The joy and pain of public holidays

Kazeem Abidona could not hide his happiness when he heard that the federal government had announced a two-day public holiday for the commemoration of Eid-el-Kabir. "My brother, I don't like it when public holidays fall on weekends because they (public holidays) are a big relief for me," he said. "I live at Agbara and I work on the (Lagos) Island. Many times, I leave home as early as 4am to get to work and do not return most times until about 11.30pm. so you can imagine the wind of freedom public holidays do blow on me," he explained.

By the end of 2009, Nigerians would have enjoyed 15 days as public holidays and this has been described, not only as too many, but also as "productivity cancer". Consequently, some employers are usually reluctant to grant employees annual leave because they claim there are too many public holidays.

The bad side

According to Oluwakemi Jegede, who runs an Information Technology training school, the time has come to infuse some planning into these holidays, especially the ones that are subject to change. "I am still counting my loss now," he told NEXT. "I already have the entire year planned out and this holiday came at a wrong time because it has affected a high profile training I already scheduled for this week. The most annoying thing is that the training can't be done again this year and by next year, I am not sure the trainees will still be interested," he explained.

Mr. Jegede further explained that some people who are into shipping business always incur "heavy demurrages" anytime there are public holidays.

"I always look forward to Christmas with nostalgia," said Funmi Oyewusi, whose family has the tradition of travelling to her husband's hometown every Christmas period. "The good feeling is that it affords me the opportunity of reconnecting with loved ones but I practically stay in the kitchen all through the days of the holiday."

She explained that they receive a lot of visitors during the period that must be entertained. "And you know, the kind of food they expect during that period is the local cuisine."

"It affects productivity and, therefore, the economy," said Mayowa Awolalu, a banker. He said there are too many public holidays in Nigeria when you look at it from a global perspective.

Adams Abdullahi, who works for an Asian company operating in Nigeria, said the management "does not entertain any news of public holidays."

"I can understand because the job we are doing is a contract that must be delivered at a particular time. So public holidays, which are not always considered during project planning is always a loss for contractors," said Mr. Abdullahi.

The good side

Mr. Abidona is not the only one who always looks forward to public holidays. Sheriff Wahab, who sells recharge cards, confessed he loves public holidays because "I make more than I make on a normal day because not many of my competitors come out to sell."

Mr. Awolalu further explained that public holidays have a net effect on both the employer and the employees. "A well rested worker will be able to work efficiently," he said. Public holidays, according to him, come handy because "workers do not take the expected annual vacation."

"An average Nigerian overworks, so public holidays are good for them," said Dipo Adedipe, who works for a consultancy firm.

A poor vacation culture

A medical doctor, Bisola Adebanjo, also said public holidays are good for Nigerians. "If there were no (public) holidays, Nigerians will work tirelessly looking for money. Even when they go on (annual) leave, they still work. Many people are walking corpses because of hypertension and other diseases. Therefore, you see people will just slump and die and I think traders should also be compelled to take annual leave," he said.

Mr. Awolalu said "If employers will give long enough vacations, then there is no need for those public holidays," a point supported by Mr. Adedipe.

Many of the traders spoken to confirmed the opinion of Kazeem Adamu, a grocery dealer who said he is "forced" to go on vacation during public holidays because his business also "go on vacation".