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HARSH ECONOMIC REALITIES: Many Nigerians stay hungry to fund transport expenses, others

In this report, Nigerians share their coping strategies with MICHAEL BABATUNDE as the harsh economic conditions continue to bite hard.

As Africa’s biggest economy continues to gasp for breath in the face of the ever-increasing inflation, many Nigerians have been left in limbo with many resorting to side hustles and multiple jobs to meet up with their financial obligations. As part of their surviving strategies, many Nigerians have cut down their costs of living in the face of daunting economic hardships.

Many observers are of the opinion that the challenges presently afflicting the citizenry may tarry for a while if urgent policies and measures are not instituted by the government to address the issues surrounding the economy and alleviate the suffering of the people.

Last week, Sunday Tribune reported that Nigerians are lamenting the devastating state of the economy which has forced many below the poverty line in the face of rising food costs and hike in the cost of living. The report also detailed the state of the country’s economy based on data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which noted that inflation has continued to rise since the beginning of the year.

Following the report, Sunday Tribune set out to understand the strategies Nigerians have devised in order to cope with the daunting challenges that arose from the rising inflation, cost of food, increase in the pump price of petrol and high exchange rate among other factors militating against the economy in the country. The findings were jawbraking.

Commenting on the present state of the economy, Damilola Ajisafe, who works in the financial sector, said it appears that everything is set against the average citizen trying to earn a living.

“The earning is not increasing and not commensurate with the increasing prices of goods and services. Firms are not increasing their pay. We are yet to even feel the impact of the increase in the take-home of federal workers. We are affected by the dollar rate because we import a lot and that results in an increase in prices of imported goods,” he lamented.

To attend to other side jobs, a teacher in Kaduna, Amos Kadanga, has had to forgo sleep and embrace sleepless nights at the risk to his health, family and social life.

Kadanga said: “The economy is worrisome and of grave concern because it is obvious that in the past few months, especially since the commencement of the new administration, several things have gone wrong with our economy and things have become worse.

“From my understanding, whatever is going on is attributed to the increase in the price of fuel [petrol and diesel] because it affects transportation, and energy supply at homes, offices and businesses. The increase also made every business person, including suppliers, increase their prices too. This, in turn, affects the purchasing power of the common man on the street who can no longer afford the things he hitherto affords. I don’t think the government is doing enough to address the situation because all their measures cannot address the sharp increase in the cost of living.”

To cope with the challenges, he said, “I have had to double my hustle at the detriment of my health. Aside from teaching, I take online jobs to cater for myself and my small family. The cost of living keeps going up without a possibility of coming down.

“I survive first by the grace of God by doubling my hustle and denying myself of sleep, leisure time with family and other social engagements. Surviving has been very difficult. The economy needs urgent attention from all major stakeholders for stability so, that the common man can breathe.”

Though Victor Kaadinebari, moved from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Aba in Abia State, cutting down his lifestyle and staying off social engagements with friends is what has helped him to cope with the situation of the economy.

“The strategies I applied at the moment to curtain the economic hardship include reducing my taste for food, dissociating myself from friends with high social lifestyles, calculating each movement I make in a day to reduce transportation expenses, making food myself without visiting eateries, food joints or restaurants. I also tried to reduce home pressure by only rendering help within my financial strength. Now I live life with contentment and without competition,” Kaadinebari said.

A jobseeker, who completed his National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) programme in late 2022, Goodluck, has since taken many menial jobs just to put food on the table.

He said: “It has not been easy. For now, I’m unemployed and I know how I struggle just to feed and to pay basic bills. I will just summarise it as a terrible economy for unemployed graduates. I hustle oh! I do menial jobs just to get going.”

A civil servant, Demola Akanji, who also spoke with Sunday Tribune revealed that he has got a part-time engagement with a private university where he lectures before going to his regular office.

“Unlike before, the bosses no longer mount pressure on us because they know everybody is angry; there’s no query for late coming or absence from work.

“For me, I have a few stops to make before coming to work. I am now a part-time lecturer at a private university. The funds from my part-time engagement will sort something for my family,” he narrated.

A development worker, Vashty Magaji, finds it difficult to shuttle between Zaria in Kaduna State where he resides and Kafur, Katsina State where he works. As a single lady, she disclosed that it was difficult for her to live in her community of engagement due to security concerns and the cultural barrier. She has now ventured into tailoring to assuage the financial demands that come with present economic challenges.

“The economy has not been kind to almost everyone, I feel for myself especially. Before the removal of petrol subsidy, transport fare to my place of work was quite cheap as I spent about N1,500 every day on transportation and feeding. But lately, it has been very difficult for me to go to work early every day because transportation moved from N1,500 to N3,500 before I can sort out feeding.

“Tailoring is what I’ve been using to get extra income. If not, I can’t even think of anything else. To go out and look for financial assistance from people, you need money,” she narrated.

A clergyman in Kaduna metropolis, Abednego Abdullahi, said despite being a full-time man of God, people still come to him for financial assistance, adding that “things have not been so easy as the price of everything has doubled and the income still remains as it was.”

He added: “There are family members, transportation expenses, feeding, and utility bills to take care of. Even as a pastor, people still come to me for assistance. We are only trusting in God and hoping that things will get much better.”

In Abuja, Samuel Oluga told Sunday Tribune that the effect of the harsh economy on the citizenry has been extraordinarily overwhelming, adding that it has become expedient to cut down on regular expenses in order to survive with the barest minimum.

“The sudden and incessant surge in the price of amenities and commodities made me to cut down my expenses. I’ve had to prioritise quite a lot of things in order of importance –food, social gatherings, visitations and extracurricular activities. Nigeria has placed every citizen about five huge steps away from ‘what is affordable.’ It is endless to elaborate on the effect of the harsh situation and the need to act fast,” he explained.

Speaking in the same vein, Peace Olanudun explained that she “only buys things that are essential because they are my needs. I put priority on my needs more than my wants now because the economy does not accommodate my wants. I apply my scale of preference to every income I see.”

Staying hungry, at times, is what Seyi Odeyinka, a student, does in order to adapt to the recent economic realities. She has also had to cut down her expenses so as “to give room to cater for the pressing demands.”

“For example, I adjusted my spending pattern, which is kind of excessive, to ensure I meet up with the demands of my department. Going by bus to school every day including weekends has not been easy with the hike in transport fare. A lot of sacrifices have been the highlights of how I have been coping with the economic realities,” Odeyinka added.

Another student, Ayomide Bamgbose, also told Sunday Tribune she had to discard non-essential spending and spends most of her earnings on food, adding that “I spend using the measure of my scale of preference.”

Also lamenting the hardship, Tosin Akinyemi, a medical coach, said: “Broadly speaking, everyone is experiencing hardship in Nigeria. For me, it has been quite tough. Things are not going the way it used to be. It has never been easy.

“I run a business and do partnerships with companies. Another thing that helps me is that I’m trying to get a skill that will grant me the opportunity of earning in dollars even though the inflation is going high.”

Speaking in the same vein, Oluwapelumi Adekunle, an affiliate marketer, said he had to “venture into other jobs just to feed because of the exorbitant prices of food items. For example, I had to learn more skills than usual in order to make more money to cover some of the essential expenses.”

Esther Oladapo Using a widely known maxim that Nigerians tend to adapt to any economic reality, Esther Oladapo, noted that Nigerians are resilient because they always find different measures to adapt to any circumstances.

“Since the recent hike in the price of petrol, Nigerians have devised strategies to ameliorate the resultant effects. For instance, many Nigerians now have multiple sources of income in order to meet up with their needs and to put food on their tables.

“With the situation of the economy now, even if you have a great full-time job without another source of income, you might not be able to meet up with your needs. People engage in menial jobs.

“Since the prices of commodities have doubled and income has hardly increased, many Nigerians are beginning to engage in menial jobs. Some even established small-scale businesses to generate more income to support their families. Some people now engage in thrift contributions which help them tackle financial needs among other things,” Oladapo explained.

In his comments, Peter Alabi, said: “We are tired because all businesses are falling apart. Things are not friendly in the market anymore because it has increased by over 50 per cent. The education sector is now a mess in Nigeria. I’m tired and I know everyone else is tired too.”

To Nicholas Okiti, “Coping hasn’t been easy. The prices of goods have become so high. The harsh economic situation in the country is not palatable, but due to the fact that I have been working and selling goods online, I am still coping with the help of God. That in itself is not sufficient due to the inflation and rise in the exchange rate.”