Fun seekers and owners of event centres, yesterday, lamented challenging economy as Nigerians joined the rest of the world to celebrate Boxing Day.The holiday, which comes up on December 26, is marked by the exchange of gifts.

Some Nigerians, however, have indicated that rather than exchange gifts; they were ‘boxed’ by the economy and could not have fun like they did in previous years.

There were, of course, a few like Rachael Ojugbele, the 65-year-old philanthropist in Lafenwa, Ogun State, who was able to provide food for some 150 people in her community. But generally, many felt the punch of the hard time.

Speaking to The Guardian, one Faith Godwin said she was still contemplating how to celebrate with her family until Ojugbele extended a helping hand to her. Also, one Ajoke Akinsanya said she didn’t bother to cook or get food for her family because there was more than enough to go round.

When The Guardian visited some parks in Lagos, yesterday, some residents, who had decided to take their families out for fun, were forced to turn back, given the high entry fees charged by proprietors. They also narrated stories of high cost of goods and services and scarcity of naira notes.

For instance, many families could not afford entry fees into Hakuna Matata Park, at Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island. The park had, on its website, pegged fees at N18,000 per person during weekdays and N20,000 per person at weekends. Yesterday, however, this jumped to N25,000 per person.

One fun seeker, Clement Gabriel Osemhen, said: “The celebration is not as it should be; the economy is biting hard. Nigerians love fun but they cannot afford it. Majority of the people here are those that used to travel abroad for Christmas. I brought my kids. But I was told that I needed to pay N25,000, even for my two-year-old. So, if I came with four children, I would have to pay N100,000. Adults also will pay the same amount. Tell me the kind of fun I want to have here?”

He added: “Nigerians are not happy. People have taken steps backwards from what they were used to, and it will continue to get worse. We must tell ourselves the truth; the economy will continue to bite harder. I can’t do a whole lot of things I was able to do last year. We could afford to spend Christmas in Dubai, last year.”

Another fun seeker, Precious Brandi, said: “Despite the economic downturn, a parent can do something for the children, and that’s why we are here. Coming here makes the children happy, feel free, and enjoy themselves. The economy has affected me and others. We are only trying to scale through and manage ourselves.”

Assistant Brand Manager, Eko Hotel and Suits, Henry Ogheneovo, said: “The increase, from last year, is more than double. We were doing N8,000 between December 22 and 24. Now, it’s over N15,000. The increase is as a result of our improvement on the facility and the bringing in of new things.”

On his part, one Emmanuel Okpa told The Guardian at Ahmadu Bello Way: “There is nothing to celebrate about Boxing Day, given the way the country is. Things were a bit cheaper at this time, last year. Now, transportation has gone up. There is scarcity of cash. People have to buy cash with a lot of money. A lot of things have gone wrong. Things are bad. My sister asked me for a Boxing Day gift but the economy is ‘boxing’ me and there is nothing to give.” (The Guardian)

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