A MUST READ: EVERYDAY PEOPLE-Are The Majority Of Nigerians Truly Suffering

Are the majority of Nigerians truly suffering?

Article By Echoblog-ger.blogspot.com

An Open Letter To Mr President and To all aspiring to become president in 2023.

Dear Sir, 

We are everyday people, we write to you as ordinary Nigerians, for clarity sir, we do not belong to any Political Party.

Neither do we seek to undermine your office. We only want to be understood and pray you listen to us with an open mind.

Our Dear President, destiny has set aside this day with you in it as our leader.

Sir, food, clothing and shelter, the fundamental necessities of life are a far cry from the grip of the average Nigerian, this your excellency, is the plain truth!

The prices of foodstuff in the market have risen and there seems to be no end in sight to this trajectory. A vast majority of households in Nigeria, cannot afford three square meals a day. 

Let us take Beans as an example, these legumes or seeds, which were once upon a time a staple and affordable food for Nigerians, is now a luxury food item. The price of beans now competes favourably with the price of foreign rice. 

Likewise the cost of tomatoes, yams, gari and potatoes. As a fact, there is a drastic hike in the prices of all food items. There is hunger in the land. People now ration the meat in their food by chopping the meat to much smaller sizes, while others opt for no meat at all or substitute meat for eggs. Whereas some make do with no meat, no eggs.

The time has come for African leaders to integrate "grassroots interaction" with the people they govern. Please take a practical approach your excellency, please pay a 'personal' visit to the local markets. 

Please make a stop by the marketplace, every month or whenever you choose sir but make sure to visit the markets as often as possible.

Just like you did when you were an ordinary citizen when fate had not bestowed upon you greatness. Kindly compare the prices of food items on each visit, you will experience first-hand the reality on the ground.

Furthermore, your excellency, there is an alarming high rate of unemployment and job loss in the country. No job security.

As a result of the present economic hardship and as a cost-cutting measure, several companies downsize their workforce, whenever they feel like it. Thus, with the dwindling source of income, means of livelihood are fast thinning out.

Only a tiny fraction of the population has jobs with the Federal Civil Service. 

Please permit me to feature the different categories of the unemployed:

1. Graduates but no jobs.

2. Unemployed but once employed job seekers.

3.  Employed but grossly underpaid and overused and now seeking a better paying job.

4. Non-graduates and unemployed.

Moreover, your excellency sir, it is worrisome that pipe-borne water, education, electricity, hospital (medicals), oil and gas, roads/highways and security are grossly inadequate.

A. Pipe Borne Water

The majority of Nigerians generate drinkable water for themselves, via boreholes and wells.

B. Education: 

Public schools are in decay, having been abandoned with dilapidated buildings and poor schooling conditions. 

Parents are forced to pay school fees through 'their noses,' to private schools. Children whose parents can not avoid private schools are left with no choice but to wallow in the shabby schools.

C. Electricity: 

Electricity is not readily available, coupled with the lofty tariff it attracts. "If Nigeria were to be a planet, it will be called the dark planet." Nigerians have no choice but to rely on "I pass my neighbour generators, other forms of generators and solar inverters. The smoke and noise pollution from the generators is a story for another day.

D. Hospitals/Medicals: 

Sadly this very valuable segment of our society is not excluded from the ongoing economic deterioration, the medical sector is eroding. Hospitals are left to work with outmoded equipment/facilities, there are no drugs. Brain drain is at its peak here, with young medical personnel fleeing to other countries. 

Nigerians are 'trooping' en masse out of the country for greener pastures. Whether via legitimate or non-legitimate means, they are running away. There is an enormous queue of individuals seeking to vanish from our great country.

E. The oil and gas sector

This sector is becoming the nightmare of Nigerians. The petrol situation is chaotic, with filling stations choosing to go under lock and key as soon as there is a hint of a possible price review. The price of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene has skyrocketed.

F. The Roads and highways; 

A large number of roads in the country are in a terrible state of disrepair. They are decorated with potholes. Expressways linger under the same construction for years, with construction projects taking forever to complete, an example is the Abuja to Lokoja highway.

G. Security; 

Insecurity is at its peak, Nigerians grapple with escalating violence amidst mass killing, kidnapping and murder of innocent citizens.

Your excellency, please permit us to highlight additional murky areas.

What about Nigerians involved in the contract jobs? Here, we have businessmen and women jostling for contract jobs in the over-saturated world of contract seekers. 

The average Nigerian is left to compete for any available contract with now jobless politicians who once upon a time held juicy political offices but somehow are now broke or running out of cash. In this 'arena,' kickbacks, 'settlement', 'kola', 'man know man' and godfatherism are the watchword of the day. 

In conclusion, let us take a look at the Nigerian Central Bank and its monetary policy; 

First, a definition: Monetary policy is enacted by a central bank with the mandate to keep the economy stable. The purpose is for the regulation of the supply of money, rate of interest and availability of money, to combat the situation of the inflationary or deflationary gap in the economy. 

To keep unemployment at its lowest, protect the value of the currency, and maintain economic growth at a steady pace. It achieves this mostly by manipulating interest rates, which in turn raises or lowers borrowing, spending and savings rates.

Hmmm...The Central Bank of Nigeria...We may be laymen in terms of financial matters, however, we all know how the Naira is performing in comparison to the British Pound Sterling the Japanese Yen, the Euro and the Dollar. The naira is on a steady plunge.

It is tragic, that the currency of the most populous country in Africa, the giant of Africa is bowing down to not just the Dollar but the currency of some of her neighbouring African States.

Mr President and all aspiring to become president of Nigeria, in 2023, please understand this truth: the present economic dilemma is gradually turning Nigeria into a jungle with a struggle for the survival of the fittest. Nigerians are in excruciating pain.

The situation is disconcerting. 

Now is the time to revamp the economy, let us put in place actions that will right the wrong of the past. 

Please listen to our cry. 

Not all Nigerian youths are lazy. A typical Nigerian gets an accommodation, then digs a borehole for water supply, generates power supply via a generator and ventures into small-scale trade, all in a bid to succeed in life.

Nigerians always finding a way to survive.

Please make this pathway a lot easier. We count on you our leaders.

Proudly Nigerian!

Thank you.