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While hopping on and off commercial buses to work and business during December period, there is usually welcomed noise from nearby music and video CD sellers at bus stops, who repeatedly play the Christmas carols.
That sweet melody is usually what reminds many that Christmas is near. Today, less of the calming carol tunes are heard from the loud speakers of the CD merchants.
Even hawkers of Christmas items, especially caps, decorations and toys are worried about passersby apathy to purchase of the fun items. As one seller rightly puts it, “It seems people have called off this year’s Christmas celebration”.
Sounding serious and funny at the same time, the Christmas items seller said that some parents guide their younger children from looking at his corner so that they will not pressure them to buy toys for them, while some parents turn deaf ears when children spot his corner and are calling their parents’ attention to the toys.
But the parents are aware. It all boils down to the low purchasing power occasioned by the pandemic and other economic challenges this year, which have seen some sacked from work, some businesses collapsed and many shops locked up.
Tailors also have similar experience as it seems their customers have decided to make do with their last year’s Christmas dresses.
“It has not been this bad before. By second week in December, we should have stopped collecting materials from customers for sewing, but the materials are not even coming. Some of my customers are blaming the harsh economy for the negative turn of event”, Colette Achusi, a fashion designer lamented.
Truly, the year 2020 has been unprecedented right from the month of March, especially, and what is playing out now is the realities that people are forced to live with.
It is obvious that people are reacting to the harsh economic reality in the country, which got worse with the outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, while the announcement that Nigeria has entered into another recession, shortly after the avoidable 2016 recession, climaxed the pains.
Ironically, transport companies that always look forward to festive season to make brisk money from the unprecedented number of passengers travelling to celebrate with their family members, are somewhat scaling down their expectations as the body language of their usual passengers suggests that many are not travelling this year.
A visit to Young Shall Grow Motors and Chisco, both at Maza Maza, Lagos and ABC Transport at Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, explains the obvious.
The parks are unbelievably empty as at December 18, 2020. At this time last year, many people had started travelling to avoid paying the exorbitant fares associated with Christmas rush.
“By now, items for waybill should have filled our park, and would-be passengers paying earlier to book and secure their seats in order to avoid paying exorbitant fares during the Christmas rush. But little or nothing is happening yet”, Emele Onuoha, a fleet manager at Chisco, said.
In the same vein, Monday Arikibe, a staff of ABC, noted that though there is still time, people may not travel as much as they did in the 2019 Christmas season.
“There is no way people will not travel for Christmas, but the number of passengers this year will not match the 2019 record”, Arikibe said.
However, both transport companies’ employees blame the anticipated decline in passengers’ number and volume of business on the economic hardship across the country.
According to them, with the current situation, families are giving priority to food and shelter, while calling off travels now except ones that are very necessary.
The situation has led many people (like corporate organisations) to start using technology to organise family events that often take them home for Christmas, while some are beginning to hold traditional weddings in the cities and even burial ceremonies, which hardly happen before now.
“I created a WhatsApp group for my family members and that is where we often deliberate on pressing issues instead of travelling for such meetings. It is working perfectly, just that we can send a representative when such need arises”, Nsude Uzohu, a father of four, said.
Arikibe also observed that most transport companies did not buy new buses to augment their fleet, a business practice that has become an annual ritual, and also aimed at handling the anticipated huge volume of business and passenger traffic for the festive season’s travel rush.
“Business has never picked since this year because of the Coronavirus pandemic, lockdown, border closure, which almost grounded the West African route, #EndSARS, among other challenges. So, most transport companies did not breakeven and cannot borrow from banks at 23 percent interest rate to buy new buses”, Arikibe explained.
Moreover, with the high exchange rate, motor spare parts, which are imported, are very expensive, fuel price keeps increasing every month, police extortion check points are doubling, hence impacting on transport fare, which is a major consideration for travel now, especially for families.
With the inflation and price increments, the transport company employees think that an average fare from Lagos to Abuja or Onitsha may reach N50,000 from N30,000 per passenger this festive season.
“Travelling in this season may be for only those who can afford their own cars or pay whatever fare available at the parks”, Onuoha said.
Margaret Oni, an intending passenger to Abuja for the festive season celebration, noted that many people would call off this year’s travel if the fares are too expensive, as many would not want to borrow to travel now unlike in the past because there is no money anywhere to borrow, anyway.
“Instead of spending so much to travel for Christmas, many will rather send part of the money to their loved ones because January is at hand and it has been harder under this administration”, she said.
For those who prefer to fly due to the bad roads, airfares are worse. Return tickets on any domestic route is from N100,000 now and may reach N200,000 during the rush.
So, for an average family that manages to fly home every festive season; that luxury and convenience may be out of reach, while calling off the trip is the most likely option.
Again, the high prices of food items have made the commodities out of reach for many.
The sad development implies that there may be not just low key Christmas celebration, but unusual Christmas this year.
Of course, at almost N50,000 per bag, rice is out of reach for many families, especially minimum wage earners and the over 45 million Nigerians who are in poverty threshold, according to World Bank.
Chicken is also out of reach as inflation has impacted the price as well. Therefore, a Christmas without rice and chicken is in the making this year, and it is truly going to be unusual.
The intrigue is that most workers are not expecting the usual corporate gifts this season, especially rice and even 13th month salary, as most companies will capitalise on a bad year and recession to decline in their traditional gifting this year.
More so, if many are going to stay back in the cities during the festive season celebration due to their inability to afford travel expenses or to meet expectations at home, then this year’s Christmas will be unusual as the cities will be full and villages empty.
But for the affluent and those who can afford even overseas trip this Christmas, health and safety concerns for the pandemic, especially now that Nigeria has entered the second wave, are likely going to stop the ‘rich’ from travelling, keep them at home, and make this year’s Christmas unusual.
As well, with the second wave of the pandemic, public outfits, especially cinemas, hotels, parks, beaches and social gatherings are likely going back to strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols and that means no more cinema, drinking at bars, night clubbing and parties this Christmas.
“You cannot be health and safety conscious and still enjoy Christmas as much as you used to. I think the watching of our back and less parties will make this year’s Christmas unusual”, Ferdinand Okpi, a hotelier, said.
Speaking further, Okpi said that a Christmas where children cannot play freely in the parks, where Santa wears face mask, sanitises children with one hand and gives gifts with another hand, will be strange.
This year’s Christmas is likely going to be unusual because many Nigerians in the Diaspora are not visiting to celebrate with their loved ones because of the many tests for Covid-19 required for flights, which are additional expenses on the already exorbitant airfares.
As well, many are held back in countries where the pandemic is still ravaging like the United Kingdom, which is in its second lockdown.
A concerned parent, Francisca Oke, said her family had already conditioned their mind this time around that there would be no Christmas celebration in the fashion the family used to do it.
“For my family, this year’s Christmas has been postponed till next year if God grants us life till then. Whatever we should have spent now would be kept for our children’s school fees early January. We had explained to them that it would not be wise of us to buy them new wears and in January they begin to face disgrace in their various schools over non-payment of school fees,” Oke said.
Quoting a WhatsApp message she said she received, Oke said: “Blessed are those who finish their December salary in December, for they shall know the true meaning of endurance in January. We do not want to know that true meaning of endurance that would lead to shame and regret.”
Sadly, the fireworks may not sound louder this year, as their prices have also increased, but many believe that times of lack do not last forever.
Earnestly, people look forward to a better celebration in 2021 as they await the end of the very unprecedented 2020, a year with many challenges and also remarkable for an unusual Christmas celebration.
