Just a day before Christmas, inhabitants and business operators in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, expressed distress over the soaring prices of goods and the daily hardships they endure.
Meanwhile, both commercial transporters and travelers shared similar concerns, bemoaning the steep rise in transportation expenses.
Sunkanmi Adeleye, a Point of Sale (PoS) agent, voiced his disappointment on Sunday, noting a notable slowdown in business compared to previous years. He expressed frustration that many of his customers seemed unwilling to grasp the current economic downturn.
“Things businesswise have not been rosy. We are just barely scrapping and it is not our fault.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria policy is not helping but we can’t close shop because we have to survive too. This is the only business I know,” he said.
Another resident, Oluwakemi Oludare, said that Christmas celebrations this year would be that of management.
“I can’t imagine myself buying a chicken for as high as N20,000 when all these challenges stare me in the face.
“We have to pay school fees, settle house rent, take care of feeding and others in January. I have that at the back of my mind.
“In order not to be in a financial mess by January, this Christmas is all about management. I don’t intend to travel and I don’t even want people to visit me,” she said.
A transporter, Kamiludeen Muftaudeen, who plies the Osogbo to Ibadan route, while acknowledging that people have been travelling due to the holidays, added that the extended returns were low.
He added that most of the money goes for vehicle refurbishing and settlement of security agents along the road.
“People are travelling and they will still travel but most of the gain we plough back to maintaining the vehicle. We replace worn out or bad parts, pay mechanics and also settle police men, FRSC personnel and others along the expressway.
“If we don’t do this, we are only inviting trouble for ourselves. These security agencies know this time is good for business for us and they capitalise on it to fleece us of the little income we make from our business,” he said.
He called on the government to intervene and stop those empowered with the responsibility of managing the roads from taking undue advantage of them.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, pleaded with Governor Ademola Adeleke to return the operation of motor parks to its union.
The union, through its chieftain, Kazeem Oyewale, on Friday lamented that since the motor parks were handed over to Park Managers in November 2022 by the state government, life has been tough for them and their family members.
Oyewale also urged the governor to forgive whatever he might perceive as the wrongdoing on the part of the union which may have made him take such a tough decision.
“It’s been over a year since we operated last in Osun State. Everyone present today has a family to feed, the government should please forgive and forget in any way we offend them,” he pleaded.
