Abuja, Nigeria – Yunus Akanji, wey teach for Nurul Bayan Islamic School, dey sit for im madrassa for Abuja as children dey recite Quran verses. For many years, Akanji go travel with im family go Saki for Oyo State to meet im extended family for Eid al-Adha, wey dem dey call Sallah for Nigeria. When e no fit make the trip, e go buy ram and host small celebration with im family and students. But this year, nothing dey happen.
“I don conclude say we go just celebrate with wetin we get,” e tell Al Jazeera. The annual Muslim festival, wey get communal prayers and animal sacrifice, dey come near as Nigeria dey face serious economic wahala. For Abuja, rising food and transport costs dey quietly change how many families dey prepare for Eid.
Akanji say even parents and community members wey dey support im madrassa dey struggle. “Most of them never even pay,” e talk, referring to school fees wey dey help run the school and im household. The pressure no dey only for classroom. E dey show for bus stations, for markets, and for the small calculations wey people dey do before dem decide whether to travel or stay.
Nafisa Ibrahim from Ogun, wey dey Abuja for mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps programme, say she don drop her plan to go home for Eid. Transport cost alone make am impossible. And she no even sure say her family go fit slaughter animal this year. “Transportation dey about 35,000 naira [about $26], compare to 15,000 naira [about $11] wey I pay when I come Abuja for February,” she explain.
Opeyemi Ibrahim, fashion designer wey dey Byazhin district, say customer patronage don drop sharply even as festival dey near. E say rising fuel costs and erratic electricity supply don push up im operating expenses. “When light no dey, we must run generator,” e talk. “Filling am cost about 10,000 naira [$7]. But without am, the shop dey too hot, and we still need power to iron customers’ clothes.”
For livestock market for Kubwa, wey Al Jazeera visit before Eid, the strain dey clear before anybody talk. Men dey stand beside rams wey dem tie to wooden posts. Buyers dey move from one animal to another, ask few questions, then drift away. Malam Ibrahim, livestock seller wey don dey do the work for years, sit near the feed, dey watch most of im customers leave empty-handed.
“People dey come, ask price, and walk away,” e talk. E point to a ram near am, with black-and-white markings. “This ram dey sell for 600,000 naira [about $438],” e say. “Last year, the same size dey below 350,000 naira [$255].” Getting animals from northern Nigeria, Sokoto, Kaduna and beyond, don become more expensive. Fuel prices, transport fares, everything dey enter the final cost. “Even sellers dey suffer,” Ibrahim talk. If sales remain slow, e fear say the animals go remain unsold after Eid, when their value drop further. “We no pray to take them back home, but with the looks of things, I fear so,” e add.
One woman wey come buy two rams leave with only one. Inflation don steady for Nigeria for years now, but wetin people dey feel most na the gap between rising prices and stagnant incomes. The naira fit look more stable against US dollar than last year, traders say, but moving goods across the country still cost more every month. For Kubwa village market, buyers dey move, but few stop to buy. Vendors selling tomatoes, onions, rice and cooking oil say sales dey slower than usual, with many families cutting back even on basic festive food. “We used to celebrate Eid with joy,” one trader talk quietly. “Now we just calculate wetin we fit afford.”
