Suffering and smiling

OLARONKE JAIYEOLA and INIOLUWA BANKOLE in this report look into Nigerians’ resilience as the country’s economic fortune continues to nosedive and how many are mustering strength to wriggle through hardship.

Nigeria’s poverty level is screaming loudly but with a corresponding defeaning quietness from its rulers.

The giant of Africa, Nigeria, ironically, is now referred to as the poverty capital of the world.

According to report in Seatle, Washington, about 86.9 million citizens of Nigeria live in severe poverty, which is about 50 per cent of its entire population.

Though blessed with abundance of natural and mineral resources across all regions, and human resources of over 200 million going by the last census, Nigeria is now sadly being dwarfed by its hitherto little brothers in Africa.

The once-upon-a-time strong nation with a virile economy, judging from all indices, has hit the rock bottom, as an average Nigerian today earns below N700 per day.

A Financial Inclusion Conference organised by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA Nigeria) with support from UKAid and Gates Foundation released survey of December 9, 2019 which suggests that over 100 million Nigerians earn less than N700.00 (USD 1.92) per day.

The Nigerian Naira was a very strong currency, so strong that specifically in 1979/1980, 55 Kobo could fetch you about one dollar ($1).

However, the over dependence on crude oil revenue, with a paradigm shift from agriculture, has drastically dipped the foreign reserves and devaluation of Naira swiftly followed.

The love for foreign products also played a significant role in the fall of the Naira, as most products were imported which required dollars to purchase, hence making the demand for the Dollar a scarce commodity.

Importation is so bad that Nigeria, which was one of the highest exporters of agricultural products such as cocoa, oil palm, rubber, cashew, among others, suddenly became an importer of products such as rice, garri, cocoa, and as inconsequential as it sounds, toothpicks.

Nigeria’s older generations would be able to relate to the good old times,  when the Naira was as strong as the dollar, but today, whopping N510 is chasing a dollar and N750, the pound.

“Democracy! We want democracy,” was the chorus on the lips of Nigerians under the military regime prior 1999, because Nigerians were tired of dictatorship and promulgation of laws, thinking democracy, being government of the people, by the people and for the people, would live up to its definition in Nigeria.

Ironically, since 1999 when democracy became Nigeria’s ruling style, the situation has changed for the worse. Corruption, massive corruption, has dominated every sector. Rather than the economy going North-ward, it is nosediving as a plane that has lost control and is about to crash.

Political gladiators are rejoicing and having a field day with their loot from corruption, while the masses are being impoverished; worse can best describe majority’s situation. To eat three-square meals in most homes is big trouble. Nigerians are now worse than they met them.

Isn’t democracy in Nigeria not expensive? Was this option not a wrong one given recent happenings? These are questions on the lips of people, with none to provide answers to.

In the area of security, Nigeria’s leaders seem to have lost control. Nigeria, a once united entity, whose motto is unity in diversity, is now drifting in the direction of anarchy, with lawlessness pervading the land, as the centre no longer holds.

Boko Haram terrorists and bandits have been and are still unleashing terror on citizens in the North, leaving many Nigerians displaced and some refugees in their own country. There are also mindless killings of Nigerian farmers by herdsmen on farms, which crops the Fulani herdsmen make their cattle graze and destroy in the South-West; kidnappings for ransom of varying amounts, with traditional institutions not spared now dot all the geographical zones of the nation. There is also massive destruction of police stations alongside other public properties in the South-East. Internet fraudters, a.k.a Yahoo boys, are on the prowl, with their new trend being money rituals subtly termed yahoo plus. Many graduates are being churned out year in, year out, but majority of them still roam the streets unemployed. Crime rate has soared geometrically as a result and being one’s brother’s keeper has fled out the window. Swindling has become a mainstay for so many. Many young ladies now trade their bodies for money and have even adapted voodooism (kayamata) to their trade. Prayer is that God saves many flirt husbands, fathers or brothers from entrapment. Lives are being destroyed every day.

Travelling on Nigerian roads have become a nightmare, as the rate of robbery, kidnapping and killing has geometrically increased. Boarding vehicles from registered motorparks is no longer a guarantee of security, as hypnotism and diversion can take place, leading to sales of human beings or their parts by driver-kidnappers.

Nigerians now sleep with only one eye closed, as sleeping with both closed portends danger.

The security architecture of Nigeria is in a sorry state; health sector is in shambles; education is dwindling, the economy is sinking beneath us all and Nigeria’s leaders are unperturbed. ‘Bamu bamu n mo yo’ is their posture while the masses groan under the heavy weights of these slave drivers.

The government has also failed in providing basic amenities and Nigerians, instead of fighting back the corrupt system, have resorted to becoming government in their various houses and rights.

They look for other sources of generating electricity in their houses via solar, fuel-powered generators, inverters, etc.

They are the ministers of water resources too, as they either sink boreholes or dig wells to make water accessible to their families, even others in their communities.

Interview with some market traders by Sunday Tribune on how sales have been this year, Mrs Victoria Olaoye, a shop owner, who sells foodstuffs at Eleyele market’s said: “Goods have been really scarce to get and are more expensive than they used to be. Even when you get tthem, they are about three times higher in price that what they used to be a year ago. This has also brought about a decline in the number of customers and sales generally.”

She further said customers who would usually buy a bag of rice, now settle for quarter of a bag due to the surge in price.

When asked how she survives to keep her household fed, Olaoye said “we have no choice but to accept our fate and survive. It has been by the favour of God.”

Kafayat Alao, a roadside trader, who sells charcoal, said sales have been really slow. She says this year, unlike last year, has yielded little harvest of maize and other crops so it has made it really hard producing charcoal.

She added that food sellers are not making purchases like before to cook with.

“Prices of goods have doubled and this has caused a decline in patronage, She explained adding that the haphazard manner of rainfall has also affected roasted maize sellers who patrobise charcoal dealers.

In an interview with the head of market women (Iyaloja) of Molete market, Ibadan, Oyo State, Chief Mrs Olowoake Fakorede, who has a shop where she sells soft drinks, frozen fish and other goods, attested to the fact that some basic goods have been scarce while the prices have risen drastically.

“Before, we used to buy a carton of Titus fish for N11,000, now we buy it N36,000. It is too expensive. Panla fish used to sell for N6,800, but now sells for N16,200. Croaker fish now sells for N45,000 against N18,000. A carton of express fish now sells at N32,000 from N10,000.

“So you see, everything is too expensive now for anyone who wants to buy fish. Kote fish of two medium-sized pieces used to be sold for N500, but now, one is sold for N1,200. We buy a carton of Kote fish N16,200. Small pieces of sardine fish people use in frying stew now sells N300 a piece because a carton is now N13,200. So you see, all are too expensive.

“The prices cannot be compared to what they used to be before as they have risen to almost three times their former prices. The goods are  now also scarce to get, even the fish house wholesalers around avoid buying in excess so they do not get spoilt before they can make sales. It will only be a loss for them. The money we paid for three lorry-load of fish can only buy one truck now,” She said.

When asked if she still gets customers as frequently as she used to, she said “high prices have made us lose many customers, except a few people who just, feel like eating fish. If I bought three cartons of croaker fish before, as you are still seated here, I would have sold all. But now if I buy a carton, I will sell only six or seven pieces today and six the next day due to the high price. There are many who would love to eat fish, but they cannot afford it, that’s the problem.”

When asked how she is coping with the low sales, she stated “we have no option but to look up to God and pray for turnaround of things. There is nothing that is not expensive in the market now. If you want to buy ‘rodo’ [pepper], they will count it out in small platters for N100 or N200 each, tatase likewise is arranged five pieces for N300 and same goes for tomatoes arranged in platters for N400/500 each. This is as a result of their inability to go to their farms for fear of being killed.

“We are praying to God for a turnaround of things and that He blesses Nigeria as a whole; that is what we want.

“The money I make is not enough to run the home, as it is difficult sending meagre N5,000 to my child in school. This is really heavy on my mind because if I should send send N5,000  to my child, the money left would not be enough to buy anything for us that are at home again.”

Giving further explanation, about the trouble they go through due to this dwindling economy, she said “if you buy a carton on credit or pay half the price, you will pay N1,500 extra on it by the next day because they will tell you they took loans to purchase the goods to sell. It is all really tiring. The government can ease the stress on us by giving out loans, because the money we use for business is not worth it again. An hardworking person is now like a lazy person. There are many people who are willing to work, but just don’t have the means to.”

Another pepper trader, Kafayat Kabiru, said “everything is expensive, and we are appealing to the president to, please, open the borders, have mercy on us and make things cheaper. Pepper is expensive; onion is expensive; beans is expensive. Even garri that people hardly eat before is now expensive, as it is now being sold for N800. Prices have gone up, even down to fish. In fact, we cannot eat meat anymore. Help us appeal to the government to reduce the prices of things. May God help them.

“We don’t get goods to buy like we used to. Pepper and tomatoes, for example, which should be everywhere, this being their season, are very scarce and expensive. We have to keep moving here and there trying to get where to buy from. We wake as early as 3.00 a.m. to start searching for where to buy them from, then when the vehicles selling them come, we start running helter skelter trying to get a share. What we used to buy for N1,000 is now N3,000; another we buy for N2,000 is now N3,500. So you see, it is all so expensive to buy and how much do I get to sell them after?

“It is hard getting customers to buy these days. Sometimes we have to plead with them. Even feeding has become tasking for my family, because you could cook soup and eat amala with just N2,000 before, but now, N2,000 will cover just the pepper and meat; palm oil not inclusive.

“Please, help us appeal to the government and kudos to Governor Seyi Makinde for the good work he has done thus far. He should further work on the state of security in Oyo State. Those trying to cause unrest in the state should be arrested and brought to book,” she added.

Bayo Fasholu, a cab driver, who is also the unit chairman of Dugbe/Eleyele, said cabs plying the Dugbe-Eleyele route have increased the fare from N50 to N70, which has caused a reduction in passengers taking off from the park, as they would rather ride NAPEP, which still charges N50.

Speaking on how the economy is biting hard, he said: “See the shaft of my car, for example, it used to sell for N1,500, but now N5,000. Last week, after paying N5,000 for a new shaft for my micra (cab), I still pay the N1,000/N2,000 to the mechanic for services rendered. So you see, we are all just surviving.”

When asked how he manages to take care of the home front, Fasholu said “I am blessed with a good wife, who understands how things are. So, once she cooks in the morning for me to take to work, I don’t eat till I get back home at night. Best I could take in the afternoon is snacks, because if I want to buy food to eat, I will spend at least N400 and it still won’t be enough to fill me up.

“Imagine an elderly man like me, after sending my child through tertiary institution, the child graduates but did not still get a job and keeps coming to me for money. If such a child was not raised well, the child might just opt for crime.

“My advice to government would be that we develop agriculture sector, because things will keep being difficult for people if nothing is done in that regards. I remember during the time of Awolowo, there were farm settlements around the western region.

The ministry, he stated went on to provide tractors and drivers for the farmers to assist with ploughing their farmlands for large scale planting and harvesting of maize, for example. Cassava stems were also given to them free to plant then. The cassava tubers, when harvested, were given to the Fulani women to sun dry and make garri from: government needed just the cassava stems again.

“Due to how easy things became then, new graduates from colleges of education and polytechnics settled down to work, because housing was free and things were easy, and everyone enjoyed it.”

Fasholu goes on to say “so, if we can go back to agriculture, while the government works on making it comfortable for the people, it will bring a relief. With the little space I have in front of my house, I planted maize, okro, vegetables and some other things, so it is just a few items my wife needs to buy from the market. So, why won’t things be a bit easier?

“Imagine, many bachelors don’t want to get married again due to how tough things are.

“So things like these are heavy on the hearts of the populace. Those governing us keep living their lives while the people suffer. What we should pray for is that God touches the hearts of our leaders to know the right things to do and be able to feel what the masses are going through.”

Also, a tricycle rider, who identifies himself as Mr Peter, in his views on how happenings in the country are affecting him, said since this current administration came into power, things have not been the same.

“Is it to talk of education, rent, commodities or even the work I do? When I bought this tricycle, it sold for N675,000, but now, it is almost N900,000. Those who give it out before for N1 million or N1.1 million now give it for about N1.3 million. How can the average man survive with this? So you see, things have changed from what they used to be.

“Everyday I’m out here. I see Nigeria as a stagnant nation, where there is no progress. Things are degenerating. The standard of living of the common Nigerian continues to drop daily. Things have totally changed and it is like everything is upside down.

“Servicing used to be something around N2,500 or N3,000, but now N5,000 is hardly enough, and it has to be done within that time frame of a month if you want your tricycle to last longer. With how difficult things are in the country, passengers are not also willing to pay because fare has increased and most have resorted to trekking some distance before boarding NAPEP to cut down on cost. Prices of goods keep soaring on a daily basis,” he said.

When asked if he still gets as many passengers as he used to before, he says “there are a few customers out there, so it is more difficult getting passengers. We have no choice but to manage the situation these days. It is more difficult for people who are on installment payment plan and have to pay N20,000 a week, some N19,000 or N18,000 a week. So you have to plan your earnings well and still keep some money for your family too with what is hardly enough. Things are really not easy, but the government we have is neither listening nor proactive with regards to issues.

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