Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have raised concerns over their inability to travel for the Christmas holidays, a situation they described as unfortunate.
Some of those who spoke attributed the development to high transportation fares, economic hardship, insecurity and bad roads, among others.
Abuja Metro reports that the Christmas season often witnessed lots of activities, such as wedding ceremonies, cultural displays, house warmings, get-togethers and a lot more, most of them entailing travelling.
However, when our reporter visited Jabi and Zuba motor parks, as well as some leading transport companies, including GUO, Gig, ITC and ABC Transport, in the capital city, it was observed that, unlike previous years, the season this year is likely to witness very low patronage.
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A staff of one of the major transportation companies in Abuja, who craved anonymity, told Abuja Metro that transport fares from Abuja and Lagos to the eastern part of Nigeria are likely to increase in the coming days.
The transport fares from Utako in Abuja to Owerri in Imo State in the eastern part of Nigeria as of November was N45,000. However, a recent online booking from one of the companies showed an upward review to N63,000.
Reacting to this, a widow and mother of five children, who gave her name as Mama Junior, told our reporter, “I would love to travel with my children, to unite them with their loved ones in the village, but now I don’t think it will be possible.
“My challenge now is how to feed the children God has given me. I am struggling to feed the family, pay rent and pay school fees with my small income. So, travelling is out of my plan this season.
“Maybe by mid-next year, if things stabilise, I will consider taking them to the village, but for this festive season, travelling is not for people like me. The condition we have found ourselves now is that, anything you cannot afford, just leave it and have your peace of mind.”
On his part, Mr Kingsley Ifedimma, said due to the hike in transport fares, the only alternative for him is to travel by night bus to cut down expenses, adding that, “Though it is risky, I don’t have a choice.”
He shares the harrowing experience of traveling on the South Eastern roads by night, a situation he described as a nightmare.
He faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision on the removal of subsidy on petrol, adding that the policy was not well articulated.
He called on the president to address the situation by rescinding his decision on the removal of the fuel subsidy to alleviate the people’s suffering.
On her part, a trader and mother of three said the economic situation is getting worse and has affected her business.
“Last year, I couldn’t travel because of financial constraints, with the hope that this year, things will be better, but the situation is even worse now. My business is struggling to survive, I don’t want to embark on activities that will affect it more,” she said.
Also reacting, a transporter identified as Oga Sam Amaechi, said transportation fares this season are a reflection of the current economic situation, adding that with the state of things in the country, transporters are surviving by God’s grace, not by the number of trips.
“We are mostly affected by this economic situation; the price of spare parts and the increase in the petrol pump price have become a bane to maintaining a good transport system.
“As you can see, we have serviced and assembled our cars and are ready for the season, but the whole process will be meaningless if we do not see people travelling. We should understand that transportation is a business venture and to keep it moving, we need to be on the road as possible,’’ he said.
Another transporter said, “The situation has affected my business, unlike other festive seasons when people came and booked for charter. I can tell you, up till now, nobody has called me for a booking.
“This is my eighth year in the transportation business. Honestly, with the way things are in this country, I don’t think people will patronise us much this season unlike previous years,’’ he said.
He further said, “People are complaining about the high cost of transportation, it is not our fault. To fuel a car and buy spare parts in this present economy is challenging. A lot of my colleagues have abandoned their cars because the business is not moving as it used to.
“The economic policy and hike in prices of things are pushing some of our members out of business, and it is frustrating because some of us have invested our time and resources in this transportation business for years.’’
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