High cost of rams have been lamented by Lagos muslims

Barely 72 hours to this year’s Eid-el-Kabir, price of rams may force some Muslims to rethink the obligation of slaughtering rams.
This was even as many civil servants in the state lamented the ‘tough’ situation.
Daily Sun’s visit to many ram markets in the state, which include Gbagada, Agege, Ijora and Meiran, showed that while rams abound plentiful, there is low patronage.
Barely three days to the festival, only few customers were seen trying to purchase the sacrificial animals.
A ram seller at the Gbagada Ram Market, Abdullah Mahmud, said he had recorded low patronage since he arrived the state two weeks ago.
“I pray things improve more than this or else, I will regret investing in rams this year,” and added that although rams were available, which he claimed were bought at exorbitant prices, buyers were not forthcoming.
Mahmud’s views were also corroborated by another ram seller at Agege, Mangoe, who attributed the low patronage to fall in United States dollar, which he said has affected virtually everything in the country.
According to him, many prospective buyers complained about prices of rams, which range between N40,000, N85,000 and N120,000 respectively.
“As much as we are concerned with the prices, which our customers have described as high, we are also forced to sell at such prices because of many factors, including transportation,” he said.
Another ram seller, Kabir Razaq at the Kara Ram Market, Berger attributed the rise in prices to cost of breeding and feeding the animal as well as security challenges in the northern part of the country.
“We are not making much profit in the business as many people think because transportation and cost of rearing the animals have also increased considerably,” Razaq said.
A customer, Alhaji Mogaji said much as it is obligatory for a faithful Muslim to slaughter a ram during Sallah, he will not do things beyond his power.
“I will not steal to serve my God. I have tried severally in the past few days to buy a ram, but, the price is beyond my reach.  I canot because of Sallah celebrations not pay my children’s school fees which I even consider more important because of their future.”
Meanwhile, some civil servants in the state have described this Sallah as the worst festive period in recent time.
They spoke against the backdrop of cash crunch, which they feared might prevent them from buying the sacrificial animals.
They also lamented that the usual assistance they receive from government was no longer there.

Decent living in Nigeria’s recessed economy

It is no longer news that Nigeria’s economy is in recession. Austerity measures are now trending at both personal and corporate levels. Growth is shrinking; inflation is now officially 17.1 per cent; interest rate on lending is in double digits; unemployment soars and poverty deepens. A time like this calls for introspection and retrospection. At a personal level, I have been “restructuring”. As my disposable income becomes lean, I have had to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. No more expensive clothes and shoes.   I now cook more and eat out less. Oh, you’re asking why I cook? Well, it’s part of the “restructuring”. Other family members now live in less expensive parts of the country while I alone slug it out in Abuja and retreat frequently to meet the rest of the family in our new home.

Unfortunately, many Nigerians still live in Fantasy Land. They still hold lavish parties and indulge in their excesses, even doing so on credit. There are many who still can’t eat without soft drinks, wine or beer to “wash it down”. There are those who still enroll their children in expensive private schools even though they are heavily indebted to the school management as they perpetually default in payment of school fees and other charges. There are still those trendy guys and ladies who offer arms and legs to buy exotic cars in order to “oppress” their neighbours, friends and relations. These fashionistas can’t dress without perfumes and play the good guy by ensuring that they buy all the “aso ebi” chosen for socials. Sincerely, I do believe that it’s good to be trendy and enjoy the good things of life but only on one condition – if you can afford it!

My point of argument with many people is their inability to curtail their appetite for things they couldn’t afford. Why live in city centres for instance when your income can only get you a decent accommodation in the satellite towns? Why live in a duplex or three-bedroomed flat when your lean income can only conveniently pay for a two-bedroomed or a room and parlour apartment? I live in one of the satellite towns in Abuja and have seen many colleagues and acquaintances paying through their nose in eyebrow areas of Abuja like Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse, Jabi, Utako and Gwarinpa.  Their excuse being that they want to live close to their places of work. Should that be a deciding factor or your purse?

In truth, this austere time calls for change of attitudes, lifestyles and priorities. Hanging on to old values and proclivities is what has landed many couples in troubles, heartaches and depression. Why play the superman or hero when you do not have the financial muscle to back up your presumed status?  Why go into consumptive debts rather than borrowing for investment and productive purposes? Before I relocated my family to their present abode, many years back, I bought a plot of land in a developing area. The land was very cheap then but the area in question had no public electricity supply. I wasn’t so keen on acquiring the land initially because I thought it would take a long time before the area would become cosmopolitan. Wise counsel eventually prevailed and I paid for the property and commenced the development. It took years of savings and loans but to the glory of God, it’s completed now and my family now have a palatial home to live unlike when we were all squeezing ourselves in a two-bedroomed apartment here in Abuja. While the building project was on, I was using a 1998 model of Nissan Sunny which many of my colleagues call taxi.  Well, the car which I called “old faithful” served me well until I disposed it off last year having acquired a better car after the completion of the housing project.

When I see people being disgraced and embarrassed for defaulting on their rent, I take pity on them. At the same time, I wonder why some of them, especially those who are doing private business, insisted on staying put in an expensive environment like Abuja. I know that the illusory attractions to many city centres are the social amenities like good roads, pipe borne water, electricity, modern houses and offices and above all job opportunities. However, what many migrants to the cities do not know or choose to ignore is that there are limited opportunities in the urban centres. I have many curriculum vitaes of friends and relations looking for job in Abuja or anywhere for that matter. Sadly, much as I tried, I have not been able to assist any of them.

It is high time government at all levels worked collaboratively to develop the rural areas in order to stem the deluge of rural-urban migration. The white collar and blue collar jobs many desperate job seekers are angling for are thinning out. Look at the sheer volume of people who applied for the ongoing police recruitment. The same story with those who applies for the 500,000 teaching jobs advertised by the Federal Government. It behooves government to make our rural communities liveable so that many, especially the youths, that are daily flocking to urban centres will stay back to harness their potential in their various communities. If there are good roads, hospitals, schools, security, electricity, potable water, recreational facilities, internet connectivity and cottage industries in many of our rural areas, the inhabitants of these communities will not have the urge to seek a better life in the urban centres.

I recall that during the Babangida administration, he set up Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure under Air Vice Marshal Larry Koiyan. Something of that mould is needed now and urgently too. Dearth of basic amenities is what has been responsible for the rural-urban drift.

With rural electrification, efficient transport system, including rail line and marine transport, it will be easier for rural dwellers to daily commute to town. This will significantly reduce their cost of living and enhance their standard of living. As it is one of the utmost plans of government to diversify the economy, many youths in rural communities can be incentivised to stay back and engage in productive agricultural practice. There have been clamours for the restoration and expansion of farm settlements where government provides the land, accommodation farm implements, seeds and soft loans to young people. This is very important. One other good way government can help develop rural communities is by citing some of its Ministries, Departments and Agencies in developing areas. There is no gainsaying that the citing of the Nigeria Law School and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board headquarters in the Bwari area of Abuja assisted immensely in opening up that area for rapid development.

Methinks it’s time for sober reflection, adjustment of priorities and living real.

Four killed in Abia auto crash

Sorrow and agony yesterday overwhelmed commutters as four occupants of a Toyota Siena commercial bus coming from the Okigwe end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway  were killed, in a head on collision with a diesel tanker.
Two of the bodies were thrown into the nearby bush following the impact of the crash, one was lying face up on the road while the body of the driver was still trapped on his seat.
The Toyota Siena bus has the inscription “Onitsha South Local Government Mass Transit, with a registration number, Ebonyi  AFK 393 XA.
One of the bodies in the nearby bush had a broken skull while the other was bleeding from different parts. The trapped driver also had blood all over his lifeless body.
Commuters, particularly women and young girls, wept uncontrollably at the gory sight. The truck had no plate number, but the inscription on the two  sides of the front doors  was  SGC 2037 with NUPENG emblem .
Sympathisers, who crowded the scene, believe that the driver of the truck must have removed the plate number before running away from the scene  when he saw the impact of the crash.
Efforts made by sympathisers to remove the body of the driver from the seat  did not yield any result as the entire front portion of the bus was compressed on him.
Personnel of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who had been contacted through the phone were being awaited when our reporter left the scene. It was believed that the crash was not unconnected with rain  which made the road slippery.
Not far from there, another Toyota  Hilux van veered off the road and crashed into the bush throwing out all its five occupants. But no life was lost.

Migrant-kicking camerawoman charged in Hungary

A Hungarian television camerawoman who made headlines last September after appearing to trip and kick migrants who were fleeing police has been indicted, prosecutors said Wednesday.

“The accused is charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Szeged with breach of the peace,” said a statement from Csongrad county chief prosecutor Zsolt Kopasz.

In the footage, which sparked global outrage, Petra Laszlo can be seen tripping up a man sprinting with a child in his arms, and kicking another running child near the town of Roszke, close to the border with Serbia.

“The violent actions of the accused did not inflict injury, however her behaviour was capable of provoking indignation and outcry in the members of the public present at the scenes,” according to the statement.

It later emerged that Laszlo, who was fired over her actions, had been working for N1TV, an internet-based television station close to Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party.

The incident on September 8, 2015 occurred as hundreds of migrants broke through a police line at a collection point close to the Serbian border.

According to the prosecutor, an investigation concluded that more serious charges would not be brought as there had been no reasonable chance of the accused causing injury.

Nor was there evidence that “the conduct of the accused was motivated by ethnic considerations or by the migrant status of the victims,” said the statement.

Last September thousands of migrants crossed into Hungary each day as the country, a southern gateway into the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone, became a temporary hotspot of the migration crisis.

A week after the incident, Hungarian soldiers completed the closure of the 175-kilometre-long (110-mile-long) border with a fence reinforced with razor wire.

Some 400,000 migrants passed through Hungary last year bound for western Europe, but the number plummeted after the border was sealed off.

The Syrian man allegedly tripped up by Laszlo was later given a job by a Spanish football coaching school, while his son ran with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo onto the pitch in Madrid before a match.

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