Nigerians have developed creative ways to live in the wake of the current economic hardship in the nation, which is brought on by the increase in fuel and food costs. Many people have been forced by the hardship to do unthinkable things in order to survive, like dining on animal feed.
To get through the crisis, some locals have turned to selling their personal items, and some have even started urban gardening.
Due to rising transportation costs, some automobile owners have given up driving altogether and instead opt to use public transportation, such as commercial motorbikes, tricycles, and other vehicles, to get to their destinations.
PLATEAU: Resort to animal feeds to stay alive
Many women in Jos, Plateau state, now rely on animal feeds to survive. “I was heartbroken when I heard of a pregnant mother of four feeding her children with maize chaffs, which is called dusa in the local language,” said Mrs. Gladys Tonggang, a resident. This mother was using dusa, which is used to feed animals, to make food for her kids after grinding it.
This phenomenon was verified by a dusa vendor who claimed that because so many women had been buying from her, the price of the product had gone up by N500, which they then ground into two.
A mechanic, Monday Adetola said that in the last six to seven months, his client base had greatly reduced because of the hardship in the country. He said, “I have been calling my clients to know why they don’t come again but they complained about the economic hardship. If they don’t drive the cars, how will they come for regular maintenance? When the price of petrol keeps going higher, many people will park their vehicles and that means less work for us”.
Murtala Musa, a tailor, said he closed his shop and has started selling noodles and eggs because he no longer had customers.
To Mary Friday, “In the past, I was particular about what I eat and how I eat it due to ill-health. But right now, I am unable to afford the kind of food I should eat while I eat what I see now which is giving me concerns because I don’t want my condition to get worse. The suffering is too much, how do we survive? Nobody will go through these and remain sane.”
EKITI: Skipping meals, relying on less nutritious alternatives
Deji Ilori, a public worker in Ekiti State, observed that it is getting harder for him to feed his family staple foods, which is causing them to skip meals and turn to less wholesome options.
He said, “fuel is now N1,000 per liter, I can’t imagine when last I drove my car to the office. Before now, when fuel was being sold for N585 per liter at NNPC, I spent an average of N30,000 per week on fuel and we are yet to enjoy the new minimum wage. Even at that, whatever gain is coming with the minimum wage has already been eroded with the new pump price of petroleum. My family and I can no longer eat what we want. We have to prioritize what is most essential. Everything is just getting more difficult with the rise in fuel and commodity prices,” he said.
Uwamba Favour, a small business owner, described how she has been caught in a vicious cycle of increasing expenses and dwindling profits. This unfortunate development has forced her to stop taking orders and, at times, she would sell products at the purchase price to avoid losses.
“Imagine buying something for N5,000 and having to sell it at the same price just to make people buy it so that the product doesn’t go unsold. It got to a point where I was tempted to sell below the amount I bought it, but I pray it doesn’t come to that, which has led me to stop taking some orders,” she explained.
A vendor of staple foods, Ganiyat Olanrewaju, reported a dramatic decline in sales as consumers, put off by the rising price of food and petrol, have made less purchases. She observed that many people who had previously made large purchases were now making lesser or no purchases at all, requiring her to modify her business practices in order to prevent losses.
OSUN: Going on the streets to beg for food
Some women in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, have turned to begging in order to provide for their families in the wake of the nation’s misery. More elegantly attired women now flocked to the streets of the state capital and surrounding cities to plead for cash so they could purchase food, while others swallowed their pride and asked their neighbours for assistance.
A mother of two who identified herself as Taiwo, while narrating her ordeal said, “Since the beginning of this year, my husband who is a driver has been finding it difficult to make ends meet. My husband sleeps at filling stations in the hope of getting fuel for regular transportation business. On those occasions I had to go to our neighbours to get food stuff to feed our two children. Sometimes I got garri while on other occasions I got tubers of yams or rice. The situation is actually hopeless for us”.
Also, Usman Faruk, a student at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife described the present economic situation as excruciating, saying his parents could not afford to pay his school fees now, much less provide for his needs as an undergraduate. “Living has been very difficult as a student, I work as a labourer at various sites here in Ile-Ife to make ends meet and the money I made from the sites is not even enough to buy food to survive on campus. Since last year, I have not travelled to Kwara State where I am based because of the cost of transportation”, he added.
