One of the traders, Abdulmumeen Yusuf, described how he had low customer turnout at his shop in Oja-Tuntun, Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.
Some food vendors who spoke to SaharaReporters on Wednesday afternoon lamented low patronage at their stores just 24 hours before the start of the Radaman festive season, blaming inflation and scarcity of naira notes.
One of the traders, Abdulmumeen Yusuf, described how he had low customer turnout at his shop in Oja-Tuntun, Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.
According to him, the situation is strange compared to what he had seen in his business life over seven years whenever Ramadan was approaching.
He said the scarcity of naira notes and hikes in food prices could be the root cause of the low patronage.
“This is what we are dealing with. A day to Ramadan and the market is dry. Any customer that branches my shop will hardly buy something because of the increment in prices of the foodstuffs.
“Even our regular customers, we are persuading them to buy on credit. People are complaining that the scarcity of money does not make their business move, and this is why they could not see enough money to buy foodstuff in large portions for Ramadan.
“I have seen someone who always bought two to three bags of rice during Ramadan season to distribute among his people, buying just a bag because he said he did not have money. I had to give him one additional bag on credit because he is a regular customer,” Yusuf said.
Like Yusuf, another trader who spoke to SaharaReporters, Hajia Balikis, lamented the ugly situation.
She said, unlike previous years when business was good during Ramadan, sales have fallen short this year.
“The way we sold in 2021 and 2022 cannot be compared to this year, 2023. We may start Ramadan tomorrow but we are yet to feel that in the market,” she said.
She blamed the situation on rising inflation, explaining that the prices of virtually all her items have been hiked within the last 12 months.
“I can’t say naira Scarcity is the cause because most of us (traders) collect transfers in this market. I think inflation affects how people are buying in the market now because the money you will use to buy four things before, you can only use it to buy three things,” she added.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Monday asked Muslims across the country to look out for this year’s Ramadan moon on Wednesday.
NSCIA, under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1444 A.H. immediately after sunset on Wednesday, 29th Sha’aban, 1444 A.H. which is equivalent to March 22, 2022.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi, the Chief Imam of Nurul Yaqeen Jumma'at Mosque Life Camp in Abuja, called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last Friday to issue more redesigned naira notes as Ramadan approached.
Al-Yolawi made the plea while delivering his Jumma’at sermon, titled, “The Significance of Ramadan Fast: Health, Spiritual, Social and Psychological Benefits of Ramadan Fast,” in Abuja.
He noted that Muslims spent more money on charitable activities and food during Ramadan.
Ramadan is expected to begin on Thursday, March 23, and end on Friday, April 22, in the evening.
SaharaReporters has reported how the cash crunch has been biting hard nationwide, including Kwara State.
Meanwhile, a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report from two weeks ago indicated that Nigeria's headline inflation rate increased from 21.82% in January to 21.91% in February.
According to the NBS report, which was downloaded from its website, the headline inflation rate for February 2023 increased by 0.09% points when compared to the headline inflation rate for January 2023.