Christmas: Residents cry against high cost of living in Kaduna

With barely 24 hours to Christmas celebrations, residents of Kaduna State have cried out against continuous high increase prices of foodstuffs and transportation.

DAILY POST Correspondent in Kaduna interviewed many residents who expressed shock over the increase in the prices of foodstuffs and other means of livelihood, coupled with the increased insecurity in the State.

According to a trader in Kaduna, Mrs Mary Ojuku, the continuous increase in the standard of living was alarming, such that one cannot predict how much to buy a particular commodity.

“The most fearful thing is that things we buy to sell in order to survive are becoming beyond the reach of the common man. Unfortunately, there seems to be no interference by any agency to control the prices of the things people use on a daily basis.

“People are left to carry their cross with the high costs of both foodstuffs and other materials, coupled with the insecurity that has become the order of the day in Kaduna,” she lamented.

According to Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, a businessman in Kaduna, the increase in prices of goods is not as a result of the Christmas celebrations.

“Take a survey and see how the prices of goods are rising everyday. From the company, you are told of the difficulties they encountered before producing it and to the business people, they encountered a lot of challenges before they could transport the goods to their destinations, the buyer is left to buy the commodity at a higher price,” he explained.

According to Mr James Audu, “Christmas would be celebrated because what it means to a Christian”, stressing that it would not be celebrated based on what one had acquired for but its significance to an individual as a Christian.

He observed that because many Christians have left the Biblical way of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, many think without material things, Christmas celebrations meant nothing to them.

Mallam Saidu Bello, a resident of Kaduna called on the government of the day to fear God and take necessary steps to make life meaningful for the common man.

“In Kaduna today, it is either you are thinking of how to feed yourself and family or more importantly, how to secure yourself from terrorists that have taken over all parts of the State. There is no part of Kaduna that today is safe from the operations of the terrorists. People are being killed, kidnapped for millions of naira for ransom.

“We are all living today in Kaduna at the mercy of the Almighty not knowing who you are relating with and what would happen to you in the next minute. Life has become so miserable,” he lamented.

He noted that the present situation in the State called for collective efforts from both Christians and Muslims.