The present economic realities have subdued this season’s spirit’, with a cash crunch dotting the landscape. With the inflation rate rising to 34.6 per cent from 33.8 per cent in October and the rising prices of fares and food items, many Nigerians are in for one of the most colorless Christmas in decades.
Igbo Community radio reports that many Nigerians, who do not have the resources or the alternative means of animating this season, may shelve their travelling plans and celebrate in stoic resignation, notwithstanding government’s subsidy via train rides.
Nnamdi Azu, a trader at Oyingbo Market, Lagos, is worried. His plan to travel with his family this season seems unrealistic, considering the resources available. The family of six belongs to the ritual of travelling to Lodu Imenyi in Bende Local Council of Abia State for the Christmas celebration. But the ritual may have become a taboo.
He had just realised that the cost of moving his family to Abia State and the soaring food inflation was quite exorbitant. His inquiry at the Okota Isolo bus terminal showed that the price of a bus ticket from Lagos to Umuahia, the Abia State capital, is between N36,000 and N40,000.
For six people, a one-way trip will amount to between N216,000 and N240,000. That is outside the inter-city transportation cost. This was against the N16,000 fare charged for the same route in 2023 before the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Unfortunately, Azu will not travel home. Worst still, Azu had also planned to use the opportunity to participate in the final burial rites of his uncle, the late Elder Azunnaya Ihesie, who passed on Monday, May 6, 2024, at the age of 104. The ceremony is slated for December 26 – 27, 2024, at Akaelu Lodu, Imenyi.
Aside from the fare, Azu is supposed to buy other essential food items such as rice, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and more, which have increased by more than 100 per cent over the last one year. For example, a bag of rice, a staple during festive periods, now sells for an average of N107,000, up from N30,000 in 2023.
The price of a five-litre groundnut oil, which sold for N6,000 a year ago, now sells for N19,000. Similarly, the cost of cooking gas has doubled over the past year in some regions, making it difficult for families to prepare traditional holiday meals conveniently.
Mr Azu is not alone in this ordeal. A motor spare parts dealer in Ladipo Market, Isolo, Lagos, Mr Godfrey Maduka, said his family would stay in Lagos this Christmas instead of travelling to their hometown in Ekwulobia, Anambra State, due to financial Constraints
“The most important thing is to provide the basic family needs instead of embarking on this expensive holiday,” he consoled himself. According to him, his primary focus is to ensure that his family is provided with food where they reside.
Also, Adebayo Ojo, a trader in the Alaba market, is unhappy with the same situation. He has just put off his travel plan. “It used to cost me about N6,000 to travel from Lagos to Benin City during Christmas. Now,
transport companies are asking for N18,000. How do they expect ordinary Nigerians like me to afford this?” Ojo lamented.
From bustling motor parks in Lagos to small roadside transport hubs in satellite towns, the story is the same – long queues of disgruntled passengers and the atmosphere of despondency. This year, transportation costs, which typically increase during Christmas periods, have doubled and sometimes tripled. This increase followed the removal of fuel subsidy last year, coupled with the devaluation of the naira and the rising inflation.
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