A few years back, one could walk into a party as an invited or uninvited guest, eat, drink and even go home with bags full of varieties of food, if he or she wishes.
But those days are gone. Today, the strained economy has affected such lifestyles.
Very few people even get invited to parties now, as a few who can afford to host parties reduce the number of invitees and restrict access to the barest minimum.
But, in an economy that can eat it’s own people, such that Nigeria runs today, people also desperately design means to survive. In most circumstances, the means are not conventional. They are mostly woven around ‘the end justifies the means’ crude analogy
Certain that their little earnings cannot hold their families some average Nigerian households move into the towns, search for where parties are held, bribe the gate keepers and guest tenders alike, to feed themselves and even get packed remnants to serve them for the next day
This strategy according to those who spoke to Economy&Lifestyle work, because both the gatekeepers and guest tenders also suffer same fate. They have very lean and strained pockets.
An eye witness account, Mrs Alade Shodimu, shocked beyond marrows at the new development, said: “I find it difficult to describe what I witness in some parties today. I don’t know whether to put it on the bad economy or on the decayed moral fabrics. The situation where a woman leaves her house, goes to a party venue, bribe the men at the gate to enter the ceremony and also pay the food bearers to get take-away packs of food, defies sound principles; but it now happens regularly”.
Continuing, Shodimu, a lace fabrics merchant in Lagos Island, narrated: “I attended the child dedication ceremony of one of my customers recently in Ikeja. At first, I was shocked that my customer whom I knew to be flamboyant, only had a few guests and access to the venue was restricted to only those with invitation cards.
“However, little did I know a few Naira notes could ice cold gate keepers until a somewhat elegantly dressed woman behind me, opened her purse on approaching them and parted with a few rusty notes and they gave way.
“Seated not far from the woman, I observed her dressing was cheap though she appeared elegant.
“But what shocked me most was when she beckoned on one of the party tenders, whispered into her ears and parted with another set of rusty notes. Just, a little while, after, the tender came with her food and even packed a take-away which the woman grabbed and went away.
“Meanwhile, my customer had earlier muttered to me, she did not invite the woman, and wondered how she accessed the party” she added.
Another account by Mr. Mayowa Lasisi, a civil servant, said: “I attended a party in Ijebu Ode. It was an outdoor party on a school field.
“But guests were advised to wear the asoebi so as to be treated well by the host.
“There was this woman beside me. As we were being served food she called the server and squeezed money into his hands.
“He returned with a polythene bag filled with what I don’t know.
“Unfortunately, the host’s sister who was watching them, quickly accosted the woman and asked her to open her bag.
“A scuffle ensued when she resisted, and the bag tore with the contents splattering on the floor. It was then that the woman narrated her ordeal as a single mother of five who is scrambling to feed them.
“The food was meant to last them two days which was sufficient compared to what the N3000 she used to bribe her way can buy.
“I felt pity for the woman. It’s not her fault, rather that of the economy which has caused hunger in almost every home.
“It is not everyone who looks good that has a full stomach. Many are hungry.
“If she had begged, they probably wouldn’t even had allowed her in.
“The struggle for survival is making people do the unthinkable The society that used to help the needy has turned against them.
“Low purchasing power resulting in high cost of living has robbed people of their dignity. Great lifestyles of the old are gone” he lamented
Economy&Lifestyle also discovered that even caterers are lamenting this menace.
According to them, it is eroding the trust party’ hosts’ have in their services.
Mrs. Omosewa Durotimi, a caterer complained bitterly about the development, saying: “This development is affecting us hugely. “Imagine when you are given money to cater for 50 guests in a party and only 35 out of the 50 have access to food.
“The remaining 15 portions have been served to party gate crashers, who tipped a server N1,000 to package various food for him or her.
“This incident happened to me recently and the host was bitter. She swore never to patronize me and even took back everyone she introduced to me.
“When I threatened my servers to arrest them, they brought out the culprit.
“This trend has made many caterers lose contracts worth millions because of the greedy nature of servers.
“This is one among many other things we are facing.”(Vanguard)
