Jos Crisis: Fruit Sellers Record Huge Losses

Fruits dealers in Jos metropolis are recording huge losses due to low patronage, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A market survey by NAN on Wednesday in Jos, showed that the ethnic and religious crisis rocking the state was the main reason for the development.

Some of the sellers who spoke to NAN, blamed their misfortunes on rumours being circulated through text messages and worship centres, alleging that fruits were being poisoned.

“Many people are scared that the fruits we sell are poisoned,” Adamu Ali, an orange seller in Dadin–Kowa told NAN.

NAN reports that sellers of oranges, water melon, banana, grapes, apples and pineapples are the worst affected by the poison scare.

The survey also showed that residents refused to buy fruits from sellers with whom they do not share the same religious faith.

A resident of Jos, John Pam, told NAN that the conflict between Christians and Muslims had forced him to take precautionary measures to avoid being poisoned by fruit sellers.

He said he had also instructed his family members not to purchase fruits from sellers with whom they did not share the same faith.

Another resident Mrs. Victoria Musa, told NAN that she had stopped buying fruits “from the Hausa people”.

“Some weeks ago, I got a text message from a friend in Abuja cautioning me against buying fruits from her former customer.

“Since then, I have lost interest in fruits,” she added.

Another resident, Malam Garba Musa, told NAN that he had stopped buying fruits from Christian women who hawk around the town.

Musa said he also received a text message from Kano advising him to stop purchasing fruits from the women to avoid being killed through poison.

A fruits dealer, Mr. Moses Tsav, told NAN that the “poison scare” was really affecting his business because many of his Hausa customers had stopped patronising him.

Tsav disclosed that before the latest crisis, he used to transport fruits worth N500,000 to Jos.

“But currently, I hardly sell N100,000 worth of fruits,” he said.

Malam Isah Danladi, who sells orange in the city, told NAN that his business had collapsed.

He said he often consumed some of the oranges to prove that they were not poisoned but to no avail.

Madam Juliana Gopir, a banana hawker, said she was experiencing lots of difficulties in business as many of her customers no more patronise her banana.

“I am a widow who survive