It’s the festive season once again. Christmas for people outside the University has been a month-long celebration where activities like hangouts, parties and feasts are the norm. However, for students of the University of Ibadan(UItes), the Christmas holiday is an uncertain one. This month has been the period of tests for students in different departments, so while counterparts in different universities are enjoying the festivities at home, we are slowly losing our lives in different reading rooms and libraries.
Eventually, the school management, through a public release, informed the students that the 25th and 26th would be public holidays. Although most students who live in states close to the school went home as soon as they could, they weren’t exempt from the economic issues in the country. David*, a medical student who’s home, said, “Transport has increased from 4k to 12k (4,000 Naira to 12,000 Naira)! It’s insane how we’ll all try to adapt to this hardship.” A sentiment shared by Bisola*, another student in Law, who said, “Just t-fare itself is really frustrating and annoying, then the prices of things generally have doubled.”
Students who often have no choice in the matter have adapted in many ways. A lot decided to spend Christmas in school. Others opted to split travel costs with friends, and the lucky ones decided that their parents would shoulder the bills. There were many cases of students who mentioned that they had to reduce their wants and direct their expenses to their needs whilst spending Christmas with their parents!
Unfortunately, a significant number of students couldn’t go home for Christmas, even if they wanted to. Some stayed with relatives nearby, where issues like transportation and the rising cost of commodities were still present. However, most students preferred to remain on campus rather than spend a significant amount of money on transport for a few days at home. “I’m still in school because travelling isn’t worth the cost,” says Tosin*, a student of the Faculty of Dentistry. He further noted that the cost of transport home had gone up more than 100 percent since the last time they travelled home. The financial burden of transport and the limited break made staying back the only viable option for many.
Inflation is not evident in transport alone. A few students lamented that luxuries like going out to eat had to be abandoned this Christmas as prices had gone over the roof. Family members who would gather around to spend time together for a short time can no longer afford to do so. Parties and Owanbe’s that could have been held, haven’t been planned. Chicken and turkey which used to be very affordable, are now being sold for as much as 40,000 Naira. This is a very drastic change, and we barely have time to process it, so we just adapt as we have no choice.
For many students, Christmas doesn’t feel the same anymore. For some students like David*, family traditions have adjusted to the current state of the country, “We used to throw a party for the family and friends and share food for the neighbours in times past. For the very first time, that isn’t holding this year!” He complained before further adding “Mind you, this is a tradition that stretches as far back as the 1970s for my grandparents,” He shared. Another student from Sociology noted,” Everything is still the same except the quality of food”. Family traditions which served to make the holiday an event to always look forward to are dying in different homes, which makes students the least excited to go home.
Adding to the challenges of the season is the school’s academic calendar, which has left little room for students to embrace the holidays truly. Some courses held classes right up until Christmas Eve, with one respondent stating, “I have a friend who attended classes today [the 24th] from 8 till about 12:30 pm.” This, combined with impending January tests, has made it nearly impossible for students to relax or participate in festive activities.
Another person pointed out, “Instead of enjoying the Christmas break, we’re stuck reading in the library. There’s no time to feel festive when exams are just around the corner.” For many UItes, this overlap of academic and personal pressures has made the holiday feel like just another day. Tosin described it as “grim and uneventful, with no excitement or joy.”
Regardless of the economic situation around us, students and their families have found ways to experience the joys of Christmas. Most have had to settle for lower-quality meals than they were used to; others have had to forfeit going out to eat homemade foods. Christmas, which was usually about spending the holiday with your extended family, has changed to small celebrations within nuclear families. Over-the-top decorations have been shelved for lower ones on the scale of preference because of opportunity cost. For students far away from their families, they’ve resorted to celebrating with their family members through calls and texts. They’ve also had to plan their celebrations themselves, doing things like cooking festive food on a budget as its now too expensive to buy food.
Many students have taken solace in what Christmas means to them, enjoying their holiday despite the odds. Christmas for some, is all about family and love, while for others, it’s about the excessive food they get to eat on that day. It’s also a moment of showing love and cherishing loved ones. It’s much more beautiful to look on the bright side of life and with Christmas, it is no different. We should all look for one part of the holiday that brings us the most joy and hold onto it because, without it, the holiday is nothing.
As hard as it may be for us to actually feel and enjoy the festivities around us due to how hard times are, it’s much better to forget our problems for a while this season. Christmas, which is a holiday to spend with loved ones, doesn’t have to change because most of us aren’t with our ‘blood’ families; our roommates and friends are loved ones, just as our relatives are loved ones. We should spend the day with them and be grateful that despite all we might have gone through this year, we’re alive to experience another Christmas season, and nothing can take that away from us.
Merry Christmas!
Wisdom Ladapo
