“It is clear this is not the country our founding fathers dreamt of. This is not the country any Nigerian can be proud of. We have witnessed a systematic decline in everything we once held dear and took for granted. You will agree with me we are not where we should be as a nation” -Then General Muhammadu Buhari.on the decay of infrastructure and social values in Nigeria (2012).
Who can tell Mr President thatcost of living in the country is unbearable, that more than 2/3 Nigerians have been living below the poverty line in the past 71 months. The “corrective administration” came to power through change mantra on May 29, 2015. Nigerians welcomed the change mantra administration with unprecedented enthusiasm, hoping for progressive change.
In spite of the slow pace of the administration on the matters affecting the people’s well being no administration in the country has enjoyed citizens’ goodwill like the present administration, believing the preceding administrations bastardised all opportunities to make the country great.
Six years down the line, tNigeria is still bedeviled by insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, economic recession and other untold hardships. It has become clear that the change is not forthcoming to the expectations of Nigerians.
In 21st century, Nigerians are still languishing in extreme hardship; daily survival has become an uphill challenge and what people are going through in the country is reaching the highest apogee since the late 80s. All these are happening under a “Corrective Administration”
History repeats itself but Prof Barbara Tuchmann of Harvard University, USA argues that history does not repeat itself; man does. Happenings in Nigeria clearly resonate with Barbara’s view. History has already recorded that In 1984, inflation reached unprecedented heights; workers’ purchasing power declined precipitously.
There are different views on the cost of living in the country. Many blame the government for doing nothing to control the damages cause by heartless hiking of prices of commodities by manufacturers and sellers because government officials do not know where the shoe pinches since they live in comfort zone but the costs of goods are expensive for the common man to afford.
Rising inflation is taking its toll on families, as Nigeria’s inflation rate contradicts global trend of inflations from Europe, US, Asia and Africans. To prove this contradiction with global trend of inflation, recently, I went to purchase some essential commodities at Sabon Gari market in Kano at certain price. After making the payment, I decided to add some goods just within five minutes of my earlier payment but the price had increased.
And to be fair, I have came to terms with the.reality that commodities sellers are the monsters behind all the hardship people are going through. Price hike on daily basis is a clear indication that they are the architects of the myriads of problems bedeviling Nigerians. In fact, it seems the current commodities hike are artificial; very unfortunate.
The administration has genuine intention to revitalise the agriculture sector, but It seems the policies are not being implemented with a human face. Who can remind Mr President that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations warned that Nigeria is on a looming acute food crisis. Government officials are not seeing the danger or intentionally distort the reality either on self survival or just to sweet-mouth the number one citizen while deceiving him.
I wonder why in the 21st Century Nigerians are still talking about daily survival despite the country’s large arable land. Today, Ghanaian, Nigeriens, Togolese, Ivorian, Burkinabe and Beninese have passed the level of hunger and can afford three square meals per day. If nobody has told President Buhari, then he must hear that Nigerians are crying of food prices beyondtheir affordability.
Let truth be told, for NBS to claim the rise in inflation has been slower, many Nigerians are asking if those working in the NBS come from the moon. The prices of essential commodities are up by more than 100 per cent. So, Nigerians are asking the NBS, what metrics it uses.
Some economists and other stakeholders have dismissed the position of NBS, which they said needed to do more to convince Nigerians, especially those relying on their data for research and critical decision-making, that the figures are not doctored to achieve a predetermined objective.
Finally, with worsening insecurity, alarming unemployment rate, with absence of proven economic drivers, many Nigerian agree that getting on with their daily lives has been pretty difficult, and indeed the country is tottering dangerously towards the abyss.
However, there is need for the administration to reduce the level of poverty in the country and mitigate the effects of inflation.
Lest we forget
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said demand for deposits in Nigerian banks may reduce due to the introduction of eNaira. The currency’s heavy reliance on digital technology warrants the need to adequately manage cyber security and operational risks associated with digital currency. IMF report further explained that eNaira wallets might effectively function, as a deposit at the central bank, resulting in a decline in the demand for deposits in commercial banks. There is need for thorough scrutiny of the national monetary implementation, in order to rejuvenate the economy and save it from total collapse.
Dukaws writes from Kano.
