NAIJA CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR RUMBLE

This seems to be a factor that is common among Nigerians, whenever it is Christmas period, the price of good and services is hiked. that is why you would see a lot of Nigerians purchase whatever they need for Christmas before the due date to avoid buying at expensive rate. though I do consider it as exploitation but who cares about how I perceive such practices, prices of products are not regulated in Nigeria. there are other products that offer promotional offers during Christmas but such practices is not common among market men and women.

It is no longer a new practice in Nigeria whenever there is any form celebration such as Easter most especially Christmas and New year celebrations, the price and cost of transportation are very expensive. the drivers are of the mentality that they are collecting "OWO ODUN" meaning Christmas money. everyone in Nigeria had been a victim of this practice regardless of your location. Few days ago while I was traveling from Abeokuta to Lagos, ikorodu, I only took my traveling box and school bag because apart from the regular hike in cost of transportation, during festive periods the drivers also impose unnecessary price on luggage, so I tried tiding up and making sure the luggage I have with me is limited. on getting to the Abeokuta car park despite the fact that Christmas is few days away, the normal price is ₦2000, on getting there I realised the price has been increased to ₦2500 and I was also instructed to pay additional ₦500 for the so called limited luggage I had, I was so frustrated but knew it was a normal practice but I never expected it to start so early. This is also factor that affect prices of product also because traders will to transport their goods also.

In my country everybody is hustling, this is also applicable to road officers such as Vio, lasma, road safety e.t.c. during this festive period you will encounter a lot of them on the highways. Once you are caught just know it will take the grace of God for you to escape especially if you are the type driving an expensive car, you are their major target because they will come up with series of acquisitions and offences just to ensure you pay a fine.

like I said, in my country everyone is hustling, this is also applicable to this set of people. they are mostly in crowded areas searching for victims especially in the bus top, in places such as ketu, ojota, Berger, Ikeja, opebi, computer village, ikorodu and many more. they are so fast and creative, phones and bags are their major target. on normal days we have them on the street also but during festive period their numbers multiplies. I was a victim of this two years ago at ecme road along agidigbi Ikeja, my phone was removed from my pocket while I was trying to board a bus, we were rushing in so I didn't notice when my phone was removed.

In some cases, most fraudulent individuals tends to take advantage of travelers who are new to the surroundings, such individual tends to fall victim. we have cases of kidnappers who target specific individual with expensive Luggage and items.

• Get your Christmas items early: before the Christmas celebration, 2 weeks or more before the actual date, buy every item you might need for Christmas. this will prevent you from being a victim of marketers exploitation, though planning plays an important role for this to work.

• Travel early before the due date: if you are the type that prefer to travel for Christmas depending on your reason and time, it would do you a lot of advantage to travel early before the Christmas date, this will allow you to avoid the hike in transportation due to Christmas. second during Christmas or festive period especially in Lagos, there is always traffic due to a lot of travelers trying to get to their destination, this won't be the case if traveled early, there is not exciting about the traffic. in fact there are a lot of dangers you could encounter during traffic.

• Get your necessary car document updated and renewed: though this does not fully solve the case of the unwarranted arrest of road safety or VIO officials but it will help you on the long run because they are not ignorant, they won't arrest you without any significant reason no matter how much they want to. so during the festive period always get your vehicle particulars updated.

• Avoid crowded places and night parkings: crowded places are playing ground for pickpockets and petty theft especially at night, they make use of the advantage to deprive people of their properties, if the need persist always keep an eye out for individuals around and while boarding a bus do not rush with everyone, not everyone at the bus stop is there to board a bus.

• Be security conscious: though crime happens everywhere and anytime regardless of the period, being on security alert could be very helpful. always be mindful of strangers and especially bikes and some cabs at night.

Do not let this discourage you from celebrating Christmas in Nigeria, it is an amazing place to spend your holidays especially Christmas landmarks and activities such as, Allen avenue park fireworks, Opebi Christmas festival e.t.c they are wonderful places you should visit.