As preparations are ongoing by Muslim faithful for Eid El-Kabir, popularly referred to as “Big Sallah” in Nigeria, the high cost of rams, which are usually preferred for sacrifice during the period of this celebration may hinder a lot of average Nigerians from buying.
A random sample of prices indicates that as the festivity draws nearer, a small ram may sell for as high as forty-five thousand naira, a high price for an average buyer.
Two rams at Uke village market caught the attention of this reporter. One of them, which was mostly white in colour but with black patches on the face and neck was pegged at two hundred and fifty thousand naira.
While the other, which was coloured brown from the head to the torso but had white colour on its hind legs up to its waist and stomach, was priced at two hundred thousand naira.
These prices had been negotiated from two hundred and seventy thousand and two hundred and thirty thousand naira, respectively. Both rams were up to one metre in height from the tip of the head to the ground and were estimated to be five years old.
The cheapest ram on display at the village market had a price tag of fifty thousand naira. Mallam Shuwa, the ram seller, told us that not a kobo would be reduced from his ‘last price’.
Asked why the rams were so pricey, he said there are different types of rams. He described the ones he was selling as home bred, better fed, healthier and friendlier than the ones herded from place to place by cattle rearers.
While responding to our query as to if his explanation was enough to justify his pricing, he said rams will naturally be costlier this year because of the challenges Fulani herders were facing regarding open grazing in the country. He also said that middlemen had to make more efforts to enter into the forests to buy from the herders, thereby incurring more transportation costs.
Other respondents told us that once middlemen purchased most of the rams to resell in Abuja and other states, the cost would soar immediately.
At Kara livestock market, also in Karu local government area of Nasarawa state, several middlemen we spoke to said they preferred to buy from the market, instead of travelling to Katsina, Bauchi or Kebbi states, where the cattle would have been cheaper, but there are fears of kidnappers and possible attacks by terrorists. Another well-bred all-white ram was indicated to be sold for a price of two hundred and fifty thousand naira.
“This market is closer to Abuja and less risky: and to buy a large number of rams requires a lot of money which we do not have due to the state of the economy,” said one of the middlemen. Other middlemen and individuals also said rams would cost more in Keffi or Lafia, hence their decision to buy in Kara.
According to the middlemen, the strategy they have employed in order to buy at low prices was to come late, towards the time the market was closing in the evening, and buy at very low prices from ram owners who had travelled to the market from very far locations to sell and had to offload their rams to avoid the transportation cost of returning them home.
Some of the rams they bought through that strategy were as low as thirty thousand naira. After adding the cost of feeding and fattening for the weeks before Sallah.” Our rams would be expected to cost as much as forty-five thousand naira and above, they estimated.
Alhaji Balogun is a Consultant, Media & Advertising and writes from Abuja.
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