Livestock merchants in Damaturu, Yobe, have complained of low patronage of livestock few days to Eid-el -Kabir Sallah festival.
Some merchants, who spoke with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, said many of the animals were still unsold due to poor patronage.
Ali Usman, a livestock dealer said “the problem is not just about internal patronage but even those who used to come from outside the state had reduced significantly.
“In the previous years by this time as Sallah approaches, we used to have a lot of foreign merchants buying in large quantities to be transported to various parts of the country.”
Modu Bukar, another livestock dealer, said many dealers had this year refused transporting the animals to the south because of the security challenges.
“I personally buy and transport the animals to Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta and other south western states but lack of certainty and insecurity made me and many others not to travel to the south this year.
Mohammed Usman, another dealer, said he had stopped supplying goats to his colleague in the south east who sold and sent him the money for more supplies.
“We have been doing a kind of revolving business where l send him the goats, he sells them and we share the profit, while l supply him more stock but this has stopped because of insecurity.
“I am afraid, the price of the rams will soar in the south because of the limited supply,” he said.
Dauda Alkali, a customer, who went to buy ram at the Damaturu livestock market, complained of the high costs of the animals.
“You will be surprised to see the unsold animals in droves in the market yet the prices are still very high.”
Bemi Umar, another prospective buyer, decried the high cost of the animals, saying “ironically, the animals are there in large numbers but the prices remain high”.
Adam Modu, another merchant said politicians who used to buy in large numbers for gifts were virtually missing this year.
“One politician used to buy 20 and above for distribution to associates and supporters but they are not forthcoming this year,” Adam lamented.
