As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, a team of Nigerian clerics both Christians and Muslims have initiated plans to visit northern Nigerian market unions across the region on the need to cut-down prices of food stuff in order to enable Muslims kick–start the Ramadan fasting without any fear of rise in prices of foodstuff in the market.
This has become necessary in view of the rising price of food and other commodities in the markets whenever the fasting period approaches.
The founder of Peace Revival and Reconciliation Foundation of Nigeria, a non-governmental organization NGO, Pastor Yohanna Buru, said every year before starting the Ramadan, Muslim and Christian clerics usually meet with some of the marketers to discuss the importance of the holy month while calling on them not to take advantage of the holy month by doubling the price of foodstuffs or creating artificial scarcity of goods.
“This year we have mobilised 100 volunteer Christians and Muslim clerics to help us take the campaign on “Cut-down-your-price” to all market unions across the northern part of the country.
It’s surprising seeing rise of foodstuffs amid the Coronavirus pandemic; hence the need to appeal to marketers to help and cut down their prices so as to enable Muslims eat and pray for peace and stability of the country”, he said.
“I am begging Nigerian marketers to please cut-down the price of goods and services as the Ramadan is about to kick start”, he added.
Buru said the NGO has been running the campaign for seven years with this year witnessing an increase in number of participants to ensure that marketers cooperate.
The NGO will be sharing food stuffs to the less privileged Muslims, Internally Displaced People and others who lost their jobs as a result of bandit attacks in some communities.
He wished Muslims world-wide a happy Ramadan in advance and equally called on wealthy ones among them to help the needy.
Nneka Ukachukwu
