First batch of Sallah rams arrive Lagos

• As price ranges from N35,000 to N180,000

The first batch of rams to be sold for 2017 sallah  arrived at various markets in different parts of Lagos state from the northern part of the country as usual, encomium.ng can reveal authoritatively.

We gathered that the many trailer loads of rams for the annual sacrifice by Muslims arrived Lagos and  were distributed to various sellers late in the evening of Thursday, August 24, 2017, as against the usual practice of supplying the highly priced sallah animals two weeks to the celebration.

According to one of the sellers at Abattoir Lairage, Oko Oba, Agege, Mallam Seidu Musa, the late arrival of rams for this year’s sallah rams was deliberate as they’re not sure of the demand for the animals by eligible Muslims because of the hard biting economy which has affected every business in the country.

“Alhamdulillah, we finally got supply of rams this year after much delay. Everything is hard now. That’s why we held on for a while before ordering for a supply this year. But now that rams have arrived, few people have shown interest but they’re yet to back up their willingness with money. They have only come to find out the prices and promised to come back later.

“If the demand is not that much before Tuesday, there won’t be any need for us to bring in another batch. Already, all the ones available now are far more expensive this year. And we can’t afford to sell on auction this year because of the cost of transporting them here. Also, their foods are costly even far beyond expectation. So, anybody waiting for last hour rush for rams this year may miss it unless there’s means of getting more supply from the north before Tuesday, August 29, 2017, if it won’t be expensive to embark on. The cheapest and the smallest ram this year can’t be sold less than N35,000 while the average one is between N60,000 and N70,000. Then, the giant size goes for at least N175,000.”