By Chika Otuchikere, Abuja 

With the 2020 Christmas celebrations just a few weeks away, Nigerians are already in deep worries and fears that this may just be the worst Christmas experience in decades.

No thanks to combined factors of current economic recession, myriad of social ills and the daily deadly attacks by armed bandits, kidnappers and sundry criminals, who leave huge death toll on their trail.

Already, the federal government had sounded the alarm on the dangers lurking ahead of the yuletide when it warned citizens intending to travel this season to do a rethink.

Apart from the government’s warning, Nigerians would be compelled to act on the side of caution due to the fast rising cost of commodities in the market.

Foodstuff are the worst hit in the country as the cost of transporting them to the markets had sky-rocketed following the hike in the pump price of fuel.

With the country entering its second economic recession in five years and the naira further weakening in the parallel foreign exchange market, this spells doom for Nigerian consumers.

As a result of this, traders of non-food items are going to face a hard time accessing the dollar. The burden will definitely be transferred to Nigerians who may, as well, forget any celebration this season.

Of course, Nigerians are already groaning under the burden of the recent hike in electricity tariff and pump price of fuel, which have heightened the poverty in the land.

More and more Nigerians have joined the millions of those who were already living below the poverty level.

As a former associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, Buba Galadima predicted at the weekend, “Nigerians will soon begin to pick food from the dustbin”.

The level of insecurity plaguing the country at the moment is another major cause for nightmare for most Nigerians this Christmas season. Presently, no region or state in the country is spared of the havoc wrecked by the deadly monsters holding the country and its citizens by the jugular.

Before the present government came to power in 2015, the country was grappling with the Boko Haram group, terrorizing mainly the north east and their activities was already overstretching the security agencies.  

Five years down the line, the entire country is besieged by, not only the Boko Haram terrorists, but a cocktail of kidnappers, bandits, herdsmen and armed robbers, having a field day terrorizing the citizens and smiling to the bank.

The Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, had heaped the blame for Nigeria’s current parlous state on the door mouth of President Buhari saying that his five years of governance has plunged Nigeria into abundant poverty.

The group made the assertion in a statement released weekend, reacting to the recession of the Nigerian economy.

The statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the country had become ungovernable under Buhari’s administration.

“As Nigeria enters the worst recession in 33 years and the second in five years of Buhari, we are equally besieged by attendant poverty as well as insecurity worsening across the land with kidnappers, armed robbers and bandits on the prowl and government helpless and unable to govern effectively.

“The truth is that the country had virtually become ungovernable and unless we restructure and restore Nigeria to federalism, the country is on the brink of collapse and God should save us from the worst-case scenario”, the group stated.

Last week, a ruling party chieftain was abducted and killed in what the police said may be an assassination; a first class traditional ruler was killed during an attempted kidnap. The orgy of killings culminated in Saturday slaughtering of 43 farmers in Borno State by the Boko Haram terrorists.

The spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) Hakeem Baba Ahmed, captured the insecurity mood of the country in a television interview at the weekend when he said the north is the most unsafe place in the world to reside. The Sultan of Sokoto had earlier expressed a similar view when he said no part of the northern Nigeria is safe to reside.

The Minister of Defence Major General Bashir Magashi (retd) in a statement on Saturday alluded to the security challenges of the country. The minister who was represented at the graduation of 21 Participants of Naval Warfare Course 4 by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Olonisakin noted that;

“The country is currently beset with myriad of threats that has affected the overall security of the nation. He elucidated that these threats have seen the Armed Forces engaged in various operations across the country to curtail the myriads of security challenges especially the insurgency in the North East, banditry and rampant kidnapping in the North West as well as other agitations and violent crimes in all parts of our nation”.

Meanwhile, as part of measures to address the insecurity situation in the country this yuletide, the Inspector General of Police IGP Mohammed Adamu, has ordered Commissioners of Police (CPs) across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) in the 17 Zonal Commands, to revamp the security architecture in their Area of Responsibilities (AOR) ahead of the yuletide.

The IGP assured the citizens of the renewed commitment of the Force towards ensuring their safety and security especially as the Christmas season approaches.

He, however, called for the continuous understanding, support and encouragement to the Police by the citizenry..

 The citizens of the country may be left with only one option; to shelve the 2020 Christmas celebration for reasoning ranging from their personal safety to their ability to spend this season.

Also, they should have hindsight that the COVID-19 pandemic also unleashed its own devastating havoc on their economy as well as the country’s economy.