As prices of cattle soar, some Muslims in Kano State are resorting to the purchase of camels as their sacrificial animals for Eid-l-Adha.
Some of them who spoke to WikkiTimes on Wednesday, contend that camels also provide large quantities of meat that cattle cannot.
Eid-l-Adha also known as Eid-l-Kabir is an Islamic festivity which comes on the 10th of Dhul-Hijj (12th month of Islamic Calendar) that highly encourages Muslims to sacrifice animals such as camel, cattle, ram, sheep and goat as an act of worship.
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Murtala Abdullahi, of those who spoke with our correspondent, said he alongside three other people jointly purchased a camel that they would slaughter for the forthcoming Sallah celebration.
“Actually, when we went to the market, we found that the cattle is cost prohibitive and rams don’t have much meat, we decided to turn to camel. It is less costly than cow but has more meat. That is why we opted for it,” Murtala said.
Another resident, Yahaya Umar who is also preparing for the Sallah explained that he had since realised that a camel is a better alternative to a cow.
He said: “Actually, I knew the relative advantage of camel over cattle since last year. I have a large family and with the current economic situation, camel becomes handy and better replacement.”
Kabiru Yusuf Ashir, a cattle supplier in Hauren Wanki, Kano City, said average cattle prices that are due for sacrifice range from N250,000 and above.
Although Ashir had made a few sales, he hopes the market will improve a few days to Sallah.
“The average price of cattle is N250,000-N500,000. The highest we have is N1.3 million but this is because they are relatively cheaper due to the fact that they were brought from afar.
“The market is expected to boost a few days to Sallah because that is when you see people trooping to purchase animals for sacrifice. Previously, people used to buy animals and keep them with us to take care of them until Sallah day they would collect them and that makes the animals more expensive. Although we are still making sales, it will sharply increase when it is 4-3 days to Sallah,” he said.
Another animal supplier, Ismaila Khalil, said that people now preferred camels to cattle due to the higher prices of cattle and the weak purchasing power of people.
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He debunked the popular view that camel meat is not sweet and very difficult to consume.
“The market is there with animals but the purchasing power of the people is weak that is why we aren’t making much sales,” he told WikkiTimes. “Compared to the previous year, the market isn’t booming. We have camels that range from N200,000 upward and the same thing with cattle.”
“Honestly, camels are relatively cheaper compared to cattle because it is not everyone that appreciates camel meat,” he continued. “Some people would say that camel meat is stronger than cattle but that isn’t true. It is old camel’s meat that is stronger and that is applicable to all animals. If you get an old chicken its meat is strong too. You can see that we have both camels and cows a lot but the market is yet to take shape.”
