Recently, traders who operate in the Federal Capital Territory of the nation cried out to the government for intervention over the unnecessary hike in the price of goods, the instability in the prices of produce and the death daring inflation of the country.
The traders and citizens aired out their concerns during interview sessions with the news agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja, one of the traders who introduced himself as Mr Nduka Ndubisi cried out saying that the unpredictability of of goods prices has limited effective trade, as large stocks would require more money which they cannot afford because of the current hike in their prices.
“The prices of most food stuff items are currently unstable; we cannot even predict the prices anymore, this is tiring and frustrating” the poor trader cried out.
Mr Victor Azikiwe, a resident of the Aco AMAC estate also complained bitterly that the over the the price of food and blamed it on the high price of petrol, he expressed his concerns over the different amount which petrol is being sold by different persons and at different places.
“This contributed to the rise in food prices as the cost of transportation of food stuff across the country increased. For instance Abuja to Ilorin is now N 18,000 as compared to N 7,500 before now,” Mr Azikiwe complained.
Sherifat Musa, another resident raised her concerns emphasizing on how badly the situation would affect the Muslims and their upcoming Eid-El-Kabir celebration.
She urged those in authority to do something about the current situation before things go out of place, ” Our annual celebration is here, how do we buy all we need? I’m scared of going to the market because i don’t know what i would meet there, it is scary, because the hike in price keeps getting worse” she said.
At Gosa market, a tomato and pepper trader known as Hajiya Amoke Omole revealed that the instability in the prices of goods has made most traders to be wary while some have abandoned the trade.
“We do not even understand the situation; the prices of foodstuff have been fluctuating for a while now, the price of tomatoes is also fluctuating; last week we bought a basket full for a price as high as N100,000,00 and this week, it is 130,000 per basket, which means the price is high and unpredictable.
“Sometimes, when pepper becomes affordable, tomatoes become more expensive, but now everything is on the high side, pepper is now more expensive than tomatoes” the poor trader lamented.
A civil servant who was also interviewed gave a description of food as the necessities for survival and therefore, it;s availability and affordability are of key importance to every nation of the world, according to him, the unavailability of food could lead to civil unrest, untimely death, malnourishment and more.
“Unfortunately, the price of food items has increased exponentially, daily, Nigerians have to spend more money these days before they can afford enough food for themselves and their families, and this alone has contributed enormously to the food inflation” he said.
Oluwaseun Soleye, a student of the university of Abuja encouraged Nigerians to turn to God for help as he alone can help the country and it’s citizens.
