Having lost his mother to the cold hands of death at the age of 18, Aloysius Udesen Udom 49, took life more seriously and began to hustle to make something out of his life.
Juggling okada (motorcycle) riding and farming, he told Saturday Tribune that he is struggling to survive in the Nigeria of President Bola Tinubu.
He was riding on his old motorcycle on a lonely, untarred road of Ikot Odiong, one of the 24 villages that make up Afaha Obong Clan in Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, when our correspondent accosted him to know how he has been surviving in the country. Below are his thoughts:
“My name is Aloysius Udesen Udom. I am 49 years old. I’m from Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.
“I finished secondary, but I couldn’t go to the university because my mom died that same year. I was 18 at that time.
“I didn’t grow up to see my dad; he passed away when I was still an infant.
“After mom died, my elder brother started taking care of me in this Ikot Odiong village.
“After a few months under his care, I started riding okada and farming. After doing this for years, I got married to my wife and we had two children, but one died remaining one and he is 18-years-old now.
“Though I’m riding okada, farming is my major source of income and one of the major challenges I’m facing is lack of money to buy fertilizer for my farm.
“With my motorcycle, I make up to N3,000 daily and that is what is sustaining me and my family before the harvest period that I will sell my farm produce.
“There are days I make up to N5, 000, but the hike in fuel price is taking all the money away.
“There are days I will buy three litres of fuel, but unable to make N5,000 because it seems the higher they are selling the fuel, the little distance it covers.
“Here, we buy fuel at N850 per litre in fuel stations and N1000 at black markets.”
Aloysius lamented the excruciating economic situation folks are going through in villages across the state, especially when it comes to food security. The government, he opined, should do something about the unending rise in prices of foodstuffs.
“I want the government to step in so that the prices of fuel and foodstuff will reduce.
“The government should make it easier for us farmers so that we will be able to afford fertilizers to grow our farm produce.
“The increase in the price of fuel is affecting the price of fertilizer, too.
“I plant Afang leaves and palm fruits, and a bag of fertiliser that I can use for the leaves is now N60,000.
“When I harvest the leaves, I can sell them for N100,000 and this is done once a year.
“Early last year when petrol still sold for N400, a bag of fertiliser was N20,000 and at the moment, it sells for N60,000.
“Sometimes when things become too hard, I farm for people and they give me cassava in return.
“If I’m able to harvest my palm fruits, I sell and use the money to cater for my family. Things are really hard in the country.
“Help us tell the government that we’re hungry and we’re dying. I hope by the time the reform they said they’re doing is over, the poor will still be breathing,” he warned.
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