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By Olakunle Olafioye and Agatha Emeadi
The final countdown to this year’s Christmas celebration may have begun, but the excitement and thrill, which usually heralded one of most celebrated festivities in the past have been anything but encouraging in Nigeria.
With many families still smarting from the aftermath of the recently suspended ASUU strike and the persistent fuel scarcity in the country, the fear that Nigerians may be in for the most bleak Yuletide season appears more real than ever.
Just as it was in the last two years when the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world compelled people around the globe to tone down the tempo of their celebrations, Nigerians desirous of enjoying the occasion of this year’s Christmas have much more hostile economy to contend with this time around.
Economically, most Nigerians have struggled through the major part of the outgoing year with cost of living reaching unprecedented level just as the people’s purchasing power has continued to plummet.
Added to this is the spiraling effect of the recurring fuel scarcity, which has continued to push cost of transportation up and its attendant effect of further hikes in prices of goods and services in the country.
Oil marketers had penultimate week raised the alarm that the fuel scarcity rocking the nation currently might linger beyond this month thereby adding to the anxiety of many who may wish to travel for the Christmas celebration.
Mr Uche Dickson is one of such people. He is of the opinion that more Nigerians like himself, who could not travel for Xmas owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country and its attendant effects in the last two years would be eager to do so this time around.
He, however, expressed fear that the possible hike in cost of transportation due to fuel scarcity could be a major challenge.
“I wish to travel to the village (for Xmas) this December, but my fear is that the scarcity of fuel may force the transporters to hike transport fare unreasonably and beyond the reach of the common man,” he said.
Similarly, following the suspension of the prolonged nationwide strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigerians whose children are in public universities in the country have extra cause to be worried about celebrating the Christmas with their families, with many still battling to meet the expenses associated with the reopening and resumption of schools.
For instance, Mr Femi Gbolahan, a parent who has two children in two different universities in the country said that having to pay his children’s school fees and paying their rents at the same time few weeks to the Yuletide will definitely affect how his family will celebrate the season.
“The ASUU strike will certainly affect Christmas celebration in most families, particularly families that have their children in universities in the country because many people now have to run around to source money to settle school fees, accommodation and meet other ancillary obligations.
“There are people like me who have two or more of their children in universities and must ensure they meet up with all expenses. So, it is going to be difficult celebrating this Christmas the way one would have loved to, but then one must give priority attention to the most important obligations. There are still many Christmas ahead,” he said.
However, for many, the lure of having a thrilling Christmas celebration remains too strong to be waved aside.
“Besides the significance of Christmas, the celebration only comes once in a year. So, I am of the opinion that it is worth celebrating no matter the situation one finds himself or herself,” Mrs Florence Arowoyele, a school teacher, opined.
In the past, Christmas used to be a grandeur celebration with great number of people marking it in carnival-like manner in Nigeria, however, with the harsh economy, people who hold the same view as Mrs Arowoyele, said that the options of celebrating the occasion is gradually being limited by the poor economic condition in the country.
Notwithstanding, however, not a few people believe Nigerians can still have a colourful and fun-filled Yuletide in spite of the hardship in the country.
Mrs Arowoyele is of the view that planning is key to having a joyful and enjoyable celebration even in times such as this.
“We shouldn’t deprive ourselves of the fun of the celebration simply because the times are hard. No! We only need to change our approach. Gone are the days when one would only begin to plan for events like Christmas few weeks or days to the D-day. The economy has really gone so bad that one needs to be more creative in managing the situation. Rice and chicken are the commonest food items during Christmas, but the price of a bag of rice now is in the region of N40, 000. If you want to get a sizeable life-chicken now you may have to cough out as high as N10, 000. And what is the average salary in Nigeria nowadays? Let’s just say it is N50, 000. So, how many people are ready to spend as much as their monthly income on celebrating Christmas? That is why I said we need to be creative in managing the situation,” she said.
Nigerians are indeed becoming more creative in managing the situation as findings by Sunday Sun revealed that some cost-cutting measures and strategies most Nigerians are employing in ensuring that the harsh economy does not rob them of the fun of the coming festivity. One of the novel approaches is a contributory scheme specifically designed to cater for Christmas expenses.
A coordinator of one of this scheme in Alagbado area of Lagos State, Mrs Cecilia Obiabo told Sunday Sun that she initiated the scheme about four years ago in her area of residence, adding that the strategy helped a lot of people in easing their burden of preparing for the Yuletide.
The Xmas contributory scheme, according to her, enables participants to save money ahead of time in order to take care of their family expenses for the Yuletide season. “It normally starts in July and individual contributor saves money based on their capabilities. The categories range from N20, 000 to N5,000. The money is used to procure food items – rice, groundnut oil, palm oil, chicken, cow and goat and clothes, drinks, seasonings and other items that members may subscribe to.
“At the appropriate time, we buy and share the commodities based on individual contribution and subscription. There are items we buy about a month or two before Xmas and there are those we delay till few days or weeks before the time. For example, the earliest we slaughter and share the cow or goat is a day or two before Christmas. The scheme has been very helpful, that is partly the reason more and more people keep joining. When we started in 2018, we were about 13, but last year we had 28 and this year we have 36,” she disclosed.
One of the contributors, Mrs Olabisi Thompson, told Sunday Sun that she got to know about the scheme from a church member two years ago before she joined last year.
“Initially, I was skeptical about the whole arrangements, but at the end of it all I was really happy that I did. It is really helpful because it relieves you financially and gives you value for your money at the end of the day,” she enthused.
Besides merry-making and feasting, travelling is another feature of Christmas festivity, which many Nigerians, particularly people from the eastern part of the country, consider as an important part of the celebration.
But with skyrocketing cost of transportation, findings by Sunday Sun revealed that some Nigerians are coming up with new arrangements of enjoying their celebration at minimal cost.
Findings by Sunday Sun revealed that transporters charge average fare of N15, 000 from Lagos to Eastern states in the just concluded month.
At the popular Iyanna-Ejigbo motor park, where most of the commercial transporters line-up to attract passengers, transporters said that it is normal to hike fares during the Yuletide.
Mrs Ivie Ekong is a manager with one of the inter-state transport companies.
She revealed that hiking of fare during the Christmas season is as old as the Christmas celebration itself.
“There has never been any year that transportation during the Yuletide has ever remained the same. Presently, we are doing Lagos-Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, N16,500; some are also paying N14,000,00, N13,000.00, and N12,000.00 respectively depending on the type and choice of vehicle one can afford,” she said, adding that, it is expected that transportation during the Yuletide would definitely go up.
While the prohibitive cost of transportation often proves a major challenge to the majority of those who intend to travel for the Yuletide, Mr Tony Ihesiaba told Sunday Sun that his family, in the last few years, has been able to come up with a special arrangement that has made it much easier for his extended family members to enjoy the Yuletide together as they do whenever they travel home, without having to break the bank.
According to him, “the main reason people go to village for Christmas is to be able to have members of their families and possibly their kith and kin celebrate together. But now that things are a bit tight, people are now looking at what they can do to enjoy the celebration without putting unnecessary financial burden on themselves. In my family, for instance, we have resolved to celebrate the Christmas right here in Lagos. Since 2018, my siblings and I have always gathered to celebrate here in Lagos with our parents now visiting. So instead of our respective families traveling down to the village and spending fortune to transport our families down, we only have to make arrangements for our parents to come to Lagos. The cost of bringing them to Lagos is even cheaper because they come long before Xmas when the transport fare is still very cheap and return weeks after the Yuletide,” he said.
An event planner, Mrs Joy Oladele, said that costless but enjoyable Christmas celebration is still possible in Nigeria, saying people only need to cut their coat according to their clothes.
“The problem with most people is that they often forget that there will still be life after the Christmas and New Year celebrations. So, they drain their bank accounts all in a bid to have memorable celebrations. The era of throwing up lavish Christmas party is over. People must learn to be economical in whatever they plan to do now,” Oladele admonished.
