Oghenerukevwe Sunday, a 29-year-old mother and wife, was breastfeeding her two-year-old daughter. The dark-complexioned woman wore a long face and was visibly disillusioned after a tortuous journey from Warri to Oviri-Olomu Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Initially hesitant to oblige a chat, Mrs Sunday snapped: “Of what essence is my chat with you? How will that improve my condition or draw some help from the Nigerian government? Do they care about the poor persons like me on the streets?”
She explained that the money she makes selling plantain in one of the local markets, Obogo Market every fortnight is not enough to feed her kids let alone enroll them in school. With an out-of-job husband idling away in Warri, life, she confessed, has been tasteless, to say the least.
Hear her: “My name is Oghenerukevwe Sunday, I am 29 years old. I am from Oviri Olomu Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area Delta State but I live in Warri. I have four children. Life hasn’t been easy for me and my family. My children can’t even go to school as they are now because there is no money to enroll them in primary school.
“My husband is even idle at the moment because his tricycle just spoilt and so he is not going to work at the moment. That is why I just came to the village to relax a little. I buy and sell plantain to take care of my children. I take the plantains that I buy to Obogo Market to sell every market day. But I don’t make much profit because there are so many traders at the market.
“When you go to the market, it will look as if there are more traders than buyers. It is frustrating. So, I do not go there every day. I go every two weeks. If I go this week, I will have to wait to gather enough money to buy farm produce for the next two weeks. If I buy plantain worth N3000, I will sell it for N5000 and make about N2000 profit.
“So because I buy in bulk sometimes, I’m able to get a good amount of profit. I learnt how to sew curtains and pillows but I couldn’t open a shop to start sewing because of lack of funds. So if I am able to see somebody that wants to help me, I would like to get a sewing machine and a shop to run my craft.
“We buy garri here in the village because my mother has no farm so it’s really hard taking care of these expenses so that my children can eat. Sometimes we don’t even feed very well because there is no money to buy full painter of garri that is sold for N2600. I have four children, the half basket normally buy for N1300 is not always enough.”
Speaking on what she thought the government could do, Rukevwe, said the government should make policies that favour not only the rich but also those living in the villages.
“Government should come to the aid of the poor people living in the rural areas because those are the places where hardship and poverty are most glaring.
“Majority of the people are farmers but cultivating farm is now very expensive because you need chemicals and fertilizers to keep the crops going.
“I don’t even want to talk about what farmers are facing in the hands of cows and herdsmen. The government should make policies that not only favour the rich but speak and address the very needs of the poor in the society,” she said.
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