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Few days ago, I passed through Okota and Amuwo-Odofin on my way to Festac Town, Lagos. As the commercial tricycle, the dependable time saver we all know as Keke Marwa, manoeuvred through the slow-moving traffic, I caught sight of a whole family, comprising father, mother, and two children begging for arms.
These were not the regular beggars you would often see in some parts of Lagos, who usually congregate in particular locations to do their “business” every day and then retire to a long abandoned building when night falls.
In one glance, I saw that the family had seen the terrible side of recent policy decisions of the government, especially the removal of subsidy which has caused astronomical increases in the cost of living, thereby putting basic essentials out of the reach of the huge mass of poor Nigerians.
With a determination borne out of the realisation that without begging there would be no hope of putting a morsel of food in their stomachs, the two children were focused on the ‘business’ at hand, knowing that their parents did not bring them along to play. The only thing that mattered at that moment was their quest to survive. From the way they pleaded for help, you could easily that they were not like the ‘professional beggars’ that throng the streets of Lagos. The sight of the family which had been reduced to pitiable state of resorting to begging was somewhat disturbing to the people caught in the traffic, who gave them what they could afford.
It has been more than 45 days since President Bola Tinubu summarily removed the subsidy, which the price of petrol shoot up like a rocket. Agony, pain, frustration and suffering have been the lot of most Nigerians. The high cost of transportation, foodstuff and other general goods have left people groaning. It has been a hardship galore.
It was in reaction to the plight of people in his state that drove Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to slash the tuition fee paid by students in the state-owned tertiary institutions by 50 percent. In the same vein, Edo State government asked civil servants to come to work only three times in a week, to reduce their high expenses on transport fare. The chairman of a particular airline supported all staff with a token, to cushion the cost of transportation incurred by them in coming to work. Yet another organization increased the salary of workers by 30 per cent. The heads of these organisations who showed concern for the welfare of the staff in this trying time deserve commendation.
Really, this is a time for everyone, whether in families, churches, mosques, schools and organisations, including those at the commanding heights of governance, to pull together to over the present situation. This is not the time for spouses to quarell and tear at each other, because the husband was unable to provide as he used to do before subsidy removal troubles came up. So, break skulls because of the present challenges.
Some policies and high exchange rates have forced some businesses to close down, while many are still struggling to remain open. This will certainly affect the home front as salaries may no longer meet family demands. So, both men and women should work hard to support the family. It is no longer a job for one person. As the man is hustling, so also should the woman be engaged and even the children. When the man goes through the stress of poor business, unending traffic situation, piled up bills and added burden of the impact of subsidy removal, it takes an understanding woman, who is in genuinely in love, to strive to support her husband knowing that life has taken a new dimension. This is not the era where someone will sits at home and be looking at the ceiling, waiting for one partner to shoulder all the responsibilities alone. Even men who have lost their jobs, should get up and find something else to do. Don’t watch your wife stress and struggle all day because you lost your job. There are small empowerment trades in the neighborhood. The man should learn a new skill that can support and sustain the family.
I recall a certain associate professor who told the story of what happened when she and her siblings were young. She said: “Health challenge struck our father, who was our financial sure plug while our mother was a comprehensive house wife with six children. I can authoritatively tell you that we lived and survived on cassava, whether sold raw tubers, made into garri and tapioca. My mother was forced to wake up because she could not bear the pain of watching her sick husband and six children (four girls and two boys) die of hunger. She joined other women in hustling for cassava at the early morning market. She started with three bags and later increased it to six bags. When she returns, it will be work all day for all six of us. While some cassava would be sold as raw tubers, some would be processed into garri (peeling, grating and tying in hessian bags) to dry up before frying. Some quantity would be soaked to ferment and be processed into fufu; some will be boiled to make a delicacy called tapioca. The whole house would be busy, with all knifes, basins, trays and wheelbarrows pressed into service. In short, the moment my mother returns from the market all of us will be busy.
“My brother and I hawked basins of tapioca and coconut on Abak road as secondary school teenagers, likewise my other siblings. On the days of frying garri, my mother would make four fire points for us the bigger children to fry garri, then she would carry it to the market with my younger sisters to sell. My elder sister would sell fresh cassava, sieve the soaked cassava and made it ready for either cooking and pounding; all these would be for sell and the family progressed in business and academics.
“Surprisingly, now that I have become an associate professor and look back I just marvel at my mother’s wisdom which paid off bountifully. First, we were adolescents and opposite sex attraction was also imminent but because we were so engrossed in our cassava business, we had no time for reckless lifestyle. Again, there was no reason to beg or borrow. We lived on cassava for years until God showed up when I won scholarship to the university from our local church. The value of the award trained my elder sister and I in the university. Today, I am an associate professor in one of the south-south federal universities. Our business paid for all we needed and today, the six of us have become quality, worthy individuals.
Now, every family must not go into cassava business, because life and times have evolved. There has been a lot of modernisation and transformation, especially with the introduction of social media. Take the case of Okemuna’s family from Delta State, demonstrated how families can pull together successfully. When the man’s printing business slowed down, the wife began taking care of the children’s needs. After complaining so much when the burden became heavy for her, she earnestly joined other women in network marketing and in no time, she succeeded and won her first N500,000, which took care of their rent which was about to become an embarrassment to them. She involved their teenage children who were phone addicts, and they took turns to advertise the product on Google, responsibly and regularly. When the husband saw the great moves, he joined and the whole family became a great team of network marketers, and this has assisted them to financially move on so well. They were able to overcome their economic challenge and began to dance to the beat of Skelewu and Davido, owner of the song clapping for them.
Again, so many men and women need their positive button to be activated immediately. When the man goes out to work, you the woman should surprise him when he comes back. Raise little funds and go to the early morning market. You will see what to buy. Fresh fruits like corn, coconut, etc are in season. Buy them, move to another corner and resell immediately. One must not wait until a shop is rented, painted and filled with goods before the business starts. Those early morning markets make a tremendous difference in one’s life and pots as well. Therefore, taking a clue from the above, let both the men and women who are not empowered strive, be up and doing. Think outside the box. Ask yourself: if your husband is your brother, whose wife is redundant and makes all demands, would you be proud of her and vice versa? To our adolescents, you can support your parents instead of wasting data browsing different sites. Convert it to something meaningful and productive. The season in Nigeria now has made many to park their cars because they cannot afford to fuel them at will. You can make online sales like Uzoma Nduka, a 300-Level Engineering student at Federal University of Technology Owerri, (FUTO) who showed good thinking during last the eight months ASUU strike. While some of her mates were looking for hook-ups, she would go to the Trade Fair market in Lagos and take pictures and video of all types of hair and accessories, upload on her various pages and handles with a tag, New Arrival. With this strategy, she made great online sales. When schools resumed, she told her mother, a seamstress: “Don’t bother about me, I can pay my bills.”
Dear Nigerians, there is need to join efforts to salvage the situation which is so harsh and being felt by all. Come together and form a great formidable team, to end the scourge called Austerity Measure. Think outside the box, use your little resources to support, sustain and lead the family to the Promised Land.
