Some tourist parks and beaches in Lagos yesterday recorded a large turnout of fun seekers who came out to celebrating the Boxing Day.
Some of the fun seekers, who spoke with the NAN in Lagos, said they had always looked forward to public holidays for them to catch fun. Yesterday and today were declared public holidays by the government.
NAN correspondents, who visited some parks and beaches around the city, observed that they were filled with fun seekers.
A fun seeker, Miss Tolefe Okonji, said she took advantage of the holiday to catch fun at the Freedom Park because of her busy schedule.
“Freedom Park is an environment I have been looking forward to visit and I am happy that I finally made it to the place due to the public holiday.
“I rarely have time to have fun due to the nature of my job, so I use holidays like this to relax and catch fun,” she said.
A banker, Miss Jenifer Nwosu, said because of her work, she always took advantage of public holidays to have fun.
“Due to the nature of my job, I always use public holidays to come to places I have not been to. So, coming down to Amusement Park is more of an adventure to me.
“I am having fun here and I am very impressed with what I am seeing, ” Nwosu said.
A soft drink seller in Oshodi Heritage Park, Mrs Tinuade Adepegba, expressed optimism that the business would be profitable this time.
“So far, I have not sold much but am very sure that I will still make money because fun seekers are still coming and I am going to be here all day, ” Adepegba said.
A seller of roasted meat (suya) at Arhakab Beach, Mallam Ibrahim Danyaro, said he had made up to N15,000 and was expecting to make more sales before the close of the day.
“The influx of people here today is good for my business, ” Danyaro said.
There was also a large turnout of fun seekers at the Suntan Beach in Badagry.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beach was filled with visitors from different parts of Lagos and Ogun States.
A fun seeker, Miss Busola Lawal, from Ota in Ogun State, said she took advantage of the holiday to catch fun at the beach because of her busy schedules.
“Due to the nature of my job, I rarely have time for myself, so I usually use holidays like this to relax and catch fun,” she said.
Another fun seeker, Mr Ayobami Badejo, who came with his family, said he was using the holiday to spend more time with his family.
“I work in Port Harcourt and my family stays in Lagos. So, during times like this, we always go on outings to where we can have fun,” Badejo said,
Mr Nuru Mohammed, a seller of roasted meat, popularly known as suya, said he had made sales of about N7,000 and was expecting to earn more before the close of work on that day.
“I wish everyday can be a public holiday in Nigeria so that I can make this kind of money every time.
“I have made over N7,000 now and I am sure that I will still make more because more people would patronise me.
“The crowd is so much and this means good business for me,” he added..
A soft drink seller, Mrs Maupe Adeovi, could not hide her joy over her good fortune.
“Business has been great today and I am so glad about this because things had really been slow for over a week.
“My drinks even finished and I had to quickly rush to the market to get more drinks.
“This kind of thing happens once in a while and I am going to make the best use of it, ”she said.
The Officer in Charge of Suntan Beach, Mr Stanley Hungbo, attributed the large turn out to the safety of the beach and the patriotism of Nigerians.
He said the beach had not witnessed any mishap for over a year.
“For several years, we have not witnessed any drowning in this beach and this can be attributed to the safety measures we put in place.
“The beach is very safe and this factor has contributed to the large turnout of people because they are assured of their safety, ” Hungbo said.
