On Tuesday, fish sellers in Ogun State marched to the Governor’s Office at Oke-Mosan, expressing dissatisfaction with the continuous surge in fish prices.
Brandishing placards requesting government intervention against the soaring fish prices, the sellers highlighted their struggles, citing debts and an inability to sustain their businesses in the current economic climate. However, security agents prevented their entry into the governor’s office.
Last week, fish sellers in Sagamu had also staged a peaceful protest, echoing concerns about high fish prices that led to reduced patronage and eroded their working capital, forcing many out of the trade.
Speaking with the journalists during the protest, the Chairman, Fish and Seafood Sellers Association of Ogun State, Chief Onajobi Aremu, said the fish sellers are now finding life unbearable because of the everyday increase in the prices of fish while their only means of livelihood is under serious threat.
Onajobi said, “We are all here to let the government know that life is becoming so hard for us the fish sellers and those eating it too. This is due to the everyday increase in the prices of fish. For instance, a carton of Mackerel that we call Titus has jumped from N45000 to N85,000, invariably one Titus is now N2000. A carton of herring commonly called ‘Sawa’ which used to be N14000 is now N47000.
“The most painful part is that let’s assume that you buy this fish say for N50,000 in the morning before the afternoon it is N70,000 and the following day it will be N75,000. How can we survive in this kind of situation? Many of us are now in debt because people are also not patronizing us again, they will always complain that the fish is too expensive. We sincerely call on our governor, Dapo Abiodun to help us out of this terrible situation. We are not happy at all because this is our only source of livelihood”.
Mrs Adiat Omoowo, leader of the Fish Sellers, Egba Division, said they decided to stage a protest at the Governor’s Office because they could no longer afford to stay calm while life was becoming so tortuous for them.
Omoowo said, “We are here to plead for the governor’s intervention over this unexpected turn of events in our business. We did not start this fish selling yesterday and things have never been like this. How can we now pay N85000 for what we used to buy for N4000? This is hard on us.
“Already many are leaving the business. We all decided to come out and let the government know about what we are going through, we beg them to help us before things turn the other way for us. To feed our families now is now a problem because people are no longer buying this fish, they always complain that they are too expensive”.
Addressing the protesters, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Adijat Adeleye-Oladapo, appealed to the traders to be more patient with the government saying the hike in fish is not peculiar to Ogun state alone.
Adeleye-Oladapo said, “To my understanding, I think this is not just happening in Ogun state, fish sellers from other states are also complaining about the price increase.
“The issue of fish is not just about Ogun state, it is something that cuts across the nation, there has to be a holistic approach to the problem.”
