Lagos, Nigeria – December in Chinyye Ikechukwu is usually full of concerts, parties, restaurants and outings on the beach with friends. But this year, the 27-year-old based in Yaba, Lagos, has stayed home due to the economic downturn plaguing Africa’s largest economy.
The high cost of living and high inflation, at 28 percent, forced her to draw up a list of preferences. Even more poignant is the December ditty, as the end-of-year celebrations are known in Nigeria. It features a succession of concerts, parties and other celebrations.
“The point is that December this year was very difficult, and this is the worst recession I have ever seen. These days you go back to something you saw the day before, and it has increased in price,” she told Al Jazeera. “And there is nothing you can do about it.” that.”
Lagos, the nerve center of Nigeria’s entertainment scene, organizes hundreds, if not thousands, of events every December. This splendor also continues in towns and villages far from Lagos but at a much slower pace.
These concerts contribute significantly to the music industry’s revenue of more than $2 billion annually he won.
“What has happened over the last decade and a half is that a lot of brands and artists have created this modern experience that is fundamentally based on a culture that brings people together to have fun and have fun,” said Ekemesit Effiong, partner at SBM Intelligence. , a Lagos-based social and political risk consulting firm.
This year, the fun has been muted.
hard times
Since his inauguration in May, President Bola Tinubu has been on a mission to improve the economy, but his policies have barely achieved that. Floating the currency and eliminating fuel subsidies led to record inflation in a country where 133 million people live in poverty.
Disposable income has declined for many like Ikechukwu who now choose to “cook rice at home”, which is how Nigerians talk about moving away from the party circuit.
Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to join in the Christmas madness, Ikechukwu decided to host a Christmas party at home for her friends, but the price of basic goods at the market made her cancel that plan.
From April to May, the cost of making a bowl of jollof rice increased by about 30 percent. By December, it had nearly doubled, with the minimum wage barely changing all year.
“Food prices and catering costs… next to impossible. “I haven’t even looked at anything that’s happened since then,” she said.
Analysts like Effiong said inflation had eroded the incomes of all demographic groups in the country, especially in December.
“There is always an additional inflationary surge in December because a lot of providers tend to go home, so prices generally rise in December even in the best of times,” he told Al Jazeera.
Concerts have been a staple of Odunayo Odedoyin’s December plans for the past three years. Last year, she attended several shows, including CKay and Runtown concerts, but she is unable to continue the streak this year.
“The ticket prices are scary now,” the 25-year-old said.
The minimum ticket for a big show is about 20,000 naira ($22). Experts said that the exhibition organizers are only responding to the increasing cost of securing venues and logistics.
Her plans were hampered not only by ticket prices but also by the high cost of transportation. Fees on ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt have doubled or tripled in some cases. Thirty-minute rides that previously cost about 4,000 naira ($4.42) now cost about 12,000 naira ($13.27) or more.
“I had planned to celebrate so hard, but Bolt ride prices are now crazy, making it difficult to move as I planned,” she said.
Low traffic display
This year, the number of concerts in Lagos has decreased significantly. Organizers canceled some of them before the December celebrations began. For those still detained, the economic downturn has affected their attendance, said Bizzle Okoya, co-founder of Lagos-based entertainment company The Plug.
“A lot of the shows are not really as crowded as they usually are because people can’t really afford them. Some people now prefer to go to free or smaller events,” he told Al Jazeera. “More people are looking forward to going to big corporate end-of-year parties where they don’t have to buy the tickets.”
Oskoya decided to make the Island Block Party affordable with the cheapest ticket set at 2,000 naira ($2.21), so partygoers can still attend the shows despite the cash crunch.
“Our shows are not affected because the prices of our shows are not high. We did this so that fans can come and enjoy themselves. Our production may not be as expensive as other productions, and that is why our show is not expensive,” he said.
According to a report released in November by SBM Intelligence, Nigerians He spends 97% of their income comes from food, leaving little margin for other necessities such as transportation, health care, and even shelter. Little or nothing goes into entertainment.
“December has become synonymous with either being economically safe or fiscally irresponsible because it is expensive [partake in] now. “This really sums up where Nigeria is now, which is not a very good place,” Effiong said.
He added that this shows that the structural weaknesses in the Nigerian economy are evident in the services sector.
“The services sector has traditionally been an engine of growth at a time when many service providers need financial support. It is really worrying that the only economic sunshine we have seen for a while is starting to come under pressure,” Effiong said.
In Lagos, despite a quiet December, Ikechukwu is still worried about what is coming in January, which Nigerians joke extends for 60 days due to limited spending capacity after December celebration expenses. .
“I’m concerned about this because what it tells me is that our economy is a mess and there’s nothing that can be done about it,” Ikechukwu said. “By all indications, 2024 will be worse.”