Nigeria Economy; Daily Reality of Nigerians -By Sarah Evawere Okoro

Nigeria, a country that is richly blessed with natural resources and a beautiful people is our home and heritage. However, the people of the blessed country consciously deny their roots because of the feeling of abandonment and betrayal.

There is hunger in the land. The masses are losing their will to live. The blessed people are finding it hard to survive amidst the surplus resources present in the land. Life is becoming more unbearable for the average Nigerian on a daily basis. Living expenses are increasing on a daily basis with the pain of having to work twice harder than the rate one once worked, yet, meeting up with the demands that greet each day is still a struggle.

Nigerians are suffocating. Parents can no longer comfortably care for the needs of their children without having to sacrifice their own fair share, the economy is in shambles. People are hungry, many families cannot afford three square meals daily due to the exorbitant hike in the prices of foodstuff and how much more having access to health facilities when the need arises. The hike in the cost of transportation is another issue that cannot be overemphasized. People are dying of hunger on a daily basis. Students are finding it hard to feed thereby affecting their focus and concentration in class and a lot of families cannot even bear the weight of paying tuition fees hence the high population of dropouts and out of school children.

In an interview, Muhammed Yakubu a student of Bayero University Kano, lamented how hard it is to feed due to the high cost of foodstuff and how it is affecting his level of concentration in class and it is as the result of the chronic hardship the country is facing.

The situation of the country keeps making the hard work of her citizens ineffective. An average working class Nigerian can barely care for his family with his salary despite the increment of the minimum wage thereby exposing Nigerians to frustration and depression.

An Anonymous source who works with a building construction company also lamented that the cost of living is killing the living stating that his salary can no longer sustain him let alone his extended family.

Nigerians are gradually losing their purchasing power on a daily basis and all we do as powerless and helpless people is complain and move on like nothing is happening. Nigerians are perceived as strong people basically because we smile and make fun of any given situation. Suffering and smiling has become our identity. Where do we go from here? What do we do? How do we confront the hardship and the height of poverty that has eaten deeply into the country and her people?

The World Bank has estimated Nigeria’s poverty rate in 2024 to be 40.7% by the end of the year as against 38.7% in 2023. This is to say, there is little or no hope for the common man. The rate of unemployment is on the high side, our educational sector in shambles, food insecurity is strangling us and corruption is on the rise in every sector and the future of the leaders of tomorrow is at stake. The citizens need help. We are tired of bearing the brunt of the economy and the mismanagement misappropriation of funds as well as bearing the pain of poorly made decisions. Something should be done to salvage the hardship and liberate us from this mess we are in. God Bless Nigeria.