Unlike previous years, the excitement of the yearly Saint Valentine’s Day was yesterday absent in Abuja, as residents shunned fun spots.
Traditionally, the day is marked with exchange of gifts, such as wine, chocolate and flowers, among others.
Aside from the usual exchange of gifts, many use the occasion to share drinks and food at clubs and resorts.
When The Guardian moved around Tuesday evening to some fun spots, only few fun-seekers and love birds were spotted, enjoying the cosiness that comes with the day.
Many lovebirds, who could not visit fun spots blamed the low-key celebration on the current cash crunch that has affected activities within Abuja and other parts of the country.
The cash crunch, residents said, has led to increase in prices of drinks and other services that are supposed to spice up the day.
A fun seeker, Isaiah Kambili, who spoke to The Guardian, lamented: “The whole fun spots are deserted and this is very strange given that Valentine’s Day is usually celebrated with people coming to have fun with loved ones.
“The most annoying aspect of it is that there is an unnecessary increase in the price of commodities. Barbecued fish, which used to cost N5,000 early last month has increased to N7,000 , while some spots are insisting on collecting cash.
This is enough reason to discourage people from coming to have fun.”
Another fun seeker at Gwarimpa park, Theresa Okiki, who narrated her ordeal using bank apps said: “I am so hurt because I left my house reluctantly to come to this place to have fun, but see how scanty the whole place is.
“But I am even more disappointed that I can’t get anything because of the cash scarcity and the bad network from the bank apps. The MTN network suddenly went dead, and you can see other customers leaving frustrated.
“The country is in a mess right now, nothing is working at all. I am leaving this place because my Valentine’s Day is ruined. Many hangouts here in Gwarimpa are facing the same network difficulty.”
Other Abuja residents, who spoke to The Guardian, say the coming election is enough reason to have a very low-key Valentine’s Day.
One of them, Joseph Haav said: “The only love in my air is the love for my dearest country, which will be shown in full glare during the general election, come February 25. We can’t have fun in a country where everything is at a standstill.
Take a walk around the city and see residents sleeping in ATM galleries all in the bid to collect their monies, definitely in such a disturbed situation, one can’t enjoy the bliss of Valentine.
The situation is the same at Kubwa, Bwari and Dutse. A resident, Ishaku Adama said: “Valentine’s day lost its significance since this country lost the love for its people. One can’t even have fun, because there is no cash to spend.
The government is nonchalant about the plight of the citizens and the citizens are exploiting themselves. POS agents have increased their charges abysmally.
“There is no way Valentine’s Day will make any sense in this situation. The only love we should be talking about or the true Valentine’s Day is the day of the Presidential election, February 25 general election. We need to arise and elect a leader that will take Nigeria away from this squalor. Everyone should vote. A man who lost his infant child because of cash scarcity will put Valentine’s Day in the trash can.”
