JANUARY AND THE MYTH OF 2 MONTHS IN 1 !!

 It is often said that January is a very "special" month. I am sure you will also agree with me if you read further.

In Nigeria, January 1st is usually kick-started in religious places of worship by most of "us" (some choose to spend it in night clubs, brothels or other enjoyment spots - "kilo kan boys, kilo kan federal"). 

There are high hopes, wishes and dreams for the new year. Many draft new year resolutions that are usually jettisoned before the end of this very special month!

The reality of the harsh economic environment in this contraption quickly sets in and the euphoria of the ushering in of a new year quickly vanishes, paving way for the usual rat race which often than not, prolongs until the few days leading to the end of the year.

January is indeed a very "special" month for the average Nigerian as the financial excesses of the End Of The Year/ New Year celebrations comes back to haunt a larger number of the citizenry; salary earners, small and medium scale businesses, artisans and the likes. 

The third and fourth week of this special month is usually very tense and sometimes excruciating for many of the middle class citizens who fail to plan properly. The lower(poor) class which unfortunately is above 60% (120 million people) of the entire population as at the last publicly released statistics usually see "SHEGE" during this period.

The economy slowly drags it's feet back to "normalcy" and for some reason it seems the days in this very special month are caught in the sluggishness associated with January. The 31 days in the month seem to extend to over 60 days!!

There is a special countdown by salary earners as they count the days to their next paycheck, to at least give them a bit of lifeline lest they get consumed by the unforgiving Naija economy. The small scale business owners and artisans are not left out of this countdown as they look up to the salary earners to inject the monies from their salaries into the economy.

The loan sharks are not left out !! .. The number of financial loans given during the previous month(December) is usually staggering. Their staff resume early for the new year and are set on the prowl of their debtors. The fake big boys who collected majority of these loans to "bamba" in the coolest clubs during the festive season have a way of eluding the T&Cs of their loan contract. In their case, the rat race for the year usually begins earlier than that of others, lol.

The authentic big boys(and girls) at the upper echelon of the society are not affected by all this hullabaloo though. They have enough to spare for the 365 days in a year !! .. my new year resolution is to join this shining premium club 😏, God abeg oo.

© Fieto