AS you read this, Nigerians are still at home ‘savouring’ the Federal Government’s ‘magnanimity’ in awarding them extra public holiday for the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations that mark the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset Ramadan fasting by the Muslim ummah.
Then, on Tuesday, April 9, as Nigerians were already marking the first of the two-day public holidays already declared, the Federal Government approved Thursday, April 11, as an additional public holiday. I must state here that I have zero appetite for the vexing politics of moon sighting. But we cannot avoid interrogating the rationale for the extra public holiday, knowing full well that with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday already out, the whole week, literally, is lost because even without any government pronouncement, Nigerians will extend the holidays to Friday.
Truth be told, no country desirous of productivity can afford to deliberately put her people out of work in the name of religious ceremonies as Nigeria does. The idea of unending public holidays is not only absurd but also sickening. When these ceremonies fall on weekends, the nearest weekday is quickly appropriated as a public holiday. Since it has become a convention that a minimum of two days must be used in celebration, if the ceremonies fall on a Saturday and Sunday, then Monday and Tuesday are sacrificed on the country’s hedonistic altar.
It is even worse every election year. In an era when you can hardly know that elections are being held in some countries, including here in Africa, Nigeria is entirely shut down on election days. For instance, in preparation for the 2023 elections, many state governors declared work free days to enable residents register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.