Recession: We’re dying, Nigerians lament

     

 According to Vanguard, Nigerians across the country are lamentating and tales of woe as hardship occasioned by the prevailing wind of recession bites harder. Apart from feeding, a host of the citizenry, who spoke to Vanguard, said they are finding it difficult to meet other basic needs of life. Price of foodstuff doubles in Imo, Jigawa: The current hardship sweeping across Imo State, hit a feverish pitch, weekend, as the prices of some major staple foods have gone out of the reach of many families.

       Vanguard’s check at markets in Owerri revealed that most food items had gone up by 100 to 150 percent in the state. A bag of rice now goes for between N23,000 and N25,000, as against N8,000 in 2014. Similarly, 30-litre container of palm oil that was sold for N5,000, now goes for N12,500, while a measure of beans now sells for N1,500 as against N500. A tiny ball of onion sells for between N10 and N20, depending on the bargaining power of the buyer, as a small paint bucket of garri, which was sold for N300 now goes for between N700 and N850. Most residents who spoke to Vanguard said that their purchasing power has gone down so badly that they are barely managing to survive. “We have either deleted completely or reduced the frequency of serving some foodstuffs in my family’s menu. Food items have really gone out of the reach of poor people in Imo State”, a widowed mother lamented.
        Continuing, the anguished mother said: “My children and I have been surviving by sheer God’s grace. It has not been easy to pay our medical bills and the children’s school fees”. A staff of one of the ministries in Owerri, said it has not been easy for Imo workers and pensioners. Salaries and  pensions “It is no longer news that those of us that can be said to have received salaries and pensions, were largely underpaid for months. You can, therefore, imagine what we are passing through”, the civil servant said. In her own contribution, Mrs. Augustina (surname withheld) said that the economic situation in the country was sending heads of families crazy.
        I am aware that many families have adopted divergent ways to tackle the economic crisis, including withdrawal of their children from private schools”, Mrs. Augustina said. A young man, who simply identified himself as Harrison, lamented that “the ugly situation in the country has led to massive reduction of jobs in various sectors of the economy”. Meanwhile, a visit to the red light districts in Owerri municipality at the weekend, showed that prostitution was gathering momentum. “I am in this business (prostitution) because of the hardship members of my family are passing through. We lost our father three years ago and my mother can’t get her pensions”, a young girl sobbed as she narrated her story.” Asked if prostitution was the only way out of the economic crisis, the girl said: “Where is the capital to even start sale of groundnut or crayfish?
      I was given a sales job that was to give me N5,000 monthly. What can this solve for a family of seven? This is how I found myself in this business”. She appealed to government to make good their promise of creating jobs and improving the sagging economy. A transporter, who identified himself as Onye Army, lamented that “commercial transport owners are equally finding things hard. Fuel has jumped from N87 to 145 per litre. The Naira has since been messed up by the American dollar. The costs of new and used cars have hit the skies. The same is also true of motor spare parts and this is why fares have been adjusted in line with the reality of the time”, he said.
      A similar scenario obtains in Jigawa where prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities in major markets and mini shops have rising by 150 per cent thereby throwing many households into economic chaos. The situation is worsened by the closure of Niger Republic boarder through which food items such as rice, spaghetti, macaroni, milk, vegetable oil and other assorted goods are imported to Nigeria.
     The development has compelled many people especially those living in rural areas to revert to local foods such as moringa, cassava and their related leaves combined with groundnut cake popularly known as kulikuli. Even garri has been priced beyond the reach of many people. A small measure of rice is now N1,100 as against N500 while local rice goes for N800-N900 as against N350-N400 in the past. A mudu of beans is N800 as against N400, while a pack of Maggi star is N360 as against N250. A carton of Indomie noodles sold for N1,800 now costs N2,500. A kilo of meat which sold at N800 now costs N1,200 and a kilo of fish is now N800 as against N600; kilo of chicken now costs N1,000 as against N600.
       A sachet of powder peak milk sold at N35 is now N50; a mudu of sugar is now N1,100 as against N600, flour cost N580 as against N350. Big pack of stick matches now costs N50 as against N25. Asked how he is coping, Malam Abdulkahar Mohammed, said he and his family now eats twice a day.  “Life isn’t easy with the increase in everything and money is hard to get. It is not easy to get job and even those with jobs, their salaries are not enough for them to cater for their daily needs.
     The circumstance had compelled many of us to withdraw our children from private schools back to government schools as an alternative for them to pursue their education,” he said. Malam Aliyu Dangida, one of the parents who have withdrawn their children from private schools and enrolled them in government schools, said: “I have six children in private schools, but with the increase in their fees by over 100 per cent, I can’t afford to continue paying their fees. So, I have transferred them to government schools.”