As trash in Benin metropolis piles up during Christmas and New Year activities, it poses, one of the toughest delimas of our time. New technology adopt though it is at generating trash, seems quite at a loss when it is time to get rid of it. The obvious time honored solutions are fraught with difficulties. It is obvious that dumping the garbage may pollute Artisean wells in the neighbourhood. Several developed countries of the world have desist from trash dumps. Also, the burning of trash can very often release toxic chemicals and leave behind ash both of which present their own negative aspect of disposal.
Christmas trading in this part of the world is also  when goods and services are high in demand, thus leading to artificial inflationary pressure occasioned by profiteering and the sales of fake product by some unpatriotic  citizens and economic saboteur. In England, this is the period when prices of goods are reduced by more than 50% because Government subsidize food stuff and pet foods. For example a pair of shoes hitherto sold for ( £5) five pounds will now go for (£2.50) two pounds and five pence only as Christmas bonanza. In some cases where goods have over stayed in shops. Such shops are simply opened for you to collect whatever you need-free of charge. Some years back, I was some of the beneficiaries of such gesture. But in the Nigeria society where human beings live like wild animals in the bush, there is serious competition in order to survive. Some people do collect food from dustbins.
Some people go extra miles to kidnap a hunch back man and little children for making money charms in order to celebrate Christmas.
All over the world human beings have great exceptions of one thing especially at Christmas and the in   coming new year. For this fundamental fact, man work relentlessly for the attainments of such goals. It is believed that the attainment of his desire is a vista to happiness which every man desires as the ultimate goal.
Peoples dreams are many and their expectation are equally numerous. It could be the desire to acquire money to train or provide all the basic necessities of life for their children and for them to acquire chieftaincy titles and others laudible possessions of life.
Very often man puts all his talents efforts and power in pursuit of his dreams with undaunted optimism that his life ambitions will one day become a success story.
So, it is not a surprise in the early 60’s  to a see a student reading all night in preparation for his December promotion examination because foolish student who failed his promotion examination does not deserve Christmas clothes or new shoes. So, he could be scolded by his colleagues and other people in the neighbourhood.
A farmer leaves home in the morning for his farm with a calabash of water with a pack of matches to roast yam and plantain and some times he forgets that he has not taken his breakfast.
What concerns him most is a bumper harvest at the end of the year. The ice cream seller leaves his house in the morning with his bicycle searching endlessly for buyers which to him will make his day or the daily paid labourer trying to entice people to hire him for the day’s job. Very often they do approach people who do not need their services.
However in the midst of all these legitimate business seekers,  there are others who resort to banditry and hooliganism during Christmas as a means of survival. Consequently, the celebration of Christmas  has  translated to all kinds of social evil in the society such as drunkenness, adultery, fornications, puffery armed robbery, extortion and all other social malaise.
At the apex of this celebrations, some young men and adult could be seen at Ugbague and victory hotels patronizing prostitutes.
Some take to drugs like cocaine in a bid to make a memorable day out of Christmas. About ten years ago Mr. Osazemwinde Stones who after going out with some friends on Christmas  eve for serious boozings, urinated and passes feaces in his pants.
On his way home, he decided to visit a compee to watch video films before retiring to bed. As he entered his friends apartment, the odour emanating from his body was so strong that the visitors raised an alarm. “Hum Bum Bu-Hum”. One of the visitor stood up and said  “this man reeks of alcohol and smell hog”.
He had no choice than to leave the apartment immediately in order to avoid any further harassment. At the end of the day, he discovered that he had slept with faeces on his pant. Consequently, he vowed never to be drunk again. Albeit Osasemwinde Stones is now late, he later became a pastor and kept his pledge.
In some homes where the bread-winner has lean resources to provide all the requirements to enable members of his immediate family acquire new clothes and purchase expensive shoes, it often results to a public fight on Christmas day between the woman and her children versus the bread winner standing alone. It is indeed a sad spectacle, so, before the man utters any word, the woman had said ten raining abusive words on him, and she jumps outside to was her dirty linen in public “you see, this man, Na yeye man, he no fit buy anything for him children for Christmas”. This type of negative trend normally attract public scorn from people who pretend like Jehovah witness, GKS, etc do not celebrate Christmas  because there is no passage in the Holy Bible that support the celebrations.

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