As the 2025 Eid-el-Kabir celebration approaches, Pastor Dr. Yohanna Buru, General Overseer of the Christ Evangelical and Life In...
As the 2025 Eid-el-Kabir celebration approaches, Pastor Dr. Yohanna Buru, General Overseer of the Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention Ministry in Southern Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria, has launched a joint campaign with several imams to visit livestock markets across the region.
This marks the tenth consecutive year that a coalition of over 100 imams from across Northern Nigeria has partnered in the final week leading up to Sallah to appeal to livestock
sellers to reduce the prices of rams and other animals, making them more affordable for Muslim families preparing for the festivities.
Due to the closure of the Niger Republic border and ongoing economic challenges, the cost of rams and other livestock has risen sharply across the country.
Speaking during a recent media briefing after visiting street livestock markets in Kaduna, Pastor Buru announced that more than 100 Muslim scholars—including imams, alarammas (Qur’anic teachers), and members of the Council of Muslim Preachers—have been mobilized for this effort. Their mission is to engage with livestock sellers and encourage them to lower prices to ease the financial burden on Muslim households during the festive season.
As in previous years, Pastor Buru and his team are touring various markets in Kaduna and other northern states, offering seasonal greetings to traders and appealing for price moderation.
He emphasized that this interfaith initiative, now in its second decade, is aimed at supporting low-income Muslim families during Eid-el-Kabir while also fostering peace and unity between Christians and Muslims.
Pastor Buru noted that persistent inflation has made livestock increasingly unaffordable. This year, the group plans to visit multiple roadside markets selling sheep, goats, and cattle in anticipation of the festival.
He added that beyond price concerns, the campaign also strengthens interfaith harmony and cooperation in the region.
The 2025 Eid-el-Kabir comes amid widespread economic hardship, high living costs, rising insecurity, and continued devaluation of the Naira. Pastor Buru observed that demand for sheep is especially high during this period, with traders often experiencing increased profits.
He extended early Sallah greetings to Muslims around the world and expressed hope that livestock prices would be more reasonable this year.
Pastor Buru also commended Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani for her long-standing charitable work, including supporting poor Christian widows and orphans during Christmas and Easter through donations of grains and food items.
Similarly, Imam Husaini Ilyasu, the Morchid of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Chief Imam of Udawa Central Mosque, echoed the call for lower prices.
He also urged food vendors to reduce costs to allow more Muslims to celebrate with dignity and joy.
Imam Ilyasu expressed strong support for Pastor Buru’s interfaith initiative, highlighting the need for ongoing prayers and fasting for divine intervention in the face of national and global crises.
He praised the pastor for mobilizing both Christian and Muslim leaders to promote fairness and compassion in local markets.
In response to the appeals, Mallam Musa Usman, a scholar and ram seller at Zango Tudun Market in Tudun Wada, Kaduna, acknowledged that the rising cost of living has affected all sectors, including livestock trading.
He cited high costs of animal feed, transportation from remote areas, and the removal of fuel subsidies as key factors driving price increases.
He also noted that insecurity—caused by banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism—has severely impacted livestock farming in rural areas.
Mallam Usman appealed to the Niger Republic to reopen its borders to facilitate livestock imports during the festive season.
He also called on the Nigerian government to strengthen domestic agricultural production to reduce dependence on imports from other African countries.
“Nigeria can feed the entire nation with local meat. There is a need to support local poultry and livestock farmers with sufficient animal feed to boost production and reduce overdependence on foreign livestock,” he said.
He concluded by emphasizing that the depreciation of the Naira has further contributed to the hike in livestock prices nationwide.
Mallam Usman commended Pastor Dr. Yohanna Buru for his efforts in promoting interreligious tolerance, peace, and unity among Nigerians, regardless of ethnic, religious, or cultural differences.
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