About 24 hours to Christmas, the prices of cooking gas and food items have skyrocketed in Kaduna.
The prices of provisions, grains and other staple food items are rising steadily in markets and shops across the state, with many people saying that they cannot afford to buy anything to celebrate the Christmas with their families.
Checks by DAILY POST on Tuesday in Kaduna showed that the prices of food items like rice, beans, yams, garri and noodles had gone up about four times in 2024 alone.
At the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi market, Kaduna’s central market, a 50kg bag of foreign rice, which was sold for about N80,000 before, is now being sold for between N90,000 and N100,000.
Also, yams, which only a few weeks ago were sold for N5,000 per tuber, now go for N7,000 per tuber and N28,000 for a set of five.
A local measure of eight cups of beans now sells between N1,000 and N2,500, while a measure of garri, previously N1,300, was now being sold for between N1,400 and N1,500.
A carton of Indomie noodles previously sold at N7,500 has gone up to N7,700 while a basket of Irish potatoes, sold previously at between N5,000 and N5,500, now sells for N6,000 per basket.
Many residents are complaining that these food items are now completely beyond their reach.
Some traders said they had to increase the prices of food products due to the increase in the cost price at the depots and places where they purchased the items, as well as the cost of transporting the goods to Kaduna.
A trader, Monday Zango, who sells food items, said he does not sell eggs in bits anymore, stressing that he sells an entire crate at N6,000, as he may sell short if he sells single.
“The noodles and other goods l now buy I have to make gains somehow in order to take care of my family and be able to pay for the renting of the shop,” he explained.
Some people who spoke with DAILY POST lamented the present situation in the country, saying that insecurity and the hike of petrol have seriously affected the prices of foodstuffs and other necessities of life.
Suleiman Adamu stated, “Until we get a revolutionary leader that will have the political will to be able to address the present challenges facing the downtrodden in the country, things especially foodstuffs, will continue to go high, beyond the reach of the common man.
“We also need the people at the leadership level to fear God and do the needful for the entire country to be safe from the hands of those that care less of what people are going through.”
According to him, both Christians and Muslims would continue to experience similar hardship if urgent steps are not taken by those in authority to approach the problems head long.
He lamented, “Celebration by either Christians or Muslims is just a name because there is nothing for one to use to take care of the families. Nigerians are really suffering and there is nothing to pretend about it.”