Posted by Osogbo is the capital of Osun State, and its inhabitants and business owners have been complaining about the high cost of goods and the daily hardships they’ve been facing for the past twenty-four hours, right up until Christmas.
The high expense of transportation was a common gripe among both business transporters and travelers.
Unlike previous years, Point of Sale (PoS) agent Sunkanmi Adeleye told GODZGENERALBLOG that business has been quiet this year.
Most of his clients, he said, just wouldn’t budge to acknowledge the reality of the recent economic slump.
The company side of things has not been great. It is not our responsibility that we are barely surviving.
We can’t just shut down because the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria aren’t helping; we need to stay in business. To this day, I am unaware of any other businesses,” he declared.
Another local, Oluwakemi Oludare, informed GODZGENERALBLOG that the administration will be hosting Christmas festivities this year.
In light of all these obstacles, I just cannot fathom spending N20,000 on a chicken.
In January, we have to take care of feeding ourselves, paying rent and school fees, and a host of other things. That is something I’m thinking about.
This Christmas, put an emphasis on management so that you are not in a financial bind come January. She made it clear that she had no plans to travel or entertain guests.
Kamiludeen Muftaudeen, a transporter who runs the route from Osogbo to Ibadan, said that although people have been traveling because of the holidays, the returns from extended trips have been low.
The majority of the funds, he said, are used for the refurbishment of vehicles and the settlement of security personnel stationed along the road.
We reinvest the majority of our profits into vehicle maintenance, yet people are still traveling and will continue to travel. Along the expressway, we settle disputes with police officers, FRSC members, and mechanics, as well as replace broken or damaged parts.
Doing this is essential; failing to do so will only lead to problems. He lamented that the security agencies were taking advantage of the fact that business was good for them at the moment in order to steal their meager profits.
He pleaded with the government to step in and prevent individuals entrusted with the duty of maintaining the roads from abusing their position.
Governor Ademola Adeleke was urged by the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to restore the union’s control over vehicle parks.
According to the union’s chieftain Kazeem Oyewale, who spoke on Friday on behalf of the group, members and their families have been through a lot since the state government turned over the vehicle parks to Park Managers in November 2022.
Oyewale also pleaded with the governor to let go of any grudges he may have against the union, which could have prompted him to make such a difficult choice.
Our last operation in Osun State was more than a year ago. He begged the authorities to “please forgive and forget in any way we offend them” because everyone here has families to feed.