Economic crunch, rising petrol prices triggered by the Middle East war and insurgency have driven costs of sheep up in Nigeria ahead of Eid-al-Adha.
Traders lamented sluggish sales as thousands of sheep stood in pouring rain on Friday at Kara Market, a sprawling livestock hub along the Lagos-Ogun border in southwest Nigeria.
The market receives thousands of animals daily from northern Nigeria – where most of the country’s livestock is reared – as Muslims prepare for the annual festival.
Roughly half of the country’s population is Muslim and demands for sheep surge during the celebrations.
But several traders told AFP that sales had been slow this year as the cost of livestock has risen sharply.
Prices of sheep, which are favoured for the celebrations, range from 250,000 naira (about $183) to 1.2 million naira, depending on the size.
Comparable animals sold for between 150,000 and 1.0 million naira last year, said trader Abdullahi Bukar.
He said insurgency in the country’s northeast, multiple taxes and illegal toll collections by security officials have driven up prices.
Shoppers nevertheless waded through the muddy market in search of bargains as the downpour eased to a drizzle on Friday.
“We are always scared when we go to the market to buy livestock because terrorists usually attack the markets where we buy stock,” said Bukar, 29.
He had travelled from northeastern Yobe state to trade at the market.
“Sometimes people don’t come to the market to sell to us because of fear,” he said.
More than 2,100 civilians were killed in “violent incidents including attacks from terrorists” in the first quarter of the year, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk consultancy.
“I was told to bring 1.2 million naira for a sheep that is not very big,” shopper Ibrahim Kosoko said. “I had to look for something I can afford.”
He settled for one that cost him around 400,000 naira in a country where the monthly minimum wage is 70,000 naira (about $51).
Transport costs
Some traders travel more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) to sell sheep at the market and elsewhere in southwest Nigeria, where demand surges ahead of the Muslim festival;
But cost of transporting livestock to the market has more than doubled.
Transport costs typically rise during festive periods but this year’s surge in petrol prices — triggered by the Middle East war — has intensified the pressure.
Many Muslims travel to celebrate Eid with their families but some are now considering shelving their plans due to rising fares.
Petrol prices have nearly doubled in many parts of the country, from around 850 naira per litre to more than 1,320 naira — a record high in a country where gasoline sold for around 195 naira at the start of 2023.
“I will need to spend at least 80,000 naira on travelling to and from my hometown with my child,” said 40-year-old civil servant Taibat Bashir. “That’s not something I can afford.”
She said an uptick in violent attacks in her Kwara home state in recent months — some blamed on jihadist groups — made the prospect of travelling less appealing.
Traders at the sheep market told AFP that rising transport fares were a major headache for them too.
“Truck drivers collect about 2.7 million naira from us to transport our livestock down,” said Abubakar Dauda, 33, from northeastern Adamawa.
That is nearly three times the same service cost him in 2025.
“We even spend up to 300,000 on police checkpoints and taxes to every state we pass through,” he said.
Dauda, who brings in most of his sheep from Chad, said exchange rate volatility had pushed up import and sourcing costs, driving prices in the market even higher.
Shopper Kosoko said there were ways around the price problem.
“It is not compulsory to buy sheep for Ileya,” he said, using the Yoruba word for Eid-al-Adha. “If we cannot afford one, we will find ways to celebrate regardless.”
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