Mawlid public holiday: Families struggle to afford food, chickens amid hardship

For many families in Kano, the approach of Mawlid would normally mean the smell of freshly cooked food, the slaughtering of chickens or rams, new clothes for children and a gathering of relatives to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

But this year, the celebration looks different.

With the cost of food and other household needs continuing to rise, some families say they are being forced to celebrate according to what they can afford, rather than according to the traditions they have maintained for years.

The Federal Government has declared Tuesday a public holiday for Muslims across the country to mark Eid-ul-Mawlid, but for some households, the holiday is arriving at a time when simply putting food on the table has become a daily struggle.

Musa Ibrahim, a Kano resident and father, said he normally buys chickens for his family during Mawlid so they can share in the celebration.

This year, however, he said he was not sure he could afford even one.

“At the moment, I only have N1,000, and I have a family to take care of, you can see that buying a chicken is no longer possible,” he said.

Musa said he would explain the situation to his children if he could not buy the food they expected.

“We have not given up hope, but if we cannot afford it, I will tell them to be patient, we have celebrated it before,” he added.

The struggle is also visible in the markets.

Sagir Ya’u, popularly known as Slow, who sells chickens, said business during this year’s Mawlid period was nowhere near what he experienced in previous years.

He told DAILY POST that customers who previously bought bigger chickens were now looking for smaller and cheaper ones.

“The bigger ones cost between N5,000 and N10,000, but honestly, people are buying the smaller ones because there is not much money in their hands,” Ya’u said.

He said he had more than 100 chickens in stock as of Monday, but had sold only 15.

“In previous years, when people knew that Mawlid was the next day, I would sell more than 50 chickens. But now, only 15 have been sold, and they are mostly the smaller ones, when people hear the price of the bigger ones, they simply walk away,” he said.

According to Ya’u, the weak sales were coming at a time when many customers were also struggling with their regular household expenses.

“There is not much money in people’s hands, and government workers have not even received their salaries,” he said.

For Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, Chairman of the Kano State Council of Ulama, the financial difficulties should not stop Muslims from observing Mawlid.

He acknowledged that people in Northern Nigeria traditionally face financial pressure during the rainy season, but said the situation this year had been made more difficult by the wider economic hardship.

“This is not something new, there is usually financial pressure in the North during this period, but this year’s situation is different because people are facing serious hardship,” Sheikh Khalil said.

He urged Muslims not to turn Mawlid into a competition over who can spend more, saying people should celebrate according to their means.

“It is done for the sake of Allah. Lack of money should not have much effect because it is not a competition, and Allah does not burden anyone beyond their capacity,” he said.

For families like Musa’s, that message has become particularly relevant.

The traditions may remain, but the size of the celebration is increasingly being determined by what families can afford.

For some, there may be no chicken, no new clothes and no elaborate meal this year, but they say they will still mark the occasion in whatever modest way their circumstances allow.