Posted by For enterprises in the recreation industry, Nigeria’s poor economic conditions—which have been made worse by the elimination of the gasoline subsidy and high dollar exchange rates—present a significant obstacle.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) visited a few recreational areas in Abuja, and the majority of the locations had very few people around, indicating poor patronage.
Popular Kubwa location known as the “Yellow Page,” which is home to a number of stores and football viewing areas, is typically a swarm of activity, especially on the weekends.
Numerous fun-seekers typically order a variety of roasted fish, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and other consumables there.
On Saturday night, however, relatively few people visited the establishment.
Other well-known hotspots in Kubwa, such as the Glass Top Lounge in Phase 4, Native Spot on Gado Nasko Road, and Kerry Para Lounge on Sultan Dasuki Road, offered a similar experience.
In Lugbe, Garki, Nyanyan, Kati, Gwagwalada, and other areas of Abuja, things remained the same.
A fun-seeker who went by Mark claimed that there is very little time for leisure due to the challenging economic climate.
He claims that instead of selling roasted catfish for N2,000, it now goes for between N3,500 and N5,000.
According to him, catfish can get anywhere from N7,000 to N15,000 in affluent neighborhoods. Hero Beer used to retail at N400, but it currently costs between N600 and N700. The price of Heineken beer has gone up from N600 to almost N1,000, just like huge stout. The majority of people have now cut back on how often they consume those goods. Others just stay indoors as they don’t have any extra cash to spend on entertainment.
“Even the hookup industry is hurting because most of those girls will loiter for hours on end without any business, despite the fact that many of them have had to lower their rates.”
The manager of Glass Top Lounge, Patrick Abu, claims that the lounge is only having trouble making ends meet because of the sharp decline in patronage.
He called on the federal government to act to stimulate the economy in order to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“There aren’t many customers and high operating costs.” All we’re doing is fighting to stay in business and uphold our standards. The dollar rate is having an impact on everything, and another significant issue is the rise in gas prices at the pump. In order for our businesses to succeed, the government needs to act quickly to raise the standard of life for Nigerians, he said.
Kerry Para Lounge’s manager, Tony Okoro, stated that the leisure industry was not the only one affected by the difficult economic climate.
“Every firm is being impacted by the poor state of the economy. However, we are most impacted. Simply scan your surroundings. Even though it is almost 6 p.m., not many people are in sight. Normally, the space would have been occupied by now. We used to pay N4,000 for a carton of Heineken, but today it costs N6,000. The cost of everything has increased, and customers are no longer visiting. The government needs to act quickly to save our company,” he declared.