Mr Jason Njoku, the Iroko Tv boss wrote: “Nigeria Twitter vs Actual Nigeria is surreal. The reality feels so different to being on the ground. The middle & working classes are suffering. Everywhere is empty. Restaurants, hotels, and roads are deserted. Consumption has definitely collapsed. You can see it clearly in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Maybe I’m just a hater though”.
In response to this tweet, Sandra Ezekwesili, the radio host with Nigerian info wrote; “I’m on air every day talking to Lagosians. At least a million people listen to my program, Hard Facts. This tweet doesn’t even begin to cover the reality on the ground currently in Nigeria”.
There is no post that has ever resonated with me and resonated with me and with millions of Nigerians more strongly than this post; Things are terribly bad at the moment in Nigeria. It has never been this bad.
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Unfortunately, if you scroll through social media, especially Twitter and Instagram you may think that everything is normal and everyone is doing fine in Nigeria. This is the handiwork of some paid media aides of the ruling government or those whose job is to constantly defend the ruling government.
Take it from me that people are suffering since this government came into power; people barely feed themselves two square meals a day; consumer products no longer move because of the fall of the purchasing power of the Nigerian consumer and to make things worse the prices of the consumer goods have experienced an astronomical increase in price.
I was in Lagos last week and there were just a few cars on the road. I can count the number of vehicles that were driving on the road. Coincidentally, I flew into Lagos by 6 pm which is always the peak period of traffic jams but there was an unusual free flow of traffic. I asked my driver and he told me that it has been like this since fuel prices increased, people can no longer afford to fuel their cars and go around for their daily hustles. In fact a car dealer I know told me that car owners have been bringing their cars to sell in his car stand recently because the owners can no longer afford the maintenance cost of the cars.
My parents, family members and relatives call me every day from home to make demands and complaints. My Aunty broke down crying the other day while speaking with me over the phone and narrating how bad things have been since Tinubu entered power. Callers on radio programs do break down crying as well while speaking and narrating how bad things have been on air.
Companies are leaving Nigeria due to the high exchange rate of the dollar to naira. As companies pack up their bags and leave, workers of those companies become jobless; some of the companies I know that are still in operation are dropping some of their staff due to the fact that they can no longer afford to pay their salaries.
For those that do not live in Nigeria and for those that are yet to have a feel of the reality, take it from me, things are extremely bad in Nigeria at the moment. People are hungry; the economic situation has never been this bad. Everybody seems to be overwhelmed. Even those that voted for Tinubu are not having it easy either.
This is not a political post nor is it a blame post but a true representation of fact as to how bad things are currently in Nigeria, forget about the tweets you see, most of those tweeting those lies are paid political jobbers.
No doubt things are bad in Nigeria at the moment but if we don’t go through today’s pains, it will be worse in the near future. The only thing that is missing for now is for all to support each other where we can do so and for government to immediately roll out palliatives to cushion the hardship. We should be hopeful that better tomorrow beacons we just need to survive to witness that tomorrow by supporting each other. Support from government, corporate, individuals etc are urgently needed right now.
You talk about enduring bad times and still mention about palliatives. Do you actually know what you want?
There are strategic ways to adapt in reforming the economy, the new government has got it all wrong. Go to USA or check their reports, courier is subsidized and they make losses each year, but that’s a tactical loss that boosts commerce while taxes enquired from these commercial activities fill up the courier gaps. Go to the Uk, same courier is subsidized. Is the NIPOST still fictional today?
Nigerian government removed subsidy while more than 70% of her citizens depend directly on petrol.
Do you think that’s a smart move without having contingency plans? How many Nigerians receive upto 10 hours light daily? How does the government want her citizens to continue their normal activities with such plans?
Nigerians dependent mentality on palliatives that have no effect on securing her basic needs will prevent true transformation.
This government lacks direction and good analytical skills. They should seeks professional guidance and learn to make impact assessment of the policies they enact.
How much did they pay you?
Continue.
List the number of people you have or can support.
On the question: “https://www.tekedia.com/forum/topic/are-you-better-today-in-nigeria/?part=1#postid-5680”
But you are told to be patient, or has your patience bank gone empty? Well, I don’t know the sort of response you are expecting, though it’s very predictable.
The defenders are strategically positioned to defend the misgovernance and malfeasance currently going on, even when they are equally getting swallowed by the same incompetence and clear lack of direction and tact.
The ones outside are equally happy, because if they send $100 or £100 home, it translates to N100k, giving them bragging right and some leverage over their struggling counterparts. It is not everyone that complains about misgovernance and impunity in Nigeria actually want things to be better, because their own relevance and survival are equally tied to those bad situations; this you must know.
We cannot be surprised because we saw everything before it began, we knew and still know each person’s capabilities and who can do what, it is not about arguing with misguided people, because they themselves need treatment.
The ground is running very fast, and the sky is joining with acrobatics, if you think there’s a solution in the works, then your situation is even worse than the already confused bunch. We know where we are headed, let the explanations continue.
The situation on ground is really painful to say the least.
The present crop of leaders have so badly managed the country that the centre can no longer holder.
Nigerians have been turned to beggers in their own country.
Everyone is gradually shoved into the abyss of poverty daily.
I am in Lagos now. I have been around since Friday and must say that the observation about vehicle traffic being at a minimum is true. I used to spend considerable time in traffic here and I must say the time wasted on traffic did not in anyway help the economy at all. If the traffic is free, it is a bet positive.
Did economic activities really decline or few cars are now on the road. Prices of goods did not really go up as I expected. We learnt that Lagos State reduced the fare for BRT buses. People are using less fuel, is fuel purchase a true driver of the economy? There was hyper inflation inagos before this turn of events. Maybe ppl who are selling their cars may not need asany cars as they have.
One things I can say is that there is a great sense of uncertainty. People generally feel they are not part of this current contract. They believe the govt does not know what it is doing and, therefore, cannot be trusted. It is not that the govt initiatives are wrong, Nigerians just don’t believe the president can deliver on anything. If the president starts to act like these policies came from him and not some unknown smart people, it will be easy for Nigerians to connect with whatever the president is putting on the table as vision.
It is also important to note that all the gains in market speculation is gone. Real estate will take a hit from next month. The president shd focus on food and energy. In fact, he needs to return the subsidy and put better controls in the supy chains of the Petroleum downstream sector. We have the technology to so this efficiently and effectively today.