Citizens in the Middle Class and Below Have Switched to Survival Mode
By Olatunde Marolan
(Lagos) Charles Dickens’ immortal summation of the deplorable state of Paris in the late 18th Century would ring equally true for Lagos today: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Whereas 100 million Nigerians wallow and suffocate in poverty, Nigerian politicians are living large and in denial of the people’s predicament.
Ascension to power by the All Progressive Congress in 2015 caused the economy to take a sharp decline and year-on-year retrogression. And most alarming has been the current leadership of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Over the years, Nigerians have practically grown to persevere the repressive economic hardship and austerity inflicted upon them.
The removal of the fuel subsidy by the current president on his swearing-in day without a proper mitigation plan and other poor economic decisions threw the country into a panic, and following inflation resulted in a hike in commodity prices, housing, health, transportation, and the exodus of companies from the country.
“Sluggish growth and rising inflation have increased poverty from 40 percent in 2018 to 46 percent in 2023, pushing an additional 24 million people below the national poverty line,” the World Bank has reported.
The Face of Inflation
“Cows sold for N200,000 ($312) last year are now sold for over N550,000 ($352), due to the fall of the Nigerian Naira,” Ms Abosede Comfort, a beef stall retailer, tells TruthNigeria.
“N100,000 ($64) cannot even cover my family’s weekly expenses, for example, fuelling and maintaining my car, transportation, food, I had to keep my son out of school and home tutored just to reduce our expenses and avoid being disgraced, and due to the high cost of drugs we most times delay treatments,” Ms. Comfort went on to say. “Currently, we need to vacate our apartment and get a new one, but after more than 2 months of apartment hunting, we’re yet to get a decent and affordable apartment, which is very sad and tiring,” she added.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu increased the monthly minimum wage from the 2019 approved rate of N30,000 ($82) to N70,000 ($44) in 2024. A big achievement for the leaders, but unfair and disheartening economically to the citizens.
Mr. Mutiu, a part-time teacher, said he survives on obtaining soft loans from cooperatives where he has membership. “Currently, the interest rate on loans from banks is 30 percent, and ordinary citizens can’t even access them. I always turn to Cooperatives where I contribute part of my income monthly to get loans,” Mutiu said to TruthNigeria.
A friend of his also said some young Nigerians also survive by engaging in Yahoo crimes (cyber scam), betting sites such as bet9ja, and selling their bodies in hookups.
“My current experience under Tinubu is the fact that an average Nigerian finds it difficult to even put food on the table, take home salary at the end of the month,” Mrs. Morenike, a customer service rep said. “Most families cannot meet half of the family needs due to the high price of essential commodities, transportation is on the high side which makes it difficult for people to move around,” she added. “As a result, people die of hunger. Survival has been focused on major needs, that is, important needs. People try to settle priorities right with the help of God,” she said.
Ms. Ayinke a stylist said, “My income isn’t enough for me as a single.” “I don’t know how married people with children survive! And for transportation, now I don’t go to unimportant outings, or where I am not invited, and the truth is I do more trekking now than before,” Ayinke said.
Due to this economic hardship, the majority have resulted in cutting down the food, withdrawing their children from schools, etc.
A yearly rent of a mini flat in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State experienced more than a 150 percent increase from N150,000 to N400,000 and a 2 bedroom flat from N300,000 to N700,000 or more. A 1-kg piece of beef went from N2,500 to N5,000. All commodities have experienced over 100 increases in the country, yet salaries remain static.
The sad reality is that even as leaders say they “sympathize”, they don’t actually empathize, because their words might as well be the pronouncements of extraterrestrials.
How the Other Half Lives
This is why the son of the president can wear a Richard Mille wristwatch of retailing at $200,000 (more than N300,000,000) and plead to Nigerians (only 5 percent of whom can claim N500,000 in their bank accounts) to bear the hardship and hunger. The presidency spent 21 Billion Naira ($13.15 million) on renovating the houses of the Vice President, bought N145million ($91,000) SUVs for each representative in the legislature, spent billions on the first lady’s convoy, spent billions on the presidential yacht, and proposed to buy a new presidential jet. Meanwhile, working class heroes in teeming cities are skipping meals.
Ridiculously, the House of Representatives members declared to sacrifice half of the salaries of N300,000 each for 6 months (in aggregate: N648,000,000) to cater to the needs of Nigerians. What many don’t know is that they have billions of Naira they earn from their monthly expenses accounts, allowances and constituencies-allocations. However high inflation goes, the lawmakers will pad their hidden expense accounts appropriately. It shows their insensitivity, lack of empathy, and cynical mindset.
Just as the plecos and lungfish can hibernate in mud for months with little water, so have the Nigerians survived under austerity. But the leaders should avoid bending them to a breaking point to avoid the flames of their long combusting anger.
Sun King Louis the Fourteenth of France made the fateful prophecy: “After me, the deluge.”
Some wonder if the proposed August protest of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria could rise to the level of a flood judgement.
Olatunde Marolan is an advocate and reporter for good governance and writes for TruthNigeria from Lagos.
