The Muslim community celebrates the feast of Tabaski on Saturday 09 July 2022. On the eve of this commemoration, which is of great importance in Islam, the Muslim faithful are experiencing enormous difficulties in appropriating the sacrificial animal. The rise in the price of sheep and the current economic crisis are dampening the spirits of many.
Tabaski, also known as Eid el-Kebir or Eid al-Adha, is a festival that involves the immolation of sheep. It is a tradition that refers to the sacrifice that Allah, the merciful, asked of Abraham to test his faith. In Benin, the festival will be officially celebrated on Saturday 9 July. This celebration comes at a time when the purchasing power of the population is shrinking on a daily basis due to the global economic downturn.
We are in the Zongo district of Cotonou, one of the areas known for the sale of sheep. Under a mild sky illuminated by the sun’s rays, there is a beautiful display of sheep of different sizes and colours, as is customary on these special occasions. Fodder, makeshift troughs and compound feed packed in bags, everything is set up for the comfort of the animals under the benevolent eye of their owners. Unfortunately, it is the rare buyers who come to the premises to get information or to buy the animals of their choice according to their financial capacity.
On the market, sheep are sold for 70,000 CFA francs and others for over 200,000 CFA francs. These rising prices, in contrast to previous years, are causing some buyers with limited financial means to turn back. The most courageous offer themselves but are sometimes forced to reduce the number previously desired. All complain about the economic situation in Benin. “The country is doing badly economically despite the efforts of the government. It is not up to us. But we must honour Allah through our sacrifices. It is a divine prescription from which no true and blessed Muslim can escape,” says Mr. Nourou, a faithful Muslim from Cotonou.
Tanko, in his forties, about 1.60m tall, dark complexion, round face with a goatee, owns several animals on the premises. As much as the buyers, he also deplores the economic crisis. For him, all sellers are equally affected by the economic downturn. Far from it, the difficulty in convoying the animals to Benin from Burkina Faso because of the jihadist attacks and the obligatory diversions via Niger, which almost doubles the transport costs, are other reasons mentioned by this seller to justify the overbidding of sheep in recent days.
