Cost Of Change In Election Date On Abuja Residents

EXCEPT for the purpose of cutting down expenses, which had made people hold certain events, especially weddings during the week, Nigerians are noted for organising their ceremonies on Saturdays. As a work free day for many people, it is a time families, friends and well wishers come together to rejoice with celebrants. It is, therefore, usual for people to fix their weddings, house warming, burials and sundry events on a Saturday. Some people are even in the habit of attending more than one event in one Saturday.

  Yesterday was February 14, a peculiar Saturday globally and in Nigeria. It is a day for the commemoration of the much- celebrated Valentine’s Day (aka lovers’ day). Last year in Nigeria, the election umpire, INEC had scheduled the presidential elections to hold on this very day. Interestingly, the election umpire has shifted the date just a week before the Day, citing security reasons.

  Expectedly, this change affected those in the hospitality business such as event planners, caterers and even the celebrants themselves. In Abuja, for instance, people didn’t fix their celebrations on April 14, as they are apprehensive of what the day could bring, especially considering the kind of threats coming from political gatherings. Similarly, clubs, hotels and event planners did not really plan anything for lovers, as they feared people might not be able to move freely, resulting in a waste of whatever had been prepared.

   Jim Longs owns a relaxation centre in Area 10, Abuja. He is now hurriedly putting some things in place following the announcement of the shift in election date.

  “I was not too comfortable about making any arrangement for the Valentine’s Day like we did previously, when we would buy fresh fish, meat and other things we usually prepare for people, as well as the decoration. Honestly, I did not believe the elections would be without some form of violence, so, my intention was to stay indoors that day.  

  “But now that the day has been shifted, we are making some arrangement to make the day a fulfilled one for lovers.”  

  Mrs. Thomson is a caterer, who also has a story to tell as regards the postponement. A couple who had contacted her to cook for their wedding on the 14th had to shift the date forward because of the fear that movements would be restricted on the day of the election.  

  “The couple had already fixed their wedding for February 14 before INEC fixed its own date. These people had their traditional wedding last year and then fixed the church wedding for 14th.  The only luck they had was that they had not printed cards. You know that these days, cards are usually the last things to print, but they had already printed the souvenirs for the guests and they all bore February 14th on them. So, when INEC announced that day for the election, they contacted me that their wedding date would now hold on the 7th. The concern is that people will not be able to move freely and it would definitely affect their ceremony.  

  So, we had the wedding last week only for us to hear later the same night that the elections had been postponed. It’s all good, at least they have had their wedding, and whatever government and INEC choose to do is their business. But honestly, the couple would have loved to have their wedding on Lovers’ day because of its significance,” she said.

   At the announcement of election date and the drums of war emanating from the two most popular political parties, a lot of people, especially artisans had left Abuja for their villages with the plan to return after the elections, all things being equal. But with the postponement, some of them said they would still stay back in their villages until after the elections.

  Paschal is a driver who left Abuja with his family for the Christmas and New Year. He had decided that they would only come back after the elections.  

  He told The Guardian that he would rather stay back until all the elections dust is settled. According to him, six weeks is not enough to come and go back again because he did not have the intention of staying in Abuja during the elections.

  “It is not about voting, I registered in Abuja and I am supposed to vote in Abuja. But with all these threats from both PDP and APC that Nigeria will burn should either of them win, I think it is better to die in my village. One of the people contesting must surely win and there will be a loser. But in a situation, where both parties are saying heaven will fall should the other win, one need to run when one can still do so,” he explained.

  Some people, have, however, posited that Abuja will be safer than any part of the country should post election violence erupt. According to this group of people, there is more concentration of armed personnel in Abuja than anywhere else in the country. So, rather than leave Abuja because of anticipated post-election violence, they have opted to stay in the knowledge that before Abuja would burn, other parts of the country must have been reduced to ashes.