Eid: Dutse residents groan over soaring ram price

By Hauwa Ibrahim

Some residents of Dutse in Jigawa have decried rising price of ram and other sacrificial animals for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

They said the trend would not allow them to sacrifice animals for the festivities.

A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Dutse cattle market, showed that prices had shot up by over 300 per cent compared to the previous season.

A big size ram is sold at N500,000, and a well-bred bull sold for N1 million, as against its previous prices of N130,000 and N400,000, respectively.

Traders at the market attributed the price hike to high cost of animal feeds.

Malam Musa Ayuba said animal rearing was no longer easy due to the rising cost of feeds and medication.

“Aimal feed is extremely expensive resulting to soaring livestock prices,” he said.

Alhaji Abubakar Jamilu, a resident, lamented that most families could not afford to slaughter ram for the season due to exorbitant prices.

“Animals are costly for sacrifice now. Many people cannot afford it like before,” he said.

Corroborating earlier opinion, Umar Abdu, described the trend as unbearable and challenging, adding that most families had resorted to alternative measures to cope with the situation.

Also, Nuhu Iliyasu, said that he would contribute money with others to buy a cow and share the meat.

He said that contributon was the only option for the low-income earners to enable them to slaughter animal for the season.

“I cannot afford to buy a ram. I joined a contribution group to buy a cow and share the meat,” he said.

On his part, Ishak Ibrahim, said that he would buy chickens to celebrate the season with his family in a good mood.