Amid cost, risk, many travellers shelve trips for festive holiday

... resort to frugality ahead of presumed ‘difficult 2020’

Once again, it is that time of the year when many people travel across the country and even abroad for family reunion and holiday. To a large extent, the festive season, especially Christmas, is the period when most Nigerians travel because of the long holidays and end-of-year festivities.

Over time, travelling for Christmas has become a somewhat annual homecoming for a lot of people. But in the last 10 years, when insecurity peaked across the country, especially kidnapping, and most recently, brutal waylaying and killing of innocent travellers along major highways across the country, most people started shelving

trips even for Christmas.

This year is not different as the economic downturn is a major impediment, while security has not improved despite government assurances.

As expected, transport fares are not going down; rather, transport companies are taking advantage of the exodus of passengers and the ensuing unprecedented demand for their services to triple fares across board.

Already, interstate transport fares have started increasing since December 1st, it will continue and climax during the last three days to Christmas when the rush is at its peak and fares can go as high as from N12,000 to N15,000 per passenger from Lagos to Onitsha, Abuja to Port Harcourt, Kano to Makurdi and so on. It means a family of five that chose to go by public transport will spend at least N60,000 on one way trip aside other expenses.

The domestic airlines are also taking advantage of the impassable highways dotted with potholes, kidnappers and killers. If flights were cheap, a lot of travellers would fly. As at December 14, 2019, the cheapest air return ticket from Lagos-abuja, Abuja-port Harcourt, Lagos-owerri, among other destinations, cost from

N50,000. That is about double of the minimum wage and almost getting out of the reach of the middle-class, which is yet to recover since the economic recession of 2016.

For families that depend on minimum wage, festive trip is now almost impossible going by unnecessarily exorbitant fares charged by transport companies. Some families now resort to sending a delegation instead of the entire members because of the huge cost. For motorists, the cost of servicing cars to ensure they are roadworthy for festive trips keeps going higher each year, as well as, fuel, which is usually hoarded to create artificial scarcity during festive season and often adulterated by some unscrupulous elements to make extra gain.

In the past, auto workshops are usually very busy few weeks to Christmas as mechanics, panel beaters, spray painters, electricians, among other auto technicians work under pressure to deliver on cars they are servicing for customers, most of whom are travelling with the cars for the festive holiday.

Today, the trend is changing. Henry Asemota, a Ghanaian spray painter at Micky Autoshop, along Okota Road in Isolo, Lagos, still finds time to play draft game as low patronage has reduced the traditional pressure of work during this period.

Mirroring the scenario, Asemota says, “I have been calling some of my customers who usually bring their cars for servicing against festive trips, but they keep promising to come. One of them called me recently to say that his family is not travelling again because he has debts to pay and would not want to incur additional one”.

Asemota, who is surprised that the customer he presumed as ‘a big man’ is crying for money, wonders if ‘the poor’ can even afford rice this Christmas. But a shock for the spray painter is an alarm raised by one of his customers, who is a senior security personnel. “My Oga is not travelling. He said the road is not safe. When I told him to carry his gun, he asked me how many guns he would bring out against an army of terrorists on the highway. If he is scared of those hoodlums, what about those who donot have security training and gun like him?” he asks.

In the same vein, Maxwell Ohia, a customer at the auto workshop, recalls that in the past, people travel home with money, food items, gifts, among others to give their family members and acquaintances. With economic realities in the country, Ohia insists that there is no need travelling when one cannot appreciate people for keeping the home front.

“The reality is that people travel to spend money at home or wherever they visit during Christmas. But if you do not have enough money to spend, it is better to stay back and save yourself from embarrassment”, Ohia explains.

There are many people like Ohia, who are not travelling this festive season in order to save themselves from ridicule from family members and those who used to depend on them.

Beyond saving oneself from embarrassment, Bidemioyetola, a banker, who always travels to Ilorin for Christmas holiday, says he may not travel for festive holiday this year because he usually spends twice his budget on any of such trips. “The economy is fragile now and requires prudence in one’s expenditure. I am beginning to be self-cautious,” he says.

The banker explains further that from the look of things, 2020 is going to be very harsh and that it is ideal to begin to adjust now than to be taken unawares.

“The banks are already enforcing Central Bank’s directives and are busy cutting money from depositors. The increase in Value Added Tax is waiting in the corner, price of food is going up every day with the border closure, and January is around the corner when you must pay for one thing or the other: school fees, house rent, renew bills, among others. So, you can shelve travel and use the money for more important things”, he advises.

In line with Oyetola, Iteneamagah, a business executive, says that one does not need a soothsayer to foretell that hardship looms. “This dispensation for me is a trying one for our country, you wake up to hear one tax increment, ban of items, deductions, among other things that take money from you. So, 2020 is already here and we are experiencing the hardship and government even confirmed that more are coming. Nigerians should be in survival mode now, cut unnecessary expenditures including travelling for show like Christmas,” he says.

Lucas Emordi, a retired army officer, who works with a corporate security firm, notes that terrorists and kidnappers are still on rampage on the highways and festive season offers them huge number of travellers to kidnap, make money from and sadly kill.

“Two of our team members and the corporate clients they were guarding were waylaid early last month by terrorists along the Lokoja-kabbah highway because of superior arms the hoodlums brandished. Our rescue was a miracle. There are many of such sad incidents every day and it may get worse this festive period as more vulnerable people are on the road,” Emordi says.

For safety, he suggests convey travels. “The transport companies can team up and raise threearmed security vans to escort from 50 buses at a time to save cost. All the buses will load, wait and leave at the same time every day. It will take an army of hoodlums to succeed in attacking three armed vans”.

However, if you succeed in getting home safely this festive season, one still needs to watch one’s back as family relations often collaborate in kidnapping for ransom of returning family members perceived to be rich.