As this year’s Eid-el Kabir festival draws nearer, ram sellers in Ibadan metropolis have attributed the high prices of rams to insecurity and the high cost of transportation.

The traders, while with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday, said insecurity in some parts of the country had restricted their movements in search of rams.

Mr Kabiru Jimoh, from the Oranyan sheep and goat market, said that traders preferred to buy rams from intermediaries because of their understanding of the terrain and techniques of gathering the animals without falling in the hands of bandits.

This, he said, had resulted in additional transportation costs, contrary to what was obtained in the past when there was relative security.

“We can not go to those villages again to buy rams due to security challenges in those places; we don’t want to be killed or kidnapped by the bandits. So, we only rely on middlemen,” he said.

Another trader from Bodija market, Mr Mustapha Salami, said that the cost of transporting rams from northern part of the country had increased beyond normal.

Salami stated that the cost of loading a trailer, which was between N700,000 and N900,000 during last year’s sallah, had now increased to between N1.5 million and N1.7 million.

“We have no other option than to increase the prices of rams, as high cost of transportation has taken large chunk of what is supposed to be our profits,” he said.

Salami said that the high cost of rams had resulted in low patronage, expressing the hope that that sales would improve before Sallah.

A buyer, Mr. Ibrahim Kolawole, said that the same size of ram he bought during last year’s sallah for N120,000 is now being sold for between N160,000 and N180,000.

Kolawole said he decided to buy the ram early to avoid a last-minute rush, hoping that it would be cheaper.

However, the Baale of Ogidi community in Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Alhaji Muhammed Abdul-Azeez, has decried the high cost of rams in the market, particularly with the current situation of the nation’s economy.

He noted that prices of ram had surged significantly, with medium-size rams now costing between N400,000 and N600,000, compared to their price of between N70,000 and N100,000 last year.

He said that both sellers and buyers were not happy with the current situation of things in the country.

“Nigerians are frustrated and this calls for worry. While the sellers are lamenting the low patronage, buyers are also decrying the combination of economic challenges, insecurity and transportation costs that had made the rams to be beyond the reach of the low class people.

Similarly, a civil servant in Oyo State, Alhaji Ibrahim Tijani, attributed the high cost of rams to inflation, noting that the prices had skyrocketed beyond measure.

He said that salaries were not paid and that many governors were not doing anything to alleviate the sufferings of the workers.

He called on governments at all levels to find ways of putting smiles on the faces of the people.

“What workers were earning as income last year has remained the same, while in some states, it is even lower due to the various levies imposed on workers.

“Look at what the market is saying now; it is not funny, but we can only appeal to them to make life bearable for us; they should also remember that we are also human beings, with responsibilities,” he said.

NAN observed that prices of rams across the markets visited have increased by between 25 per cent and 50 per cent, depending on the sizes.