Christmas: How subsidy removal, inflation dwarfed shoppers’ optimism

The normal bustling and hustling during Christmas seasons have not been experienced in many parts of the country this year as residents are negatively impacted by the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, as well as ravaging inflation. The subsidy removal by the Nigerian government has already caused a hike in prices of […]

The normal bustling and hustling during Christmas seasons have not been experienced in many parts of the country this year as residents are negatively impacted by the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, as well as ravaging inflation.

The subsidy removal by the Nigerian government has already caused a hike in prices of things and services, while residents now manage the way they spend on shopping for the festive season.

Although some states have announced cash awards, timely payment of salaries as well as 50% slash in the cost of transportation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among other interventions; our correspondents report that parents are still struggling to put a smile on the faces of their children.

President Bola Tinubu had, shortly after assuming office in May, announced the complete removal of fuel subsidy, a situation that pushed the price of petrol to about N700, thereby impacting harshly on the prices of goods and services.

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Reports have it that between May and October 2023, inflation rate rose to 27.33 per cent, while there is a prediction that Nigeria’s headline inflation may rise to 30 per cent by the end of December 2023 due to fuel subsidy removal and the unification of foreign exchange market.

The World Bank also projected that 100.9 million Nigerians may become poor before the end of 2023 if the government fails to compensate the vulnerable citizens over fuel subsidy removal.

Bayelsa

Daily Trust Saturday observed that both traders and buyers across different markets in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, are lamenting over the high cost of living and commodities, which may affect their Christmas celebration.

Prices of goat and other rice, which are common items being used to celebrate Christmas, have all gone up, even as cloths and other things are on the high side, thereby causing concerns among the people on how the Christmas celebration will look like.

Some buyers, Winifred John, Sylvia Daniel and Victory Samuel, who spoke to our correspondents, said the prices of foodstuffs, including pepper, gari, beans, among others, have witnessed drastic increase ahead of Christmas.

According to them, this is happening when the government has not even increased the salaries of civil servants, and many people have lost their jobs over the hardship caused by the fuel subsidy removal.

Also, some sellers, such as Clara Joseph and Stephen Moses, who deal in vegetable oil and goat meat, respectively, blamed the skyrocketing prices on the subsidy removal, bad roads and the weak purchasing power of the naira. 

They lamented low patronage from customers, ascribing it to the high cost of commodities in the markets, saying that previous Christmas recorded a boom for businesses. They called on the government at all levels to fix the economy to alleviate the plight of the ordinary people.

A shoe seller at Ekeki Shopping Mall in Yenagoa, Mr Sunday Benard, told Daily Trust Saturday that the current hardship being experienced in the country is too much for the people to bear, pleading with the authorities to iron out measures to alleviate it.

He said, “I have never seen this kind of hardship since I started business. I know how things used to go well during Christmas season like this, but since the removal of this fuel subsidy, everything just went bad. Even to go and buy goods, the transportation alone will discourage you because the customers will not afford the 100 per cent increase in the price of things they used to buy.

“The government of Nigeria should help the citizens by putting things in order. The suffering is too much. People are not shopping, not because they don’t want to shop but because of high cost of things.”

Mrs Stella Oboh, who was sighted at one of the shops at Ekeki Shopping Mall in Yenagoa, said her attention was on feeding.

She lamented that the price of foodstuff is not affordable as a bag of rice now goes for N50,000 and above compared to how it was during last year’s Christmas.

She said, “This is a very hard time to be a Nigerian. Last year’s Christmas was far better than this year, at least there was money to shop and prices of things were affordable, but today, we cannot afford the price of food items, not to talk of clothing or other things to celebrate this Christmas.

Kano

In the meantime, Christian faithful living in Kano State are also lamenting the high cost of foodstuff and transport fares as Christmas and New Year celebrations inch closer.

During a visit to Yankura Market known for foodstuff and perishable items, Saira Odang from Benue State said, “Actually, the prices of goods in the market are alarming. Formerly, if I had N10,000 I knew what I could buy and have a lot of change back home.

“Now, if you come to the market with N20,000 you cannot really give account of what you bought.

“I used to pay for transport to Benue with N6,000, but if you cannot count N15,000 now you should forget about it.” 

Also speaking, Charity Aledu from Anambra State lamented that the “market is not sweet. There is no day that the market is sweet these days because it is not the same thing you bought yesterday that you will buy today.”

Idris Abdullahi, a trader said, “Things normally change in our favour during Christmas, but we are facing serious teething economic challenges now.

“What we are witnessing in Nigeria today is that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. On the celebration of Christmas, we should leave that to God. He is a great provider and will surely provide for his children,” he said.

Abuja residents say chicken not affordable 

With the Christmas bell already ringing out the call for celebration, there seems to be less joy for most people.

Residents of Kubwa, a residential district in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said times were tough as chicken and other things middle income earners go for during festivities are now beyond their reach.

In the heart of Kubwa, there is a wave of discontent ripples through the community as residents voice their dismay over the staggering cost of chicken just days before Christmas.

Coupled with the harsh economic realities facing many Nigerians, the usual cheer and excitement for Christmas are different this season. With some dry pockets, a cash crunch, and the high cost of chicken feed affecting this year’s celebration, only few might enjoy the sumptuous bite of Christmas chicken.

Sadiq Yahaya, a prominent poultry seller in the bustling Kubwa Modern Market, gave insights into the unprecedented surge in chicken prices, emphasizing the stark contrast to last year’s holiday season.

Yahaya disclosed that the current chicken prices are significantly higher than last year’s sales, attributing this surge to the escalating cost of chicken feed. The once affordable feed, which farmers purchased at N8,000, now burdens them with a staggering N15,000 cost.

“Last year, the chicken we sold at N3,000 is now N6,000. We are equally not happy with the situation because without a seemingly large amount of cash at hand we can’t buy much chicken from farmers.”

“As we speak, there are almost no customers patronising the business now. Last year, one person bought five to 10 chickens at a spot. But this time around, people are buying less and resorting to buying frozen chicken based on kilos,” he added.

He also noted that some of the factors driving the spike were the soaring prices of essential feed components, such as soya beans, corn and millet. “The higher the cost of feed, the higher the price of chicken in the market,” he emphasized.

Daily Trust Saturday discovered that presently, prices of mature chicken fluctuate between N8,000 and N10,000, making it an expensive commodity for many residents.

Sule Celia, a resident of Kubwa, expressed her shock at the prices of chicken at the market. Celia, who had planned to buy four mature chickens for Christmas, found herself constrained to afford only two due to the steep costs.

“It is unfortunate. My plan is to buy at least four broilers for this year’s Christmas celebration. Unfortunately, I can only afford two. We are buying chicken now for almost the price of a goat some years ago,” she noted.

Celia appealed to the government for assistance, emphasizing the necessity of aid to farmers to ensure reasonable poultry prices once they are brought to the market.

The chairman of the Poultry Sellers Association in Kubwa Modern Market, Yahaya Abubakar, highlighted the collective challenges faced by poultry businesses.

“When chicken feed cost is reduced, the price of chicken will follow suit, paving way for increased sales and relief for all,” he said.

In September this year, the president of the Poultry Farmers Association (PAN), Lagos State chapter, Iyola Mojeed, warned that the price of chicken may hit N60,000 during Christmas and New Year.

Mojeed attributed the surge to the over 200 per cent increase in the prices of maize, soya beans and wheat, and blamed the government for not controlling the arbitrary price increase on the commodities.