August Rain And The Low Sales In Boki Markets

The raining season experience across some major communities in Boki local government area of Cross River State had far gone beyond the long rainy season period, as the people cry of low sales rate across Boki markets due to disruption of market activities.

The normal rainy season in Nigeria starts in March and lasts to the end of July, with a peak period in June over most parts of southern Nigeria. It is a period of thick clouds and is excessively wet particularly in the Niger Delta and the coastal lowlands. It is marked by humidity with values hardly below 85 per cent in most parts of the forested south.

After this period a short dry season follow which is experienced in August for 3 – 4 weeks. However, the real dry period known as the “August break” is generally observed in the last two weeks of August in most parts of southern ” Nigeria”.

It happened quite different this year, as the sounds of rain follows everyday, mostly market days in major Boki communities like Okundi, Wula, Bateriko etc. It prevents farmers from conveying their goods to the market as well as hold customers from going to the market.

Most times, this wet season arrives in June and continues till September. It is a crucial source of water supply necessary for agriculture  and households in the local area, but it seem to be a wrong timing and have showered a negative effect across Boki markets.

This brief wet period follows the “August break” from early September to Mid-October, with a peak period at the end of September. The rains are not usually as heavy as those in the long rainy season, although the spatial coverage over southern Nigeria is similar.