The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ known as Christmas is an age long tradition. It is a significant celebration for Christians because the coming of Jesus is God’s fulfillment of his promise in the redemption story of man and as such the anchor of the Christian faith. All over the world, the season is celebrated in different ways; for instance, the period comes with the decoration of homes, offices, churches and event centres with colours like red, white, purple, green and so on. For Ndi Igbo of South East Nigeria, it is a period of homecoming for many and for others, the marking of the end of the year.
As a matter of fact, yuletide is supposed to be the period when people of all categories make merry and celebrate with one another regardless of their social status; but it is regrettable that traders and other social service providers take undue advantage of the season to hike prices of goods and services. For instance, the prices of food stuff like bags of rice, tomatoes, pepper, groundnut oil, beans, onions and stockfish just to mention but a few, are raised in a bid to maximize profits.
Also, the prices of groceries have become very exorbitant because of the increase in demand to compliment other meals by families. That is not all; transport fares have been doubled with impunity by commercial transporters because of the increase of travelers from different parts of the country. Some drivers overload their vehicles and defy all warnings to rent back on night journey; all in a bid to make much more money. Prices of clothing have also sky-rocketed as sellers continue to record more sales. The same applies to fashion designers who take undue advantage of the increase in patronage of their services to extort customers. Of the truth, if these ugly trend and development are left unchecked by relevant authorities; individuals and families will continue to suffer all in the name of trying to celebrate the yuletide.
Government at all levels should place certain regulations on exorbitant prices of goods and services to make commodities affordable for all categories of people. On their parts, traders and entrepreneurs should note that the reason for the season is giving and receiving so they should in turn be magnanimous not to hoard their goods but to sell more of their products at affordable prices to the people. Already, the government has given the assurance that there would not be increase in the prices of petroleum products during the yuletide; hence transporters should therefore ensure that they desist from hiking transport fares unnecessarily. The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and other relevant security agencies should carefully monitor the excesses of motorists and other road users within this period to save lives.
They should not hesitate to arrest and prosecute transporters with over-loaded vehicles and those driving with worn-out tyres as well as those found guilty of over-speeding and reckless driving. To avoid unnecessary risk; passengers are advised to board vehicles at designated motor parks instead of patronizing transporters with no trace of identity; all in the bid to cut down costs.
Owners of cinemas, gardens and recreational centres always experience economic boom during this period because of the increased patronage. They should therefore ensure that Covid-19 protocols are duly observed and also put the necessary security measures in place to ensure the safety of their customers.
Above all, we should change our attitudes towards the season bearing in mind that it is not the time to extort or defraud people in the name of Christmas neither is it the time for them to spend all they have to celebrate the season; because challenges associated with the New Year lie ahead of us.
Written by GABRIEL UCHEBO
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