By Nnamani Chinwendu
With the coming of the deadly Coronavirus into Nigeria and its subsequence entrance into Enugu State, the state government in order to check the spread of the virus in the state, encouraged its citizens to practice social distancing, basic hygiene like washing of hands with soap and water and the use of hand sanitizer. It also enacted a 14 days partial lockdown of activities in the state, closing schools, churches and limiting the number of people that gathers at any given place like the market by allowing only the sale of food items in the various markets in the state.
Prior to the Lockdown announcement, the people of Enugu State seeing the happenings in other states like Lagos and Abuja had already started engaging in panic buying in preparation for an eventual lockdown in the state, with major markets like Gariki, New Market and the Ogbete Main market witnessing a massive influx of buyers, purchasing basic food items like rice, beans, yam, garri, cooking condiments, Instant noodles, red oil, and so on. Other people also took the panic buying a step further by buying meat, fish, chicken and egg. A trip to some meat markets like Artisan and the mami market saw people buying cow meat and Chicken as if it’s going into extinction.
The prices of these commodities shot up with a painter of garri and local rice which sold for N450 and N1,200 respectively before the scare, being sold for N700 and N1300 respectively. Other food items like yam, red oil, beans also had a little increase in their prices. The buying intensified immediately the State Government announced the 14 days partial lockdown and the price of Garri and local rice moved from N700 and N1,200 respectively to N1,500 each. Other food items and non food item even down to lime and lemon were not left out in the hike.
People tried to stock up the house with food items and other essential things that might be needed during the lockdown to limit the necessity of having to come out and interact with other human and risk getting the killer virus.
Almost one week after the lockdown in the state, a trip to markets like Ogbete , Mayor and Gariki has revealed that despite the rush and all the panic buying, a huge part of the populace of Enugu state either ran out of food resources or did not even attempt to stock up and so some are out and about, coming out to the market to get food items.
Choice Flame Newspaper went around some of the major markets in Enugu Metropolis on Monday 6th of April 2020, to find out the level of activities in such markets.
Some of the buyers in the market in the lockdown season said they were not financial able to stock up the house, so the need to still come out to get food items despite the lockdown. These groups of people said it was a wish decision on the part of the State Government to leave the food item sellers during this time as survival for them would have been difficult. Another group of people said despite the fact that they attempted to stock up the house, one week after and all the supposed stock up food is nowhere to be found. And no, it didn’t go missing; it has been consumed by the family members.
A Woman who spoke on anonymity said, “Thank God we can come out to buy food stuff, if not I am sure hunger will kill us before the virus reaches us, I am not surprised that the food items finished so fast, with all the kids back from school and everyone at home, we tend to consume more and more food.”
She said that she hopes that this Corona Virus leaves Enugu and indeed the whole Nigeria and the word at large as she does not think people especially the poor masses can go on longer if the normal activities of the state and the country are not restored.
The market Men and Women who are out selling also are fervently praying to God to come to our aid and quickly also as they are no longer making as much sale as they usually do before the virus outbreak and this is affecting their financial life as their day to day survival largely depends on what they make on daily basis.
Speaking about the hike in price of food commodity especially Garri, a trader Mr. John Ekwueme said the recent hike was due to the lockdown of interstate borders and the difficulty it presented for the purchase of food item, “you know that most of the food item consumed in this state are not grown or produced here, take garri for instance, we usually buy from Ebonyi state, so the border closure affected the purchase,” he said.
As at Monday, 6th April, 2020, the prices of food items has also reduced a bit from what it was as at 30th and 31st of March 2020, with a painter of garri going for N800 and a painter of local rice for N1,300. A sizable tuber of yam is also going for N350 as against N500 that it was sold the previous week.
With the information we gathered at the market, one can’t really help but worry on what will become of the poor masses in Enugu state if the lockdown continues as people will soon run out of food and there will not be money to get more food supply as most people live on daily earnings and the lockdown, though partial has halted 80 percent if not more of the financial activity of the state as it relates to the majority of the Populace.
Comment here