KANO, NIGERIA: Every year, during Eid al-Adha, also called big Sallah, Yusuf Abubakar buys a cow or ram in commemoration of the Muslim festive period, but this changed in 2018. His grocery business saw a drastic decline in sales that impacted how his family celebrated festive seasons. They began to rely on local chickens, which they reared at their home.
The situation led to Abubakar’s discovery of Watanda the following year after he discussed his family’s plight with his friend Salisu Sada, the head organizer of the Watanda club in Bugaje town. “We have been doing it [Watanda] for the past nine years, and every year, the result is satisfactory,” Sada recounted.
Home to over 230 million people, Muslims represent over half of the population in Nigeria. Across the world, Muslim communities celebrate two main festivals twice every year. The first one; Eid al-Fitr, comes after performing a one-month streak of fasting in the ninth month of the Hijri calendar and then the second; Eid al-Adha, comes two months later. During both celebrations, Muslims prepare a variety of meals that they share with neighbors and loved ones.
However, this is made more difficult by inflation and the continuous hike in food prices. According to a March 2025 report by Statista, goat meat’s value has increased by about 100% since 2018, indicating how unlikely it is for an average Nigerian to afford a few kilograms of beef or a medium-sized cow to slaughter during festivities.
The Emergence of Watanda
Watanda is a custom in which a group of people buy a cow directly from a farmer or butcher and divide it among themselves into equal portions. The custom supports local farmers and encourages subsistence farming methods since the purchased cattle are sometimes raised by the community members.
Because the total cost of the cow is split among the participants, it is cheaper than purchasing individual pieces from the market. Group members have more control and transparency over the quality and source of the meat they eat by taking part in meat sharing.
Meanwhile, Abubakar thinks members pay less for more. “I paid only N10,000 like every other member, but the meat was very bulky. Since then, I never miss out on Watanda,” he told The SolutionsPaper.
Another beneficiary of Watanda, Bilyaminu Idris, 25, said the practice allows low-income earners like him to make their payments steadily. “I pay my money little by little, with as little as 500 naira and 1000 naira. I don’t want to stress myself out when the time comes and I don’t have anything to give.”
To allow members to complete their payment, Sada told The SolutionsPaper that they begin collecting Sallah contributions five months before Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
“There are different types of people in our club, including the rich, who could give their contribution anytime they’re asked to, but there are others as well who couldn’t do that even in months. But we believe five months are enough for everyone to make their payments,” he said.
Experts like Fahad Aliyu Muhammad, an economic researcher at the Effective Governance Research Institute suggest that communal activities like Watanda constitutes a working response for average citizens.
“This is an informal mutual aid that is economically significant for both low-income earners and civil servants, particularly in the context of rising inflation and economic precarity that we are currently facing in Nigeria. So, this traditional practice serves as an alternative to support one another,” Fahad said.
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Increasing costs and other problems
The rising costs and instability in food prices still affect the members’ contributions. “At the year I joined, we contributed 10,000 naira each, but this year we contributed 22,000 naira,” Musa Usman, who joined the Watanda Club in Bugaje town in 2018, expressed dismay.
The club’s head, Sada, claimed that the cost of cattle has increased. For example, a cow they purchased in 2018 for 290,000 naira now costs them 650,000 naira. This suggests that despite a recent decrease in inflation, the cost of living remains high.
Even though Sallah celebrations begin in the morning, right after the Eid prayer, families who join a Watanda group have a different experience. In 2021, Abubakar did not return until the next day to bring meat. This troubled his mother, who stayed up all night expectantly.
“That year, some of the members didn’t make their full payment until the final day so the people who went to buy the cow couldn’t resume on time,” he told The SolutionsPaper.
Watanda club members Usman and Abubakar believe the government has a role to play in subsidies during festive periods. Abubakar hopes the government will invest in traditions like the Sallah festivities. “Government can easily buy its cattle and bring them to the market to sell at a lower market price. That way, citizens will find it easier to perform their rituals and celebrations.”
Credits
Editing: Adebola Makinde
Abdulaziz Bagwai is a registered health practitioner and development journalist. He covers and reports on how individuals, communities, and organizations respond to societal challenges locally and innovatively.
