Mrs Ifejika Okoye, a housewife in Lagos whose husband is a business man in Lagos told Fiscal Post, that it is hard to feel the Christmas in the air let alone in homes. She says that this Christmas may turn out to be the ,most boring for her family of five.
“Business activities in Nigeria has been very low. This year my husband couldn’t get much business to sustain the family as he used to, And with ever rising cost of living: food stuffs, house rent, school fees etc, we had had to cut down on a lot of things that we could have ordinarily engaged in to make the holiday season an exciting one for the children.”
According to Okoye, the high cost in the pump price of fuel and sometimes the unavailability of the product has increased transport fares making even any form of travelling or movement hear impossible. Adding that the bad roads have no doubt added to the nightmare of those who dared.
Kayode Ifelodun, a business administration graduate of the University of Lagos, who is currently unemployed, laments on the grim economic situation in the country. “There is no electricity, no water, nothing. Even the the normal infrastructure that the government ought to provide for the citizens is grossly lacking. Generally, it feels as if there is no government. People have to hustle to provide all these things for themselves in order to enjoy minimum comfort in this country,” Ifelodun said, adding that his one prayer is to ‘japa’ like the rest of his friends, who have fled the country for dear lives and are seemingly doing relatively well, regardless of what menial jobs they are into. ” They have turned those still left in the country into refugees in their own land,” he said.
Ifeoma Ogunlesi, an entrepreneur berated the Federal Government for appearing to lack direction in steering the economic direction of the country. She said, “The renewed hope of the Tinubu administration is just lip service.”
“Rice which is a major staple for celebrating at this time of the year is far beyond the reach of the masses. A bag of rice currently sells at N60,000 per bag,” Ifeoma complains.
Some Churches have taken to filling the role by distributing these essential food stuffs prices of which have soared so high that majority of Nigerians can barely afford them.
Many wait for hour in the blazing sun to receive a few cups of rice to take home for the children, because they can not afford to buy rice and other food donations such as onions, tomatoes etc, organised by some well meaning religious institutions.
The cash crunch in Nigeria has made things worse, as the banks can only give out N10,000 to each customer wishing to withdraw some cash. Ifeoma asked, “For those with money in the bank, what can N10,000 buy in the country now?” “The situation gets more pathetic as the commercial banks reduce the amount of money to be withdrawn b the day. I understand it has come down to N5,000,”she said.
Traders complain of a tough year, compounded by a fresh shortage of cash that hits the informal economy.
“The scarcity of naira affected a whole lot of things and didn’t make business move so much,” shoe seller Bidemi Bello, 48, said.
“You can’t even know there’s Christmas in the air.
Associated Press reports that poverty in Africa’s most populous nation rose from 40 percent in 2018 to 46 percent this year, the World Bank said.
The lives of some 104 million people — or nearly half the population — are blighted by poverty.
– ‘Don’t know it’s Christmas’ –
Lagos Island was devoid of its normal activities these season. The usual crowd of people excitedly shopping and the huge traffic that come with such activities was obviously absent. With just barely a few days to Christmas, the roads leading to Balogun on the island, a major shopping hub is unusually free.
AP reports that at the Obalende market in Lagos, trade has slowed. “We don’t know that Christmas is outside,” fish seller Rifat Arigege, 41, said.
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