Traders in Katsina State capital, Katsina State, on Sunday, decried low patronage following the nationwide #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria protests.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported that the protests had led to various degrees of injuries of unspecified number of both the security personnel and protesters, looting of government and private establishments as well as destruction of property worth billions of naira in the state.
The traders, who are mostly petty traders, spoke with our correspondent on Sunday and lamented that customers were declining day by day, especially at the commencement of the protest.
“They don’t come to buy again due to the high price of our commodities”, a perfume and caps seller at the Jikan Hajiya plaza in Katsina metropolis told PUNCH Metro.
“And I exhausted all my money in purchasing all you’re seeing, and before you know it, you will spend the whole capital you have accumulated”, he said.
Also, a middle-aged petty trader at the Katsina Hajj Camp Roundabout, simply identified as Adams, lamented that the business was not encouraging compared to the days before the protest, saying, “I have spent over a decade in a fruit-selling business in this area, but the situation is different from the day one of the protest till today, Sunday. All we see is low patronage and I’m afraid that even to feed my family will be hard. I urge the Federal Government to support us with soft loans or grants to address inflation and economic hardship.”
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