Five days to Eid-el-Kabir Sallah celebration when Muslim faithful are expected to slaughter rams, our reporters that went round some ram markets in the country report that there are rams everywhere but that the animals are very expensive.
In Felele ram market in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, a big ram costs between N70.000 and N90.000 while an average one cost between N45.000 and N60.000. The small rams go for N20,000 and 30,000 respectively.
Prices of rams in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital skyrocketed in recent times owing to difficulty encountered by livestock merchants in buying the animals from far northern states like Borno and Yobe due to insurgency.
Our correspondent who visited some selling points in Ilorin reports that the price of rams is as high as N90, 000 while the smallest that can be slaughtered cost around N22, 000.
A ram seller at the Ministry of Agric roundabout in Ilorin, Malam Amuda Yusuf attributed the development to the insurgency in some northern states.
He also said that heavy downpour in the area had also contributed to the high cost of rams, adding that most of the ram merchants complain that excessive rainfall had killed their animals and destroyed other valuables.
Yusuf, who noted that the cost of transportation is also a contributory factor, to the price hike, said they went to faraway Niger Republic and Cameroun among other neighbouring countries to purchase the animals.
In Abuja where the most expensive ram of N150,000 was seen at a ram market, most workers complained that they cannot afford to buy the sacrificial animals in the city because they are too expensive.
daily trust
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