Kano bakers protest high price of flour, high cost of living

Joy ChukwuFebruary 4, 20241 Mins read1.1k

On Friday, hundreds of women, including Gurasa bread producers, protested in Kano, decrying high living costs and soaring flour prices.

Chants of “Everything is expensive, Tinubu come to our aid,” echoed as women, many widows, and children marched.

Hajiya Fatima Auwal, the group’s leader, spoke with journalists, demanding better living conditions amid rising inflation.

She expressed the group’s plight, stating:

“This is how our small-scale business is facing deterioration due to the rise in the price of flour, it is a business for the poor that the rich cannot dare venture into. We are in a very difficult situation, we need help. This is a small-scale industry mostly run by women. Life is becoming more difficult; we can hardly feed or send our children to school due to this hardship.” she lamented.

“Many have lost their capital. It is such that only 25 percent of us are now remaining in the business as many others have closed down due to lack of capital. “We used to buy floor at the rate of N16,000 in the past but now it sells for N43,000. This is absurd. What we produce is a common food for the poor and is now becoming unaffordable. Any time we go to buy flour we get an increase of N1,500 to N2,000.

“Currently, we cannot afford it any longer. If nothing is done, we have no choice but to close down and this will affect the general public.”

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to its highest in more than 27 years in December, thus affecting food prices, cost of production, and general standard of living.