BOLA BADMUS, KEHINDE AKINSEHINDE-JAYEOBA and SUBAIR MOHAMMED speak with a cross-section of residents on the rising cost of living and their coping strategies. Their report:
AS hardship continues to bite hard among Lagos residents, the state government is speaking to efforts at bringing about better times.
But those plans and policies may remain in the realm of dreams as those in the business of supplying foodstuffs to Lagos are saying that the problems confronting their trade are fundamental.
Chairman, Mile 12 International Market, Lagos, Alhaji Shehu Usman, identified insecurity in the North as the reason for inflation and shortage of food items in Lagos State. According to him, about 10 trucks of tomatoes used to berth at the market daily but the trucks have reduced to one.
He said: “Most of the farmers face issues of security whereby they have to pay some elements before they are allowed to plant. They also have to make payments before they can harvest. This is very bad.
“In some other places, the farmers are in IDP camps. As long as they remain in IDP camps, there will be shortage of food.
“If farmers cannot access their farms, food will be expensive. I will blame insecurity. In Nigeria, let us assume that we had five million farmers across the North, West, South and East but now they are less than two million, how can two million farmers feed over 200 million Nigerians?
“We are not importing food, but things are very expensive. We are now living on the grace of God. The only foreign countries they get perishable food items from are Cameroon, Benin and Ghana. They don’t have enough to export to Nigeria. The only country that can feed Nigeria is Nigeria. We are in quagmire.”
Govt opens food bank
Speaking to the current hardship, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, told Saturday Tribune that the increase in food prices is being tackled by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
He said: “What the state is trying to do is to collaborate with all stakeholders in Lagos State to see that the effects of removal of fuel subsidy and other things that have caused inflation and hike in prices of food items, that the effects are not much on Lagosians.
“But what we have decided to do is that we have what we call Food Bank Programme. We started it about a month ago. The aim is to feed 500,000 households and we have about over 10 million kilogrammes of food. And we expect that if we are targeting 500,000 households and you have about five to 10 each as household members, at the end of the day, we should be feeding millions of people.
“We have food items like garri, beans, rice, well-packaged, that we are giving out. The programme started a month ago.
“As a result of fuel subsidy removal which caused fuel hike, the governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced reduction of all transport fares on all the Lagos State transport system, the BRT and until two weeks ago, it was 50 percent reduction and now 25 percent, because of fuel price increase which has gone beyond expectations.
“You will also recall that Mr Governor announced that in all government hospitals, delivery should be free, be it normal, caesarean operation or whatever. Up till now, that has not been revoked.
“But talking about food, we know that the distribution of food through Lagos Food Bank is not an enduring thing; it is just a stopgap measure to tackle the reality of time.
“So, what we are going to do and what we are doing as a lasting solution is to build a Food and Logistics Hub in the Ketu area of the state, which is going to be about the biggest in Africa.
“The idea is that some of the food items that they bring to Lagos that get wasted everyday because of lack of storage facilities, we want the wastages to stop. What the government is doing is to have Food and Logistics Hub, another market where you can have a storage facility for all these food items.
“They are working there now. We went to do the groundbreaking some time ago. It is big enough to feed millions of people. The idea is that, God forbid, if there is food shortage in the land, the facility can feed about five million Lagosians for at least three months, but we do not pray that something would happen and we don’t have food in the land.
“It is also meant for price stabilisation if you have that kind of gargantuan food storage, the biggest in Africa, where you can release much items to the market, it would stabilize the prices. It is not just for it to store food items, food stuffs that do not last, but it is also to be able to stabilise prices and this will be an enduring solution to the food crisis in the land.”
How we cope –Artisans
It is not business as usual for residents of the state as they strive to make a living despite the incessant rise in the cost of living.
Despite foreseeing and preempting higher cost of foods, services and other basic needs as a result of the hike in petrol price due to subsidy removal, there seems to be no relief or break from the persistent increase.
As a result of high cost of transportation, prices of staples in Lagos have also gone up astronomically in a month with exception of some like rice. As of last month, a 50-kilogramme-bag of small-grain rice was N50,000, but now it sells for N48,000 while a bag of big-grain rice remains N58,000.
A 50-kilogramme-bag of honey beans is presently selling for N48,000 as against N45,000 last month while a 100 kilogramme-bag of brown beans now goes for N95,000 as against N90,000 it cost last month. Also, white beans increased from N90,000 per 100 kilogrammes to N94,000. A five kilogramme-bag of semo now goes for N5,300 as against N4,900 last month.
To make ends meet, artisans have drawn plans to reduce cost of production and services.
Taye Afeez, a barber, explained that to reduce the use of fuel, he now relies on his rechargeable clippers, noting that this has helped him to maintain the prices of his services.
“Most times, I use the electricity supply from the PHCN, but when there is no light, I resort to using my rechargeable clippers, otherwise the amount I would be spending on fueling my generator would have eaten into my pocket. Most times, I advise my customers to come during the day to avoid switching on the generator. In cases where I have to use the generator, I tell my customers that the price is a bit higher,” Afeez said.
For Mayowa Rasak, a fashion designer, his production hours have been adjusted to suit the cost of production. According to him, these days, he only make clothes when there is public power supply as the cost of powering his generator is on the high side. He also explained that due to the rising cost of tailoring materials, he has increased his charges.
He said: “These days, things are on the increase. Even the price of buttons has increased. Another strategy I use is to outsource some of my work to other tailors, especially those that use manual seeing machine. That way, I save some money on fuel and electricity charge.
“I am not married, so to a certain extent, my cost of feeding and living is minimal. Though, personally I have to cut down on my expenses, especially on feeding.”
Mayowa explained that he used to eat out a lot, but these days, he cooks his meals because eating in restaurants has become more expensive.
“My lifestyle is gradually changing. I don’t go out if it is not important to do so. Outside the gym that I go three times a week, I calculate all my movements, because the cost of transportation is also on the rise,” Rasak said.
Civil servants groan
Speaking with Saturday Tribune, a junior worker in one of the ministries at the government secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, said the high cost of consumables in the market is lamentable, pointing out that it has become difficult for him to survive.
The government worker, a low-earning civil servant, who did not want his name in print, said the situation is such that no amount of palliatives from government would solve the problem, recalling that he had to borrow money from a neighbour to come to work during the week.
When told that the government had assured residents that steps would be taken to address the situation, the respondent said he had since closed his mind against discussing government and what it represents.
“I have stopped discussing anything about government; I am focused on how to survive the present hardship. Discussing government will not put anything on the table; it is better for me to face the challenges,” he said.
Another worker, who identified himself simply as Tunde, stated that although things are tough, God is in control.
Tunde explained that it had not been easy taking care of himself and his family, disclosing that he was still looking for how to settle a debt of N6,000 which his wife borrowed from a friend.
According to him, the money was borrowed penultimate Saturday with a promise to return it last Friday. But he said a sum of N3,500 which he had on him was spent for his family’s upkeep while the N6,000 debt remained unpaid.
“Last Friday was the deadline for the payment of the N6,000 debt, but I don’t have anything on me now. When my wife wanted to borrow the money, she told me and I asked her to go ahead. I gave the approval and said that I would pay back. Now I don’t have anything on me.
“We are hopeful that God will intervene, it has not been easy at all. We are passing through a tough time. The cost of items is on a very high side. Eating three times daily is no longer guaranteed, and who can one complain to?” he lamented.
Tunde, however, expressed the belief that government would address the situation and put the nation back on track, with the president’s leadership skill and wealth of experience.
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