Despite the economic downturn occasioned by COVID-19, traders at the Benin Eid praying ground along the Benin-Auchi Road made brisk business as Muslims celebrated Sallah.
The traders who sold caps, clothing, mats, beverages and other items said business was good and that they did not regret coming to the area to sell their items.
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One of the traders, Muhammed Kabir, said he made good money within a short period.
Kabir, who sells prayer garments (jallabiya), said, “Within a short period I sold 10 pieces of them. This was what I usually battled to sell in a day.”
Another trader, Abdullaihi Abubakar, who sells caps, said, “If every other day were today, I would never complain of a bad market.
“Today is an Eid day and people do come to the prayer ground without caps, so I seized the opportunity to make good business. Before the commencement of the prayers, I sold 17 caps which ranged from N1,500 to N3,000.”
According to him, he barely managed to sell 10 caps any other day, adding that he would have money to celebrate the Sallah.
On an ordinary day, I manage to sell 20 caps or so, he said.
On his part, Musa Koro who sells mats thanked Allah for the Eid el-Fitr, saying, “I made good sales today. Many worshippers didn’t come to the prayer ground with mats, so they ended up buying from us. I made a profit of over N5,000 within a short period.”
Many other traders such as ice cream, sachet water and beverages sellers said the market was good and that they were smiling home. They had also wished the Sallah would be every day for their businesses to thrive with such a high rate of turnover.
