Christmas: Nigerians Back To Emefiele’s Era

• Cash Scarcity, High Cost Of Commodities May Hinder Blissful Celebration

NIGERIANS and residents of Osun in particular are currently experiencing shortage of cash as witnessed during the era of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele in February 2023.

This is just as Nigerians are also battling with double digit inflation which has resulted into high cost of commodities.

The astronomical increase in the price of foodstuffs, livestock and other commodities as well as the scarcity of naira may hinder a blissful celebration of Christmas this year.

Already, traders, especially those who sell cloth, foodstuffs and livestock, have been complaining of low patronage few days to the Christmas.  

OSUN DEFENDER visited some markets in Osogbo, Osun State capital, on Thursday to observe festive mood and it was noted that most of the markets were not as bubbling as they used to be. 

There was a sharp decrease in the number of people buying items in preparation for the festival.

According to traders, the current scarcity of naira being witnessed in the state was also a factor contributing to the dull festive mood. 

Some of the traders, according to findings, were rejecting electronic payment (transfer) from unknown buyers for the fear of being duped. 

Prices of rice, turkey, chicken, pepper and ingredients have gone up, a situation that may lead to low-key celebration. 

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that a bag of rice was being sold between N54,000 and N56,000. A big turkey in the market was sold between N40,000 and N50,0000 while chicken prices were also on the rise. 

Equally, the price of pepper has gone up compared to last year, with traders attributing the increment to high cost of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

Speaking with the medium, a foodstuff seller who identified himself as Bolanle Oluwarotimi at Akindeko market, said the market was dull which was not supposed to be considering the fact that Christmas is few days away.

Oluwarotimi noted that the purchasing power of the people have reduced as a result of devaluation of naira, inflation and high cost of petrol. 

She said: “We thought the rate at which things went up last year was high but this year is worse. The removal of fuel subsidy, devaluation of naira, inflation and others have caused the prices of foodstuffs and commodities to go up and not all people can afford to buy the high-price goods.

“They don’t have the financial strength to buy things as they did last year. People that bought one bag of rice last year are going for half a bag this year. Also, the cash crunch is affecting us, the traders.”

A livestock seller at Oluode market, Osogbo, Abayomi Alowonle, said the high cost of feeding the livestock was responsible for increment in their price.

He said: “Feeding the chicken and turkey is too costly now. A kilogram of feed for chicken last year was sold for N300 but it is now being sold for N600.

“We poultry farmers are just trying to survive because no matter the amount we sell the livestock, to make profit is difficult.”

Popular Igbona market was not as crowded as it used to be, with traders lamenting low patronage. 

Mrs Ebunoluwa Babatunde, a fabrics vendor at the market, said cash crunch is the major issue that affected her this year.

She noted that some people had duped her through fake transfers, saying that she was no longer accepting electronic payment from her customers. 

“Things are very high this time around. Most customers are complaining about the prices of cloth and it is not our fault. We sell what we buy.

“The economic hardship in the country is also hindering smooth sale. People have now turned to dupers. They will lie that they don’t have cash and prefer to do transfer. Unfortunately, they are duping us with that. 

“I have received more than four fake alerts and that’s why I stopped accepting transfers. There is no cash in town and we don’t know who to trust with the online transfer. I urged our government to find something to do about this economy.”