Ever since I came of age, successive governments in Nigeria have been promising to revive the economy and improve the security of lives and properties. Unfortunately, year in year out, things are moving from bad to worse.
It is painful that no matter how Nigerians rant about the hardship that they are going through as a result of the bad economy, the succeeding year unleashes a more biting economy.
A few years ago, I didn't realize how overwhelming this kind of situation could be on someone. I was a student and a dependent. The government of the day was giving us hope that the hardship being experienced then was necessary to create a path to prosperity. I was very hopeful. I believed the politicians. A few years later, I started working. I began to get the firsthand experience of how painful it could be for one's income to be constant as a salary earner while inflation is on the rise. I now have people depending on me.
Imagine earning 100,000 Naira when a bag of rice was 32,000 Naira. The earnings remained the same even when the price for a bag of rice increased to 80,000 Naira. Definitely, the purchasing power would be eroded. This is the predicaments of Nigerian workers now. I am having my share of the problem in no small measure.
Since the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, and the floating of the country's currency on the exchange window, things have not been the same for an average Nigerian. The currency lost more than 200% of its value.
In my house, things that were easily affordable before became luxury. I have to sacrifice some regular food items that are not necessary but important for the family. In a situation whereby you are budgeting 50000 naira, for instance, on foodstuffs the same way you used to do when the inflation was lower, it is a fact that the money will only be able to purchase a fraction of what you used to buy. Some items on the shopping list would have to be sacrificed for the necessary ones.
This is a major problem to me presently. You go to the market to buy groceries but you end up not buying all that you need.
You check the dailies and find news headlines where the government is assuring the citizens that passing through this phase is necessary before achieving prosperity as a nation. The same statement was made by the government decades ago. In the same country where the political class is allocating millions of naira to themselves through the national budget.
The leaders can't easily win the trust of Nigerians in this kind of system.
That the economy has forced me to reduce the quality or quantity of my consumption is not as painful as seeing loved ones going to bed totally hungry yet you can't do anything substantial because the economy is hitting everybody except the political class. I am the kind of person that is willing to render assistance to people around me even before they ask.
When someone that looks up to me asks me for assistance, I feel bad if I can't help. The perception of people about you could be far from reality. As much as I am not living my life for someone else's validation, I try to avoid someone dear to me perceiving that I have what he or she needs but I refuse to assist. This is why I am getting tired of the economy. I wish to live my basic life happily and to also render assistance to people out there that are more vulnerable.
I must appreciate the role that hive is playing to help us navigate through this turbulence in Nigeria. When I exhaust my salary on the needs of my family, I will turn to hive to touch the lives of people around me in dire need of assistance.
I hope that the government finds something to do about the rising inflation. The chicken is sweating but the feathers are concealing the sweats.