By Paul Okah

The Christmas and New Year celebrations have come and gone, however, excessive spending during the yuletide always lands people in trouble, Paul Okah writes.

The Christmas celebration is over and many people are returning from different villages, for those who travelled, after the New Year celebration to face realities of life.

In different motor parks, vehicles travelling to cities like Lagos, Abuja, Calabar and Port Harcourt are highly sought afte

Checks revealed that many transportation companies have reduced the cost of transportation to different villages, whereas fares to cities have been hiked due to the rush.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and most cities, businesses are yet to fully kick off as many people are gradually returning to resume their businesses, just as many offices are still offering skeletal offices.

As a result of the high cost of transportation fare and other fanfare that came with the festivities some people had resorted to borrowing money to meet up.

However, after the dust dies some people find themselves practically stranded. In extreme cases, some have had to sell off personal belonging like mobile phones to enable the return to their stations.

Those who cannot afford to sell their personal belonging often stay back in the village until middle or end of January, especially if they are self employed and have no urgent reason to rush back to their base.

For those who succeed in returning to their station despite the odds, they are forced to face the reality of paying school fees for their children, renewing house/shop rents or paying for new apartments, among other expenses.

Similarly, some lose their jobs or have to endure hardship in the face of late or non-payment of salaries by organisations

FCT residents recount experience

For most people sticking to budget remains their greatest challenge. This is more so during festivities as a civil servant, Mr Innocent Kunle, confirmed to our correspondent.

Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, Kunle said he spent more than he budgeted during the yuletide and was struggling to survive till the next salary would be paid.

He said: “I don’t know what made me to travel home for the Christmas. I would have resisted the temptation as I had to spend more than I budgeted. When I got home, it was as if everyone was waiting for me with one problem or the other needing urgent attention. If it wasn’t someone needing money to pay for hospital bill for his wife that just gave birth, it would be another person lacking food for Christmas and so on.

“Of course, in the spirit of Christmas, I had to give what I could for everyone to be happy. I even had to spend at weddings I didn’t even plan to attend before, just that I had to go with friends.

“I didn’t need anyone to tell me that the time was up immediately after the New Year as I was fast running out of money.

“I won’t lie to you; it has not been funny since my return to Abuja on Monday. Everywhere seems so locked up. I went to the office yesterday, but everywhere was so dry.

“Not many people have returned for the year, but I know things will start to improve from next week. My greatest concern is how to survive this month. I received my salary before travelling in December, so I have to wait for January salary before I can be able to afford certain things or even make better plans.

“Right now, I am hoping to borrow money from friends to be transporting myself to the office before my January salary arrives.”

On his part, a businessman, Peter Obiora, said he spent money meant for his house rent and presently hoping for a miracle to augment his rent or face problems with his landlord.

“I honestly didn’t have a memorable Christmas because of unexpected expenses. Some things I did not envisage to spend on just kept popping up.

“Children are always fun, so I had to spend on them as many relatives kept visiting with their children when they learnt that I was home for Christmas.

“My greatest headache now is getting N200,000 to complete my house rent. I pay N500,000 for a one bedroom apartment in Dutse and had the money saved before travelling home for Christmas. However, I had to dip into the money while at home because of unexpected expenses. One of my younger brothers was operated on, so I had to contribute to settle the hospital bill.

“It is not easy to ignore certain expenses especially if one has been away from the village for a long time.

“The cost of living also didn’t help matters as those selling in the village hiked prices though it was expected. I am a businessman and know all about making profit with demands. I know I will make the money for my rent by next month when businesses pick up, so I am hoping my landlord will understand.

“Even in business, things will not pick up until middle of the month or even end of the month. This is because many people who are not working will be waiting for transportation fare to come down. The business will continue being in the village until the end of the month when those who travelled to the village must have returned to the city.

“Many people will even be interested in buying items on credit and pay when they receive their January salaries, so it is usually not easy.”

Culled From Blueprint Newspaper