eid-El-Kabir, Muslims would besiege markets to buy household items, such as curtains, rugs, carpets, among others, so as to replace old ones and give their homes new looks in preparation for the Sallah.
At Alhaji Dutse ram market, sellers thronged the market, calling at customers who came there to purchase rams. It was observed that some of the traders made little sales as buyers inspected the rams before making purchases.
Chairman of the Ram Traders, Mr. Idris Shaib, said patronage was low: “During Eid-El-Kabir like this, we make huge sales, but this year’s patronage is low. But we sold little by little. We had rams worth 100,000 each, 20,000) and below, but we could not sell them.”
Mohammed Sani Labai who came to buy a ram, said it was a tradition for every Muslim to slaughter ram, if he is buoyant financially, but not mandatory for those who cannot buy.
At Wuse Market, traders were seen seated, wearing long looks. The goods were available, but few buyers came to patronize them. Some traders, who deal in food items, lamented that very few people came around to buy things in bulk, unlike the previous years and that customers only bought what they felt was necessary.
A trader, Andrew said, “we were not really selling, people were complaining.” Another trader, Mercy Yakubu, expressed dissatisfaction: “Things are hard now. Things are also expensive. We didn’t sell as we used to. Customers were complaining. Everyone was complaining. Our duty was to make them see reasons with us. Few people tried to patronize us.”
At the motor park in Maraba, a member of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NWRTW), Mr. Emmanuel Sani, explained that traveling during Christmas period is different from Sallah. According to him, this is because it is Eid-El-Kabir. He said passengers travel more after the fasting. He admitted that the park recorded low patronage:
“Passengers were complaining. We used to load more than 40 vehicles, but during the festival we could not load more than 10. During weekends, we loaded more than 50 buses, but during the sallah we could load 20 vehicles. The economic hardship has affected everything, even transportation. Some drivers have turned to ‘Agbero.’ There were few passengers for the Sallah, unlike before.”
Usman is from Gombe State. He name as Usman, said the hardship has affected many Muslim faithful: “Before, buses got filled up on time, but last week I stayed for more than an hour with a handful of passengers available. Some people preferred to stay back at home to celebrate Sallah to traveling because there is no money.”
He said “the good thing about the last Sallah is that it was celebrated peacefully especially in Abuja.”
At Jabbi park, commuters who traveled to Lagos, Ibadan, Ife, Enugu, among others, equally complained bitterly about the hike in transportation fair. The fare from Abuja to Lagos was raised to N5,000 and Ife was N4,000. The fare used to be in the region of N3,500 and N3,000
Those in the entertainment and hospitality sector also complained. At the Wonder World near the Abuja Stadium, Hajia Amina, who came with her kids said: “ Look at how empty this place is. There is no money.”