As Muslims across Nigeria round up the Eid el-Kabir festival, livestock traders in Abuja are beginning to count their losses, with many attributing the situation to the country’s worsening economic conditions and rising cost of living.
A visit to major livestock markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including the popular Zuba market, revealed a common trend — numerous unsold animals and visibly frustrated traders.
Despite earlier reports by Nairametrics indicating a decline in the volume of rams brought into major Nigerian cities — particularly from neighbouring countries like Niger Republic — traders still struggled to sell the available stock during this year’s festivities.
A livestock dealer at Zuba ram market, Bashir Gwando, pointing to his animals, said, “The rams are everywhere, but nobody to buy them. Like me, many of us are still with our animals, not able to sell them.”
Gwando, who said he came all the way from Sokoto, stated, “This is my third year coming to sell [rams and goats] in Abuja. I’ve never had to go back [to Sokoto] with this large number [of animals].”
Another trader in Zuba market, Adamu Ilias, told Nairametrics of his mounting debts. “I took loans to purchase these animals with the hope of selling a good number. But see now? How do I pay my creditors?”
One buyer, Muhammed, whom we met at the market on Monday morning, said he was there to buy with the hope that the prices might have significantly reduced. According to him, “The price has reduced ‘small’.” He stated that he may just make do with whatever he could buy and “Allah accepts my sacrifice as an act of worship,” he noted.
Stakeholders, experts appeal to FG, states for support
Speaking to Nairametrics, Imam Abubakar Gudu of the community mosque at Ado, Nasarawa state, appealed to the federal and state governments to intervene in the matter.
According to him, the situation seems overwhelming, especially for ram sellers who may have mounting debts to pay.
“Even I, talking to you now, I sometimes feel like running away from the mosque,” he confessed, “Many of our worshippers who used to donate rams and other materials every year are no longer able to do so. You can imagine.
“These people are really suffering, and the government needs to do something to cushion the effects of this thing, the policy which they are doing,” he noted.
An Agricultural extension expert at the University of Abuja, Dr. Bilal Musa, on his part said, “The prices [of rams] are so high that it has become a luxury; it is not that people don’t want to buy, it is that they can’t,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government to do more to support the agriculture and energy sectors.
He said that such support would help to bring down the cost of rearing animals and make them more affordable.
“When agriculture is subsidised, farmers and herders won’t spend too much to feed and raise their animals.”Also, energy prices affect everything — from transporting livestock to running businesses.
“If we can reduce these costs, prices will come down and people can buy more,” he added.
Nigerians commemorated the Eid-ul-Adha on Friday, June 6 and 7, 2025.
