By Oluseye Ojo and Noah Ebije
Nigerians might have spent up to N16 trillion on rams slaughtered to celebrate the recent Eid-el-Kabir festival held on Friday June 6, according to investigation.
An analysis by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) as well as reports by some Islamic leaders revealed the figures.
MACBAN estimated that about 40 million Muslims in Nigeria bought rams for this year’s Eid-el Kabir celebration.
According to the National President of MACBAN, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, the estimate was arrived at after considering the total population of the country.
Ngelzarma explained: “By the time you look at the total population of the country, and you separate Christian population and those that are not adults, and family members that are not eligible to slaughter rams because they have not attained the age of slaughtering rams, as well as those that are not economically buoyant to slaughter the animals, we are likely to arrive at a population of about 40 million Nigerian Muslims that bought and slaughtered rams for this year’s Eid-el Kabir festivity.”
He put the price of the average ram at N417, 000. An analysis of the submission of MACBAN revealed that if on the average, the price of a ram is put at N417,000, and 40 million Muslims slaughtered 40 million rams, a total of N16.68 trillion might have been spent on rams. A Muslim faithful and leader confirmed that he alone slaughtered seven rams for the Sallah.
It was reliably gathered that many Muslims, who believed that it was a must for them to slaughter rams on every Eid-el-Kabir day, took loans to buy the rams.
Saturday Sun gathered that rams were also procured and distributed to Muslims and non-Muslims for Sallah celebrations by the presidency, state governments, local government councils, federal and state government agencies, politicians, private individuals and corporate organisations, who are not captured in the estimated 40 million households.
Reports from various ram markets revealed that rams were very expensive in 2025, with some selling for as high as N1.5million, N1million, and N800,000. The average rams, it was gathered, was sold for between N300,000 and N700,000.
According to Statista, Nigeria had a Muslim population of 104.7 million as of 2024.
In Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, a civil servant, Mr. Ganiyu Babalola, told journalists that the amount he spent in 2024 to buy two rams was what he spent on buying one ram this year.
His words: “I remembered I bought the two rams for N250,000 each in 2024. But this year, I got one for N470,000. Instead of buying two, I called my siblings and we contributed to buy a cow to support the ram I bought.”