From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Yam dealers at the popular Monday Market located in Kaduna South Local Government area of Kaduna State have joined other lamenting Nigerians whose means of survival have been grossly affected by the cashless economy and seemingly unending nefarious activities of bandits in parts of the country.
Monday Market is the largest weekly market in the area, with an influx of foodstuff sellers and buyers alike every week. This is because many residents of the cosmopolitan area of the state capital believe that foodstuff is cheaper at the market compared to what is obtainable in other markets within the town.
As buyers are lamenting the high cost of yam and cassava tubers in this market, sellers are blaming the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria and insecurity for the escalating prices of staple Nigerian foods like yam and cassava.
For example, a big tuber of yam which was hitherto sold for between N400 and N500 is now sold for between N1500 and N2,000. A bag of cassava that used to go for a friendly price of N2,500 is now sold for a jaw-dropping sum of N7,000.
A buyer, Mr. Ndubuisi Obara, who was sighted roaming the market, apparently confused due to the prices of things in the market, expressed optimism that things would be better when the new government comes in.
“We came here to buy yam because we learned that yam is cheaper here. We left town to come here to try it but what we saw got us marvelled, as the yam is as expensive as what we would have bought in town. We just hope the incoming government will have policies that will favour the masses,” he said.
Another prospective buyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Nnamani also decried the high cost of living without commensurate income. He said: “I have been in this market for more than one hour trying to price yam from different sellers without seeing any cheap ones.
“The way things are here, it is beyond our expectation. I would have just trekked down to the central market and bought my stuff instead of wasting my transport fare to this place and buying at the same price.
“I selected 15 moderate tubers of yam and the woman insisted on selling them for N20,000. If we buy at that price here, how much will it be sold in the street?”
One of the biggest yam dealers in the market simply identified as Maman Tatas said, the high cost of foodstuff is not the fault of the traders, noting that they sell as they buy from the farmers.
“I do buy yams in large quantities from the bush and bring to the Monday Market to sell. But the bush is very tough now and we have only one safety option if we are going there to buy yam, which is to pay the security men to lead us there.
“After buying the little we can buy with the little cash we have, we have to wait for another two or more days before coming back because there are no vehicles due to banditry. Sometimes, we also wait until when either the soldiers or police come around and follow them back to town.
“The yam is costly because we don’t have the opportunity to bring in as many as we used to bring. Sometimes, some of us are kidnapped on our way from the bush and sometimes, some get killed by these bandits. I do go to Niger State, Buruku, Birni Gwari, and Tegina Road.
“We have to take the risk because this is the business we have been doing for years to support our family. The government will do well for us if they can help us address this issue of insecurity, which is gradually becoming a new normal in this part of the country.
“Another challenge we have now is that we have taken our money to the CBN and we are yet to see the alert weeks after. We have complained but they assured us that we will see the money. They forgot we use this money for our business. They asked us to separate the notes and the total sum which we did. Up till now, our accounts have not been credited,” she said.
Chairman, Doya, Monday Market, Alhaji Adamu Yusuf blamed the poor patronage being experienced on the cashless economy and poor network associated with e-banking.
His words: “There are poor sales because of the cashless policy issue. We can only bring little yams to the market because cash is not still flowing as it should. Sometimes, when you want to use the POS machine, it declines. When you transfer, the person is not seeing the money for up to 24 hours.”
However, a tricycle operator, Mr. Gabriel Stephen also has an unfair share of the market forces.
Hear him: “I am their driver here who brings the yams from one point to the other. You are seeing me here today because I’m not busy. The cash scarcity that started a few weeks ago has affected my business seriously. When these people risk their lives to enter the bush to buy farm produce like yam and cassava, sometimes, they return as they went except when they have small cash on them to buy a small thing.
“They said the people in the bush don’t collect transfer no matter what. Now, they are bringing three to four loads of yam to the market base on the available cash. These are the people who are used to bringing about 30 loads to the market. See me here just sitting down. No work, no market no money, and bills are increasing.
“Even if the old notes find their way back, many people have to start from ground zero because they have eaten both the seed and capital of their business within the past few weeks of naira scarcity. We are praying that the incoming government will help improve our economy.”