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Eid-el Kabir: Traders, buyers lament high cost of goods, services in Ibadan
With Eid-el-Kabir celebrations fast approaching, some traders and buyers in Ibadan have expressed concern over high cost of rams, foodstuffs and other commodities and services.
A survey carried out by newsmen in some markets in Ibadan revealed that all the respondents were bothered by the unstable nature of prices of goods and services.
Price checks at ram markets in New Ife Road, Egbeda, Adegbayi and Alakia areas of Ibadan showed that an average-sized ram, which sold for N40,000 in 2020, now cost between N60,000 and N65,000.
It was also observed that a big-sized ram sold for between N80,000 and N120,000.
At Aleshinloye market, rams cost between N30,000 and N110,000, a price range whichAbdullahi Hashim, a ram seller, considered to be exorbitant.
According to Mr Hashim, the high price was due to the security condition in the northern part of the country as well as high cost of transportation.
Similarly, another ram seller, Mr Ibrahim Jamiu, blamed transporters bringing the rams from the north for charging exorbitant fares.
Mr Jamiu added, “even the prices of rams we rear here are high, because their feeds are costly too.
“We are only appealing to government to let its economic policies allow businesses to grow.”
A man, Abdulazeez Adeleke, who bought a ram for N63,000 at Adegbayi, lamented its high price and those of other items.
According to him, the high cost of rams, food items and other consumables might not allow many families to celebrate the Salah as they would have loved to.
Another ram buyer, AbdulRashid Jimoh, said although rams were very much available, the prices were out of reach.
He, however, said that he could not but buy for his parents, no matter the cost.
In his opinion, Mr Sanusi Hassan, a ram buyer at Aleshinloye market, linked the scarcity and high cost of the animal with the cancellation of the 2021 hajj pilgrimage by Saudi Arabian Government.
This, he said, had created room for more Muslim faithful, who would have celebrated Salah in Saudi Arabia, to be at home for the festival.
Mr Morufu Sani, an intending ram buyer at Ojo-Oba market, regrettably said he could not afford to buy a ram due to its high cost.
“A big ram of my choice is sold for N140,000.
“Where do I get such money? Any meat we see, no matter how small, my family and I will manage it,” he said.
However, a rice seller at Oja-Oba market, Alhaja Olugbade Salami, said that prices of all foodstuffs, including rice, had increased even before the onset of the festive period.
“A bag of rice that we used to sell at below N20,000 is now sold for N26,000 and it is quite unfortunate that there’s no patronage now like before,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bisola Salawu, an onion seller, said that buyers were no longer buying in bulk due to the hike in price of the item.
“Forty pieces of onion that we used sell for N2,000 before now sell for N2,500, and you will hardly see people buying in bulk as they used to,” she said.
As for tomatoes, a seller, Kawa Aminat, told NAN that a bucket of tomatoes, which sold for N800 in 2020, now sold for between N1,500 and N2,000.
“Almost all the prices of commodities brought from the North have gone up due to COVID-19 issues, transportation cost and farmers/herders’ crises.
For instance, six pieces of yam that used to sell for N4,500 now went for N6,000, resulting in reduced patronage,” she said.
Secretary of Arewa Pepper Sellers Association of Oyo State, Mallam Illiasu Bala, also said that Tatashe (Bell pepper) and Bawa (Sombo), which formerly sold at N7,000 per bag, had each increased to N20,000 per bag.
Also, Chairman of the Oyo State Onion Sellers’ Association, Alhaji Azeez Ademola, who explained that onion was not in season, said that a small bag of onions was now N20,000, while the big bag was now N30,000.
A vegetable oil seller at Ojo-Oba market, who simply identified herself as Alhaja, said she had not sold anything since she opened her shop in the morning.
“A five-litre Kings Oil that was around N3,500 before is now sold for N5,000, and there’s no market. I have been sitting down like this since morning.
“Everywhere is dry. Whether Ileya or not, customers are not coming. Many people are even living on loans,” she said.
According to reports, the prices of textile materials at Gbagi textile market remained stable, with 12 yards of locally-made Ankara fabric selling for between N3,000 and N7,000, depending on the quality.
However, a textile dealer, Mrs Aliratu Lasisi, complained of low patronage, attributing it to the poor economic situation of the country.
She observed that people were now more concerned about what to eat than what to wear.
Her submission was affirmed by operators in the fashion industry, as some tailors and fashion designers said there had been sharp decline in patronage, in spite of the Sallah that was fast approaching.
A tailor, Saliu Ojedele, said, “Gone are days when we used to hire more hands to work night shifts in order to meet up with customers’ demands.
“Ordinarily, we ought to have started doing that, but it’s quite different now,” he said.
A customer, Mr Abdullahi Wasiu, however, said that he was more particular about getting his children clothes to make them happy and comfortable in the midst of their peers and extended family members.
“For adults, you can wear whatever you have, especially if there are no means of buying new dresses. Aside that, getting ram is more important than buying new dresses,” he said.
Contrarily, a jeweler, Miss Nkechi Emeka, said that the soaring prices of consumer goods and services had not dampened people’s morale towards shopping.
“I will not say people are not buying like before. Yes, the percentage of those who usually visit markets during festive periods has reduced, but sellers are also not able to meet the demands.
“This is because of the increase in dollar rate and some of us did not have enough money to stock up before this week.
“Some sellers have even run out of goods because they didn’t get enough money to buy before this period,” she said.
Corroborating, Emeka, a clothe vendor, described the rising prices of goods as an unfavourable trend for both buyers and small business owners.
“What some of us did to prepare for the demands of this season was to form groups. We contributed money to buy in bulk; we then split the goods for sale.
“However, the amount that we used to spend on purchasing 10 cartons is now what we use to buy one or two cartons.
“The prices are even unstable. What you buy today at N50,000 may go up to N55,000 within a week.
“The economy is really biting hard and the unstable prices have forced some of our colleagues to shut down,” she said.
A buyer, Mojo Daramola, who was at the market to shop for the festive period, lamented what she described as “outrageous prices”.
Mrs Daramola, who appealed to government to urgently intervene in driving down the prices of goods and services, said she was left with the option of buying fewer items, which mostly included her children’s clothes.
NAN
In a bid to promote food security and sustainable agricultural practices, the NNPC Foundation has successfully trained more than 3,000 farmers in the South-West geopolitical zone on climate-smart and modern farming techniques.
The training, which concluded on Friday in Ikorodu, Lagos, marked the end of the Southwest phase of the foundation’s pilot programme aimed at empowering local farmers and boosting agro-productivity.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, described the initiative as a milestone in the lives of thousands of farmers.
“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment,” Arukwe said.
“What began as a bold decision to support small holder farmers has translated into tangible action across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria.”
She disclosed that a total of 3,860 vulnerable farmers across 10 locations in the three regions were trained in sustainable farming practices that improve productivity and market access.
“This achievement is not just a number, but a milestone in the lives of real people and real communities. We were able to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change,” she added.
“Through the training, we were able to improve access to markets, promote inclusive agriculture and especially gender representation. We also trained them on enhancing food production through sustainable techniques.”
Arukwe noted that the programme would now move to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones as part of its next phase, saying the foundation is committed to supporting livelihoods nationwide.
“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps,” she said.
“The NNPC Foundation will continue this mission, to support livelihoods, build resilience, and empower the hands that feed our families and beyond.
We have decided that most times you get a lot of requests from people asking us to give them palliatives and all kinds of things to help them.
But we think it is much better to teach people to fish than just give them fish so they can continue,” Arukwe explained.
Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Mr. Wasiu Adesina, while commending the initiative, urged the beneficiaries to apply the knowledge gained to boost productivity and profitability.
“As we all know, agriculture is the bedrock of any nation. Without agriculture, there will not be a nation, because there will be no food to eat,” Adesina stated.
“It is the farmers that produce our food, and it is important that we train our farmers with new techniques in agriculture, and that is exactly what the NNPC Foundation is doing.
“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face the farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are the most richest people in those countries.
“This is because they make a lot of money from farming. We need to inculcate that habit in Nigeria and develop ideas in farming. Even after my tenure, I am going back to farming, so, maybe I will ask the NNPC Foundation to train me so that I also join you to be a farmer.”
He appealed to the foundation to provide further empowerment for the trained farmers to help them kickstart their agricultural ventures.
“If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina added.
Also speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, represented by the Director of Fisheries, Mrs. Osunkoya Daisi, lauded the Foundation’s efforts in bolstering the state’s food security.
“On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers all over the country,” she said.
“Definitely, the training will help improve food production. We can see the impact of climate change effects in agriculture. I am sure farmers have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture techniques to improve production.”
The NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. It was incorporated in February 2023 to manage the company’s CSR initiatives and enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.
According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.
Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.
Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.
Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.
He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.
He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
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