Best time to be a Nigerian?
This is not the best of times to be an average Nigerian. But is there really an average or middle class Nigerian?
Just as they say ‘in the good old days,’ there used to be three classes of people- the low class, middle class and upper class. All of that has changed. There was this outright segregation amongst the people. Whatever your level or income, you could actually find where you fit in. However, the case now is actually nothing to write home about. The story is now different.
Take a walk round the streets of wherever you live and you will see the palpable hunger in the eyes and lives of the people. Nigerians are beginning to look like the wretched of the earth. You can easily cut through the hunger and pains in the land.
In the recent years, many Nigerians have been living from hand to mouth, many cannot boast of eating even one meal a day; balanced diet or not. The standard of living has reduced drastically as people cannot even boast of the next meal. There is so much hunger and anger in the land. Even people who try to earn legitimate living are finding it very difficult because the means to do that aren’t there.
In Nigeria today, things are not working as they ought to. The institutions are not performing well or even performing at all. In every sector, things are not going well as they should.
Take a look at all those who are on one form of medication or the other. Many of them can no longer get the basic drugs because their prices have risen astronomically. Just imagine the cost of Ampiclox now. Or is it Piccan for teething babies? Paracetamol for just headache? We really do not need to look to far to understand why Nigerians are dying in droves.
In the area of stomach infrastructure, there is no balanced diet any longer. It is what you see now that you eat in order to keep the body and soul together. There is even no healthy eating or healthy lifestyle. How do you talk of healthy eating when you can’t even afford the food?
Many Nigerians are living in penury, tomorrow is not a given. Where the next meal will come from is a mystery for some families. During the regime of the former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (popularly called Evil Genius), there was the issue of stomach infrastructure with Nigerians rationing their feeding from 0-0-1 to 0-1-0, 1-0-1, 0-1-1, 1-1-0, or whatever situation you found yourself in. Now the situation is worse off as no meal is promised. What you find sometimes and possibly in places where people can afford to have celebrations is the non-invited guests scampering for food.
Many parents have had to withdraw their children from school and for those who can still afford it, probably to cheaper schools. Nigerians are living on the edge-anything happens and they are gone. The man one sees now, the next moment, he may be no more. Life is increasingly becoming cheap and uncertain in Nigeria.
Our leaders seem to be detached from the realities on ground. Call it pretence or heartlessness and you may be quite right because some of them were at some point on that same divide but change in status or new opportunities are making them to lose grasp of realities. There is so much groaning on the side of the masses while the leaders are grooving. In the days we live in, we no longer have the three classes of division; what we have now is the upper class and the lower class. The middle that we once know have either moved up or knocked down.
While there is flagrant display of wealth by the high and mighty, majority of the people are left at the lower rung with not so much in their kitty. There is barely enough to live on today and so, how can the people save for tomorrow?
There are a lot of issues Nigerians are facing that they ordinarily shouldn’t face. Majority of Nigerians have to take care of their electricity by providing alternative sources such as generating sets, solar energy, inverter and for those who cannot afford it, they live in darkness. For security, you have to find a way around it by putting in extra measures; potable water is a mirage in some places. People and households are looking for and creating alternative sources. The dividends of democracy are hardly being felt as some leaders are just paying lip-service to the needs of the people. Those who cannot afford orthodox health services are going for alternative medicine here and there at the risk of their lives.
Eedris Abdulkarim once sang: ‘Nigeria jaga jaga, everitin scatter scatter, poor man de suffer suffer, gbosa gbosa.’ This song can best describe what is happening but surely there is a way out. There are a number of things that can be done to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses but the question is- are we ready?
On a daily basis, you see people literarily begging for what to eat. The question is not ‘are you satisfied but have you eaten?’ No one cares if you are satisfied or the content of your food; just eat to live.
We are living at a time where tomorrow looks bleak. The situation is worsened by the ‘removal of fuel subsidy.’ This has led to so much suffering and untold hardship for the masses. The removal has affected every sector, every area, every aspect of our lives. The cost of transportation is on the high side, prices of food items are reaching the roof top, goods and services are just not easy to access. Renting a decent house is beyond the reach of the average Nigerian.
Beans that used to be the food of the common man is no longer affordable. It has become one of the highest priced commodities. It is no longer within the reach of the common man. Sweet potatoes, akpu, amala, garri, all these and many more are ‘speaking turanchi (English) as the Hausa would say.’
How did we get here? What did we do about the situation when it was first noticed? They say little drops of water make a mighty ocean. We allowed things to fester for too long and has resulted in the situation we have on ground. Something needs to be done about it. How long will we continue like this. There is palpable hunger and anger in the land. In the World Happiness Report released recently, Nigeria is ranked 102nd happiest nation out of 143 countries. This shows that the country has slid by 7 positions over the last year as it ranked 95th in the 2023 edition. If the people are hungry, they cannot be happy.
Which way Nigeria? There surely has to be a way out to bring the nation and Nigerians out of the present predicament! Procrastination might be dangerous. The time to act is now, Nigeria must be pulled back as it takes a downward slope to…
