In their quest to fight hunger and survive current rising cost of living crisis in Nigeria, many Kano residents grappling with soaring food prices have resorted to patronizing cooked cassava as alternative staple to assuage ravaging hunger.
WikkiTimes observed that young men and sometimes girls can be seen hawking boiled cassava in major markets, motor parks and residential areas occupied by low-income earners in the commercial city to market their product to their prospective buyers.
According to a hawker, Abdu Sani, who shuttles daily from Gwarzo local government of the State to supply cooked cassava to the City, said he has observed upsurge in patronage of his product in the last three months.
“I think the demand for cassava is becoming high now even through the prices are going up too. I am in this business for more than a year now but the patronage now is unprecedented,” he said.
Another cassava vendor, Shehu Lauwali, acknowledged that hunger in the land is the primary driver for their successful sales, noting that “as Nigerians grapple with high cost of living that leaves many hungry, we supply affordable and cost-effective cassava to low-income residents as alternate staple because rice is out of their reach now.”
He said “It is cheaper and satisfying with as little as 50 or 100 you can have a cooked cassava with a grinded pepper or groundnut to eat to satisfaction which will cost 500-600 if you were to buy a plate of rice. Some people buy 500 – 1000 worth of cassava to take home for the family.”
After announcing the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu in his inaugural speech in May last year and the subsequent floating of naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), prices of common staples such as rice, maize and spaghetti have skyrocketed leaving many less privileged vulnerable to hunger and starvation as basic foodstuff were out of their reach.
“Many people are poor and cannot afford three square meals in their houses as they use to do in the past. So, cassava becomes a very good source of survival now”, a resident Kabir Ado told WikkiTimes in Kano.
Sa’adatu Abubakar told that she moves alongside with her friend who hawks groundnut to roam the streets of Kano to sell her cassava.
She said “I have been hawking cassava for a while now. And we make good sales especially when I am with my friend that sells ground nut because some people enjoy it with peanut, it is delicious.”
Another cassava seller, Murtala Danjuma, explained that he sometimes sells it raw before boiling it due to incessant demand from people.
“I understand people are really suffering that is why some ask me to even sell it raw so that they can go home and cook it themselves. Because of the situation, some people also beg us to give them for free to eat to survive.”
“All praises to God. If the market continues to blossom like this, it is really great for us. There is hunger in the land and cassava is relatively cheap than another staple even though it price has also changed compared to previous period.
“Even though we make reasonable gain in this moment but we are not happy with the current situation of hunger in the land. We hope and pray that we get to its end, he narrated.
