As
Christians celebrate Christmas, Our Maiduguri Correspondent SADIQ ABUBAKAR took
a survey of prices of goods, livestock and food stuff among others in
Maiduguri.
Visit to
Maiduguri famous Monday Market shows that despite the boko haram insurgency and
delay in salary payment of November 2017 as well as non payment of December
2017, the market was full to capacity with buyers and sellers especially, women
and children in preparation for the Christmas.
Prices
of goods, livestocks and foodstuff including ingredients have shot up
even before the Christmas day and New Year when celebrations are expected and
at its peak.
Foreign
rice bag cost N20000 while local rice cost between N16000-N18000, Gallon of
vegetable oil cost N4500 instead of N3900, gallon of palm oil N4300 instead of
N3800.
Goat
cost more than ram and sheep. Goat cost between N30,000 -N20,000 instead of
N18000-N8000 while ram and sheep cost between N25000-N15000 while chickens cost
between N3000-N1800 instead of N2500-N1200.
As for
Ingredients, a basket or carton of tomatoes cost between N12000-N9000 instead
of N9000-N7000, bag of onions cost between N17000-N13000 instead of
N12000-N8000, fresh red and green pepper and spices basket or carton cost
between N15000-N12000 instead of N11000-N7000.
Prices
of Maggie cubes, salt, curry powder, onga, theme and royco among others have
not change.
Alhaji
Musa Maikano, a clothes and wrappers seller at Monday Market Maiduguri said, ”
Actually, due to the insurgency, things are not going well like in the past
when there was no insurgency. “
“In the
past, by this period, in this kind of festival period, you will see women and
children in large number patronizing our goods. Buying different kind of
things.
” By
that time, there was availability of funds. Workers and teachers come into the
market frequently and loaded with enough money to buy whatever they want.
” But
today, as you can see, there are no much people. However, we are grateful to
God for the little patronage which is better than none.
“And we
still have the hope that if salary is paid to workers who are the large
majority of our customers, they will come in to buy many things for their
families especially, for their children and wives at Christmas”, Musa
said.
Mrs.
Roseline Oguchukwu , a petty trader at the Oil and Gari Lane Monday Market
said,” We are really not making it as in the past due to the crisis. But our.
Customers are still coming to patronize us especially for the Christmas.
“We have
increased the prices of our garri, palm and ground oil including green leaves
and bitter leaves sue to the fuel scarcity and increase in transport fares or
transportation of or goods from the east and south down to the north.
“We are
also not happy but we hope if the fuel is available, they will reduce the
transport cost and the prices of our goods will also reduce. But no how,
we have to buy and celebrate the Christmas like that this year”, Roseline said.
Alhaji
Adamu Ibrahim Mai Shinkafa, a rice dealer at the Monday Market said, ” the
increase in prices of the bags of rice whether local or foreign was as a result
of the fuel scarcity.
“If not,
in the past before the fuel scarcity, the prices were not like this. Although,
the tradition in Maiduguri eery year is that , at festivals, prices of
essential commodities and even local goods and ingredients get sky rocketed
instead of dropping down to allow people or everybody afford what he or she can
buy and eat to celebrate.
Rather,
you will find the dealers , middle men and women as well as and retailers
increasing the prices of their goods especially during Christmas and sallah
periods in Borno which is not the same in other parts of the country like Yobe,
Kano, Kaduna, Jos and others. Prices of goods and devices are usually
controlled r reduced to create opportunity for people to buy whatever
they want to use to celebrate”, Adamu said.
Benjamin
Osagie, a shoes, cosmetics, perfumes and bags trader at the Monday Market
said , ” The problem actually lies on the insurgency even before the issue of
fuel scarcity. Because of the crisis, we don’t open market on time and close
late. What we do these years is we close early and open late for customers.
Still,
we do experience attacks here in the market and fire disaster as well as
burglary which compounded the hardships and sufferings we are into.
The
worst is lack of regular patronage by the workers who collect salary and come
to the markets especially the ladies or women who are my major customers.
We don’t
much often see them again as usual due to delay in salary And recently
the fuel scarcity that has made everything difficult and hard. But whatever it
is, people will celebrate the Christmas with the little they have and we have
started seeing them coming for one or two things, ” Benjamin said.
Kaka
Modu, a grocery seller at Customs area market said,” we don’t even have enough
gra very these days and the prices have even increased ased with the fuel
scarcity despite the fact that in the last, the insurgency has truncated
everything but God is in control.
“The
cost changed due to the Christmas period and fuel scarcity. We also pay higher
transport fares and get the goods from far distances. Because people for Long
no longer farm in the last three years around Maiduguri and its environs.
So, wen
we finally transport these food items down to Maiduguri, we have to make gain
by increasing the prices because if we sale at low prices, we can not recover
our. Money talkless of making profit,” Kaka said.
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