By Ifeoma Akah
Enugu – Some fish sellers in Enugu on Wednesday made brisk business, as many Christians abstained from eating meat during Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent in Christian calendar.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who monitored the situation in some markets in Enugu reports that fish sellers witness high sale of the produce.
A fish seller at the Artisan Market on Ogui Road, Mrs Agnes Udodi said that she had made a lot of sale since 8 a.m she arrived the market.
‘’As soon as I opened my shop by 8 o’clock this morning, customers started trooping in to buy fish.
“I also sold different types of meat but more people were demanding for fish, including croaker, cat fish and ice fish.
“It has always been like this during Lenten season, especially on Ash Wednesdays and Fridays by some churches like the Catholics,’’ she said.
The story was not in some meat shops visited at Okpara Avenue, New Haven Market and Kenyatta Market, Uwani as people trooped to various markets and shops to buy fish.
Mr Joseph Kodili at the New Haven Market said that immediately after the morning mass, customers started coming to the market to buy fish and fruits apparently for breakfast.
Kodili said that prices of fish remained stable as traders did not bother to increase them arbitrarily due to the season.
“It will be unfair for us, traders, to increase the prices of fish because of the Lenten season.
‘’I still sell ice fish at N1,000 a kilo while croaker and cat fish are sold between N1,500 and N2,000 a kilo,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, some Christian faithful told NAN that they abstained from meat as a mark of honour and worship for the son of God.
Mrs Pat Ukwuani said that it had been the practice in the Catholic Church to abstain from meat or any other pleasures of life as sacrifice for the suffering of Jesus Christ on earth.
“We do not only abstain on Ash Wednesday but subsequently. We also engage in serious prayers and fasting for forgiveness of sins,’’ she said.
Mrs Chinyelu Okonkwo, an Anglican, said that the Lenten season was a period for sober reflection adding that abstinence from meat was not enough sacrifice for what Christ passed through to save sinners.