December 19, (THEWILL) – With the national economy in tatters and the naira deflated by inflation, Nigerians grapple with high cost of goods – ranging from food stuff to clothes – as they try to keep up with the tradition of shopping during the Yuletide, UKANDI ODEY reports
From Katako to Terminus and Bukuru business areas of Jos, it was Christmas season as usual, but not business as usual, at least, for buyers who had to adjust to the rising inflation and the upward trend of prices of goods in the market. It was a moment that brought out the economist in every consumer. Individual scales of preference took over taste as parents and guardians attempted to yield to the emotions and seasonal expectations of their children and wards.
Located critically as the gateway to the North-East and a foremost tourism destination in North-Central Nigeria, Jos is also a big market on and off the Yuletide period. It wasn’t any different this year as the movement of goods through the city of Jos ensured that its central business district stretched from Muatala Mohammed Way to Ahmadu Bello Way to Old Bukuru Park and the entire terminus area of Jos. Reactionary and preemptive traders did not allow the moment to be lost on them either as they arrived the various parks and busy areas very early to display an array of wares, which ranged from dresses of various shapes, shades, sexes and styles to belts, caps, shoes, bags, headties to under wears.
Ahmadu Isa, who has been one of the traders selling warm clothes at the Plateau Riders Park along Tafawa Balewa Way, Jos, said sales have been impressive since the beginning of December. Beside the festive mood borne by the period, he said the cold weather that is high at the period also enhances sales, especially to travelers passing through Jos.
Reporting to the Park every morning before 6am to ensure that no vehicle departs before his arrival, he said, as against the sales dropping by 10am when most of the vehicles have departed, the December period kept the Park busy all through the day because of the influx of passengers.
Isa said his daily sales have been on the increase since December, with a daily turnover standing between N30, 000 and N50,000, with very few unsold daily.
At the main Terminus, the nerve centre of commercial activities, Bashir, who sells belts and allied materials, has been very grateful to God for the season. For almost every day since the month of December, ha has been opening a new bale of belts and sales have been high because more people appear to be passing through or travelling to their homes. He said he has been selling used belts for as low as N500 before now, but the high turnover has come with increased prices as he has been selling a belt at between N800 and N1500, with some customers sometimes buying as many as two or three.
Truly, the patronage has improved in spite of the increase in the prices of all grades of second hand wears, according Auwalu Ismail,who sells mostly male clothes, with emphasis on jeans, chinos, and shirts. He described the season as a ‘tasty’ one.
At the wholesale point, he added, a hundred (100) pieces of chinos, jeans, or first grade shirts now cost N100,000, as compared to N70, 000 that was the cost of the same quantity previously.
Auwalu explained that the increase in the cost is not just because of the Christmas season, but due to the rising exchange rate between the naira and foreign currencies, which has increased the landing cost of a bale of clothes popularly referred to as gonjo, which means ‘used clothes’ in English.
The cost of a ‘grade’, which is unused chinos or jeans or shirt, during this season, is between N1,200 and N1,500. Depending on the grade or the design, any of these pieces could sell for as much as N2,000 for one. A day’s sales, he noted, depends on a lot of factors, with the Christmas season peaking it at between 30 to 50 pieces a day.
Hamisu, who sells used shoes in Bukuru, is also laughing to the bank during this Christmas period. He admitted that more customers have visited his shop, just as he stocked and received the final consignment for December. He anticipates increased demand and preferences from customers. According to him, import restriction on textile and allied materials has boosted the position of second-hand shoes market. Before Christmas, he said, a lot of customers do come because of the infinite variety of shoe types and designs that are guaranteed in the second- hand market. He also said most customers flock the market because they can get high quality shoes there at a far cheaper price than they do the same or inferior make in the elite shops.
Hamisu has stocked more of children’s shoes this season than adult or bigger sizes. He explained that children’s sizes sell more and faster during this period as parents make extra efforts to meet their children’s expectations for the Christmas and New Year festivities. Depending on the grade, he said, adult male shoes cost between three to eight thousand naira, while children’s shoes sell between N2000 to N5000 depending on the grade, design style or colour, especially coffee brown which is often difficult to get. Hamisu said this peak period is also the rush hour and rainy day of the business because the first quarter of the New Year always occasions a lull and sluggish proceedings up to the borders where they arrange how to get the goods into the country.
Females dominate the shopping population in the second hand bags market, according to Salisu, who operates at the Old Bukuru Park area of Jos Metropolis, in Jos North. Salisu said handbags of different makes and colours are selling very fast, and the patronage is mostly from young girls. Hand bags of different sizes and shapes sell between N1000 and N7000, as the patronage has been quite high as these young girls look forward to Christmas with a sense sartorial uniqueness and elegance.
Bigger bags or travelling bags as they are wont to be referred to, are selling too, but more for necessity than for the season or spur of the Yuletide craze. Salisu said however that the high turnover in the sale of handbags dims or diminishes the grate on fortunes that slow sale of big bags would have brought on the dealers. The season, he said, has been worth the hustle.
Conceived as timber and building materials market, Katako Market, located in the Laranto area of Jos, has become synonymous with the destination of second-hand wares. Over time, its status as a market for timber was diminished and overwhelmed by the flourish of gonjo goods food stuff, and a major delivery center for palm and groundnut oils. Bordering the famous St Augustine’s Major Seminary, Katako Market has a notorious history of fire outbreaks. In the past two weeks, the road leading to the place has been experiencing gridlock and hold-ups following the surge of Christmas shopping.
About the Author
