Kano residents woke up on Friday morning to a peaceful protest by makers of Gurasa, locally baked bread in the ancient city and many parts of northern Nigeria.
The peaceful protest took place at Jakara in Dala Local Government Area in Kano.
The leader of the protesters who is also the chairperson, of the Association of Women Gurasa Bakers, Fatima Auwal Chediyar, threatened an indefinite strike over the high cost of flour in the country.
She said the high cost of flour forced them to stop their work until the situation is resolved or the authorities intervened in the matter.
“Unlike before when we were buying the commodity at N16,000 per bag, the item now sells at N43,000 per bag, so how can we do it?”
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She said. “Most of us are widows who run the business to support ourselves, but now the business is looking impossible due to the lack of capital and the high cost of flour.”
“We are holding this protest to show our leaders the situation we are in, and our business is for the poor because if they see how we run our business, they will not be able to do it. We are in trouble. The flour we work with has drained our strength”
She added that they have to give up making the Gurasa because they don’t have the capital to buy the flour, and that is a big threat to their communities, especially those with low income who cannot afford bread.
She urged the leaders at different levels to look at the situation they are in regarding the price of flour and help them because they have many children, and they depend on the business to feed the children and pay their school fees.
A businessman and trader at the popular Singger market in Kano who deals with flour and other commodities, Alhaji Abdullahi Sulaiman told journalists on Friday that since Monday they received a new price notification from BUA Group, that takes effect from February 1st, 2024.
See below:
Dear Esteemed Partner
Due to the continued impact of Fx. Effective Thursday, 1st February 2024, the Management of BUA Foods Plc has reviewed the prices of Sugar, Flour and Pasta as follows:
*1. Sugar*
Ex-Factory (Self collection)
Price = N66,000 per bag
Delivered Nationwide
Price = N69,000 per bag
*2. Flour*
Ex-Factory (,Self collection)
Price = N37,000 per bag
Delivered Nationwide
Price = N40,000 per bag
*3. Pasta*
Ex-Factory (Self collection)
Price = N10,000 per carton
Delivered Nationwide
Price = N10,500 per carton