Residents of Maiduguri, Borno State on Thursday complied fully with the directive to remain at home following a 14-day total lockdown order issued by the state government as part of efforts to check the spread of Coronavirus.
The lockdown took effect from 10:30pm April 22.
A News Agency of Nigeria correspondent monitoring compliance reports that streets and highways were empty, just as the usual congregation prayers are not being observed in mosques.
Some residents, who spoke to NAN, supported the lockdown, but urged government to do something about the high cost and shortage of foodstuff by allowing many stranded trucks with foodstuff at the entry gate of the city access to the town.
A resident of Gomari Ward, Usman Madugu, said: “Our major problem now is the over 100 per cent rise in the price of foodstuff occasioned by shortage caused by continuous delay by security in clearing many trucks bringing in foodstuff into the town.
“A lot of people want to buy food items for use during the Ramadan period, but many things are not available, while those available are not affordable to the average man.
“A situation where people are scrambling over things like onions, eggs, local rice and others because many trucks conveying the items were not allowed in is unfortunate at this critical time.”
Madugu observed that a sack of onion, which used to sell for N6,000, now attracts N12,000, while a measure of local rice, which used to be N300, now sells for N700.
Another resident, Isaac Mbaya, alleged deliberate attempt by some people to cash on the lockdown and Ramadan to maximise profit.
He therefore called on government to probe why trucks conveying foodstuff were being delayed for many hours before clearance in what looked like an attempt to create artificial scarcity.
“You cannot trust those middlemen as they can deliberately create artificial scarcity to maximise profit at this critical time,” Mbaya said.
Habu Ibrahim, Abdulaziz Yakubu and Dorothy Isaac urged government to commence the distribution of palliative to the needy to cushion the hardship.
Jafar Buba, a bachelor, urged the Borno State Government to give the lockdown a human face in view of the Ramadan period by allowing food vendors to operate in the evening for bachelors to buy food.
NAN.