Sallah: Muslims express frustration at rams’ soaring prices in Oyo

A cross section of Muslims in Ibadan on Friday expressed their frustration at the exorbitant cost of rams as the 2026 Eid-el-Kabir celebration approaches.

The respondents, both buyers and sellers, unanimously described the situation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria as worrisome.

While buyers lament their weak purchasing power, sellers complain largely of low sales.

A ram seller, Mallam Abdullah Saleh, however, said that despite the high prices of the rams, some people were still pushing to buy, but not as expected.

A cross section of Muslims in Ibadan on Friday expressed their frustration at the exorbitant cost of rams as the 2026 Eid-el-Kabir celebration approaches.

The respondents, both buyers and sellers, unanimously described the situation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria as worrisome.

While buyers lament their weak purchasing power, sellers complain largely of low sales.

A ram seller, Mallam Abdullah Saleh, however, said that despite the high prices of the rams, some people were still pushing to buy, but not as expected.

He said that those interested in buying rams are mostly salary earners whose salaries have not been paid.

Saleh said he hoped that sales would pick up as the Sallah day approaches.

Another seller, Malam Salisu Abass, blamed the high cost of rams on petrol prices, which have driven up transport costs from the north.

A trailer load of rams from Bornu to Oyo State used to cost between N600,000 and N700,000, but now, it is between N1.8 million and N2 million.

“This cost is going to be shared among the number of rams purchased.

“It seems as if we are working for the trailer owners,” Abass said.

A buyer, who prefers to be anonymous, said, “No matter how cheap the rams are, the people’s purchasing power is weak.

“The money to buy them is the problem; the economy is not favourable.

“Many that you see buying the rams are groaning; they are buying just to satisfy their aged parents or their children.”

According to the buyer, many parents have yet to pay their children’s school fees, thus appealing to the Muslim Ummah for moderation to avoid saying “Had I known” after the celebrations.

Another buyer, Mr AbdulKarim Oyedele, told NAN that upon arriving at the market, he discovered he would need at least another N100,000 to get his choice of ram.

“The N100,000 I have with me is obviously not enough to buy me one,” he said.

Meanwhile, an Islamic Scholar, Alhaji Afeez Adegoke, implored Muslims to rear sheep, goats, and cows, to forestall the yearly inflation at Sallah and reduce dependence on the Northern region.

According to him, the rearing of rams and sheep locally will increase the commercial chances of Muslims and the availability of the animals, whether it is Sallah or not.

Meanwhile, NAN’s survey across major ram markets in Ibadan on Friday revealed that small-sized rams, which sold between N70,000 and N80,000 in 2025, now sell between ₦200,000 and ₦250,000.

Middle-sized rams now sell between N300,000 and N400,000, while the big ones go between ₦500,000 and ₦900,000.

The ram markets covered include: Akinyele, Aleshinloye, Oranyan, Bodija and Elekuro Markets.

Beyond the soaring cost of rams, NAN reports that a bag of rice, which sold at N54,000 in April, is now N67,000.

A bag of tomatoes has dropped from N80,000 to between N35,000 and N40,000, while the cost of a crate of the commodity has dropped from N40,000 to N25,000.

A goroso basket of tomatoes is now N15,000 from N30,000; Atarodo is now N170,000, Yoruba Atarodo is N120,000, and a bag of big onions is N50,000.

NAN