rising inflation, high food prices and cost of transportation, Nigerians are finding it difficult to live life the way they should and stay mentally balanced, writes KEHINDE AKINSEINDE-JAIYEOBA.
These are not the best of times for Nigerians living in the country. The dual reforms of subsidy removal and the floating of the naira instituted by the President Bola Tinubu administration in 2023 that were aimed at reviving the nation’s economy have left millions of Nigerians poorer a year later.
Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, told lawmakers during his screening last year that the government plans to strengthen the foreign exchange market and the economy “by raising revenue, by looking at other sources of investment funding, by attracting investment funds, equity funds, not debt from those around the world interested in investing in the Nigerian economy.”
On account of the forex crisis, companies such as Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline Consumers, Bayer AG and Sanofi AG exited the country last year. Others that remain including Nestle, PZ Cussons and MTN Nigeria posted losses in their recent financial year returns.
From January 2024, the naira has continued to fall in value exchanging at about N1,800 to the dollar at some point this year.
Residents and workers in Lagos State have come to the realisation that maintaining sanity over the economic crisis prevalent in the country and Lagos in particular should be their utmost priority. And this cuts across the socio-cultural levels as the educated and uneducated, employed and unemployed; entrepreneurs and professionals all maintain same stance.
With the persistent increase in prices of basic essentials, especially food items, attributed to the increase in cost of transportation, logistics, among others, Lagosians have psyched themselves to withstand resultant pressures. The same can be said for other parts of the country.
Fadekemi Akinbami, a mother of three and an entrepreneur, told Nigerian Tribune that as a wife and mother, she had to maintain strong discipline as regards the consumption of food in her household. With three children, ranging from the ages of 11 to four, Fadekemi said she had to be strategic especially during the holiday period when children are at home.
“One of my kids, whenever she wakes up, the first thing she asks is: ‘what are we eating this morning? Mummy, I’m hungry.’ So, immediately I see her coming to me I quickly roll out couple of tasks to occupy her before she talks about food. They do not even understand that prices of food have skyrocketed,” she complained.
She explained that in the past six months, she and her spouse had been at loggerheads over the upkeep budget as her husband believed she unnecessarily hiked the prices in her lists.
During those arguments, despite her reasonings and an increase in the amount stated, she still feels sad and tired because of the pressure that comes with trying to defend the upkeep budget before and after going shopping.
“Towards the end of the month, I lost sleep. I had persistent headache, but I never connected it to mental stress. I thought I’ve overworked my body. When this persisted for three months, even after treating malaria and taking different analgesics, I knew it was time for me to stop worrying over things I couldn’t change. In July, I just felt ‘enough is enough’. I told my husband I wasn’t going to the market at the end of the month.”
She explained that she gave the upkeep list to her husband and told him to get all the items and remove whichever he deemed fit.
“He thought I was joking, he sent the upkeep money to my account, I gave him my ATM card. I told him that the best I could do is follow him to market, but he’ll be the one bargaining and buying.
“That day, all I did was to hold the shopping bag and follow him. After bargaining and buying, I put items in the sack and followed him. Despite, attempts to involve me while buying, I remained unemotional. He grumbled and complained about the hike, I only kept nodding my head. Before we left, the market he withdrew additional N100,000 to support the budget,” Fadekemi said smiling.
According to her, that was the strategy she used to salvage her mental health, noting that since then, there had been no issues at home as regards upkeep, except for her husband’s complaint that the naira has low value.
While Folakemi was able to resolve the issue, a Mrs Ajirokan, whose husband does not reside in Lagos, had no means to reduce or share the pressure. Despite having a business to support what her husband gives her, in recent times, she has ventured into two other businesses.
“I am just tired. I am not a lazy woman, but these days, despite multiple efforts to make ends meet, I still look incapable. I have two teenagers and a five-year old, imagine the pressure. God is however faithful. We never go hungry. What we have may not be much but we manage it. But truth be told, I’m fagged out,” she said, almost at the point of tears.
The pressure, especially from the home front is not felt only by women, as the men also have their tales of woes.
Emeka, a tricycle (keke) driver, popularly called Igwe by his colleagues at the park, was quick to vent his anger when he received a call from his eldest son who was about going back to school.
“What is it?
“Okay.”
“Bye bye”
“Safe journey”
Immediately, he dropped the call, he began to rant about how he had given his son all he had, which should take him through a couple of weeks in school. But, according to him, his wife kept pestering him for more money and he had to leave his house in anger.
“You women don’t even know the level of struggles we go through on a daily basis to bring home some money. I have not eaten since morning and this is almost afternoon. All these is just to have a substantial amount to take home. Fuel price is high, the road is so bad that we keep repairing our ‘keke’. On what account should I put all that?” he complained.
Emeka was however optimistic that things will get better. “My son will graduate in my presence. By God’s grace all my children will go to school. I refuse to die before my time. So, I’m not going to give myself hypertension. When I’m tired, there’s an abandoned petrol station close to the park. I take my keke there and sleep off my worries. Then life continues,” he said.
They call her Mama Ojo. She is a foodstuffs seller. She also gave an account of her dilapidating business. She explained that in recent times, she cannot afford to stock up her store because of the incessant increase in prices of foodstuffs.
However, she noted that of recent, she only gets some food items based on demand, and even at that, she has to call her customers right from the farm to tell them about new prices. “I asked them if they can afford it; even me as a seller cannot. But if they give me the go ahead then I buy it and insist they send the money to my account or pay up immediately I get back to Lagos, even if they are not ready to pick it up immediately,” she said.
Giving a recent encounter, she said that last week, when she was at the farm and she was told the prices of the yam she selected to buy, immediately she developed headache. Mama Ojo said she immediately called her closest daughter who had always been her emotional and psychological support.
“Immediately, I told her I’m in the farm and started complaining about prices, she just told me: ‘Mummy, e ma pa ara yin (don’t kill yourself) because of stroke.’ I quickly put aside my worries o! I left out the yam and bought other things.”
Ebenezer Ogunbiyi, a building engineer who resides in Sango Ota, Ogun State but presently works on a project at Ajah, Lagos. He explained that despite the necessity of being at the site every day to monitor his project, he had learnt to delegate duties and trust others more as transporting himself to Ajah from Sango Ota on a daily basis has taken a toll on his pocket, as well as his health.
“Now, I go to site three times in a week. Most of the workers stay around the area, so it is easy for them to work every day. But I and other supervisors had to do a roaster to ensure that at least one supervisor is always on ground. Even, when I’m not at the site, I keep in touch with those at work,” he said.
To maintain productivity at work and also to be conservative, some business owners have placed their staff members on rotation.
The manager of a big jewellery store at Ogba explained that their boss had to deploy the means of duty rotation after she had increased the salary twice, but it has not met the recent reality.
“Though the workload might be much for those on duty, yet they prefer the rotation to coming to work daily because of the high daily transport fare and other needs,” Tayo Oduleke said.
Also, the owner of a cold room at Abule Egba, who did not want his name in print, said when he laid the options of increasing the salary and sacking some; or leaving the salary as it is without sack or increasing the salary and put all staff on rotation, his staff all agreed to the later.
“Now, we are on rotation, the workload is a bit heavy, the workers are happy, I am happy,” he said cheerfully.
In other parts of the country, the story is not different. Mamah Obinna in Ibadan, Oyo State, thinking over the economic situation said, “Nigerians are strong people; blessed by God to adapt to live despite difficulties. Our zeal to work hard has been our key to survival. Some call it suffering and smiling, but I call it happiness despite the hardship. That’s faith!”
“It has not been easy for me,” said Temilade Ayodele. “I am an intern. Whenever I am going to my place of work, I spend twice the amount of money I used to spend before and this has caused me to reduce the numbers of days I go to work.
“People leave their job just to queue for hours in the fuel station and still not get anything which sometimes results to violence. The government has to do something about it. People are struggling everyday just to meet up. We are pleading to the government to find solution as soon as possible before the mental health of the citizens are drained,” she said.
“The health and mental condition of Nigerians are being severely impacted due to these challenges. Many are experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression due to the uncertainty and difficulties they face daily. Productivity is also affected as people struggle to make ends meet, and workers’ presence at places of work is impacted due to transportation issues and other challenges,” said Jeremiah Alo, who lives in Ibadan.
Tinuoluwa Ekundayo, a social media manager resident in Ikotun, Lagos, said, “As Nigerians, we are known to have adaptive kind of nature. Above all, adapting to the debilitating things happening is not easy. For me, I would say earning in foreign currency has helped in providing me food items from the market. On security, it is just God’s protection.
“Personally, healthcare as a Nigerian is poor. Having loads of online jobs, having to get more jobs so as to provide something for yourself are burdensome.”
David Ogunlade lives in Saki, Oyo State. He said, “As a middle-class Nigerian, I’ve been deeply affected by the recent challenges our country is facing. The fuel scarcity has made it incredibly difficult to get around, with long queues at filling stations and exorbitant prices at the black market. I’ve had to adjust my commute, sometimes sleeping in the office where I intern to avoid the high transport costs.
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“Food prices have skyrocketed. Many of my neighbours are struggling to afford basic necessities. I’ve had to cut back on expenses and find creative ways to save money.
“The frequent power outages have been a constant source of frustration. I rely on a generator to get my phone charged, but the cost of fuel has made it increasingly difficult to maintain. I’ve had to adapt by using energy-efficient appliances and limiting my use of electricity.
He added that “The stress of these challenges has taken a toll on my mental and physical health. I find myself constantly worrying about how I’ll make ends meet without much reliance on my parents.
“Many of my colleagues have been absent from work due to the difficulties in getting to the office. Productivity has suffered as a result, with businesses struggling to maintain operations.”
Ogunlade, however, said: “Despite these challenges, I’m determined to persevere. I’ve found strength in my faith and in the support of my community. I’ve joined local groups to share resources and strategies for coping with the crisis.
“I’ve also taken steps to reduce my expenses, such as cutting back on non-essential purchases and finding alternative sources of income. I’m hopeful that the government will take action to address these issues and provide relief to the Nigerian people.
“In the face of adversity, I remain resilient and optimistic about the future of our country. We have overcome challenges before, and I believe that with unity and determination, we can emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.”
Additional reports by Esther Ogunlowo and Comfort Akinreti
