Christmas is a time of spiritual reflection on the important foundations of the Christian faith.
It is a period of the celebration of God’s love for the world through the birth of Jesus Christ.
The annual celebration is characterized with giving, sharing and caring for one another, which comes with a lot of merriments, buying and selling ,as well as vacations which entails spending money.
Meanwhile, this year’s Christmas commemoration appears to be bleak for many Nigerians due to high inflation that has led to monumental hike in prices of goods ands food items .
How would the average Nigerians cope with all of these?
The high cost of food items in these festive period is an issue of concern.
How would the period be celebrated without compromising the joyful moments.
Radio Nigeria’s visit to Yankaba vegetable market, one of the biggest perishable food hubs in Kano, reveals the tremendous increase in the prices of tomatoes and pepper, with a bowl selling for N1,000 and N1,200.
A buyer at the market, Rabi’u Isa Ma’aruf Mai Danwake spoke about the rise in price of vegetables and other food items.
“Am here to buy vegetables and food items,but the price is too high,no petrol Nigerians are used to seeing such kind of problems during festive periods”
Patience Uzodinma and Ronke Adekunle attributed the rise to the yuletide period to fuel scarcity, saying that a measure of rice is sold at N2,100-N2,200, while groundnut oil and palm oil goes for N1,100-N1,200 per bottle.
They appealed to government, and relevant stakeholders to assist the less privileged, by setting up a price control mechanism to alleviate suffering, as food and clothing materials are too expensive in the market.
“We are in a tight situation and God is the only one to get us out of this,the Christmas is not going to be good”
Alhaji Labaran Sa’idu Sheka, Chairman Kano Vegetable Sellers Association, said the price of commodities in the market has not changed.
He explained that,the market association had set up a price control, that ensures commodities are sold based on quality and availability, to avoid inflation.
The chairman stressed that,during festive periods such as Christmas, sallah, and Maulud, vegetables are on high demand which makes the price lower.
He advised consumers to visit Yankaba Market to enjoy the lowest possible rate.
A lecturer with the Department of Economics,Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Dr. Abdulsalam Muhammad Kani pointed out that, insecurity has contributed to inflation in Nigeria, by promoting scarcity of commodities, where farmers refuse to visit their farms, and closure of businesses and factories due to fear.
He highlighted that,all the factors have compounding effects, adding that,what is happening today on rising cost of food items due to inflation is a world wide phenomenon.
The lecturer identified interest and exchange rate, taxation, low production by industries,absence of price control as some of the factors responsible for inflation in Nigeria
“In Nigeria the inflation rate is between 21 to 22% , which means what you are purchasing will change from one thousand to one thousand two hundred or there about within a short period”
He hinted that, steady and adequate power supply, reduction of interest rates charged by commercial banks, tax reduction, availability of forex in all financial institutions,improvement in security, are some of the major ways that would assist in reducing the pressure of inflation in Nigeria.
KHADIJAH ALIYU
