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So many can recall the past sweet and enjoyable Christmas experience they had while growing up or after attaining adulthood. Back then, about this time, the excitement of the coming Yuletide would be thick and the atmosphere charged with expectation of the forthcoming merriment and the reunion with relations, especially for people who prefer to travel back to the village to celebrate the Yuletide.
With just about 21 days left, a very sombre feeling envelopes this period. All thanks to the poor economic situation. Everywhere you turn, there is just nothing about this time that should give anybody reason tobe cheery. For about two weeks or so, the country has been caught in the grip of petrol scarcity, whether real or contrived. The naira is finding it very difficult to stand erect before the United States dollar. It is almost kissing the feet of the dollar, which proudly stands ramrod straight, like a celebrity basking in the flashlights of paparazzi at a red carpet event.
With every drop recorded by the naira against the dollar, prices of foodstuff, other processed goods and services in the country also shoot up. It is as if each time the dollar sneezes, the naira catches cold.
At petrol stations in Lagos and Abuja other major cities, many people eager to buy petrol for their vehicles, motorcycles and generators have practically taken up residence at the filling stations, pushing and shoving, all in the bid to reach the dispensing point, not minding that they will have pay as much as N250 per litre.
More troubling is the story making the rounds that the present scarcity would last for some time and possibly not ease off till the end of year. Now that is scary news. I wonder how people from the South East will cope with that scenario, in case it turns out exactly as indicated. Come to think of it, it has become customary for people from the Southeast to travel home in droves. It is an annual exodus that empties the urban areas, where they reside in large numbers.
Also feeling the pinch of the moment are the hundreds of thousands of men and women who sell special Christmas materials.
With the economy in poor shape, the majority of families are not talking about buying Christmas clothes for their children. For now, providing the very basic essentials is the primary focus of such families.
What should be the attitude of the Generation Z children? Among this generation are unserious children whose wants and needs are so high, yet they are not ready to work hard. Nevertheless, childhood is full of its experiences, but then, it is also the fundamental right of children to enjoy their parents’ goodies.
With the astronomical rise in prices of goods and knowing the expectations of their children at this time, some parents just don’t how tell them the usual Christmas purchase would not be made for them this year.
Nonetheless, parents have to make the children recognise that the Christmas is more about bonding, love and unity than the razzmatazz of Christmas lighting and the fireworks associated with the period.
Wise parents know how to prudently giving their children a sense of participating in the merriment, so that they do not totally feel left out and psychologically crushed. This is where scale of preference is adopted, to ensure a win-win outcome that leaves both the parents and children happy.
Apart from clothes, a major part of the celebration of the Yuletide is food. From January till now, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the prices of foodstuff have risen from 17.13% to 22.02% as at July 2022. In practical terms, there have been sharp increases in prices of bread, breakfast cereals, tubers, frozen chicken, fish and meat. The price of rice jumped from N23,000 last year to between N42,000.00 and N45,000.00, depending on the location. When broken down to retail price, you find a milk cup of rice is sold at N200.00 while a one Derica size measure goes for N800.00. A jute bag of beans costs N85,000.00. Other foodstuffs like groundnut oil, packaged tomato paste and spices have all gone up. In essence, the sharp increase in the price of foodstuff has become a major source of worry to citizens of the country.
Mrs. Halimat Abdullahi, who I met at the popular plantain market in Mushin, Lagos, is representative of the situation of most traders. I found her expressing her pain. The amount of money she came to the market with to buy plantain was just not enough – all thanks to the unpredictable change in prices. True to words, the latest increase in inflation was triggered by the rapid rise in the prices of gas and petrol, leading to increases in the cost of transportation, whether by road or air. “Now that the cost of transportation has eaten deep into the minute gain of the trade, how will I make it up?”
She is not alone in that saga as other wholesalers and retailers are in the same boat. One of the retired food vendors in a school also informed that government is not doing enough as Nigeria needs price control board like other countries. Today, a tin of 500 mg powdered milk costs N4000 while one small sachet costs N100.00; these are not good signs at all.
Iya Farouk is a known trader at the popular Mile 12 market in Lagos, where she sells fresh tomatoes and pepper. The prices of these two major ingredients of stew and different foods popular during festivities continue to rise on account of the insecurity in the northern states as well as flooding experienced this year.
In the wake of this unsavoury situation, the question comes again: what should be the right attitude for the season?
Dear Nigerians, as we look forward to the Christmas, which is just 21 days away, bringing with it all the drama, excitement as well as anxiety for people not financially well heeled, there is need to bear in mind that the day will pass like the in preceding years. My simple advice is that we should all brace up and keep in mind the evergreen advice given by gospel minister, Robert Schuller, in his best seller book: “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do.”
