Nigerians have embraced several ingenious measures to survive to survive the hard times resulted from the increase of fuel prices across the country.
Some of the people spoke to Vanguard over the weekend saying they no longer use cars but join commercial vehicles while others trek distances to meet up with the hike.
n some cases, people said they were not using air-conditioners, generator sets in their homes, while uniform clothes for parties popularly known as aso ebi have been abandoned.
The litre of petrol jumped from N160 to N510 on May 29, 2023, after the announcement by President Bola Tinubu, that the fuel subsidy was removed.
This resulted in an increment in prices of goods and services in a nation already battling 22.77 percent inflation, but Nigerians were yet to recover when a litre of petrol again increased to N617 last Tuesday.
Speaking about means of survival, Nigerians vented their frustrations and what they have embraced to survive.
Selling cars
A politician and farmer in Ondo State, Zadok Akintoye, said, “To adjust, I am aware that some of my friends and associates have had to sell off one or more cars for low fuel-consuming vehicles. Some pre-plan their movement.
“Citizens would look for cheaper options to meet their basic nutrient needs. The full impact of the policies you see now would become fully felt in about one year.
“My advice is for citizens to tame their expectations and prepare for the worst.”
Abandon cars for commercial buses.
Speaking in that regard, a civil servant, Mr Jonah Bulus, whose office is located on Lagos Island, said, “Spending about N35, 000 to fuel your car weekly is not sustainable. I reside in Ikorodu.
“When this whole madness started, I thought I could be managing half a tank, which is about N16, 000, but it wasn’t possible. How much am I earning?
“I don’t own the house I reside in. I have other bills, which have also skyrocketed. What I use now is public transportation. I use BRT buses. Some of my friends even use ferry but I have a phobia of water transportation.’’
Air-conditioners
Another Lagos resident, Mr. Eziashi Ifeanyi, said since he had no control over the usage of power in his household, he often turned off the entire electricity from the central switch any time he felt his children were wasting power.
He said, “For me, it’s survival first. Since I don’t want to have issues with my wife over how she uses electrical appliances at home, especially the air-conditioner, I usually turn off the power switch from the central control system. When I do that, they would assume it is the usual power failure.”
Aso Ebi
Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Ogun State, Wale Olanrewaju, said: “With the current economic hardship in the country, Nigerians should not go beyond their limit. This is not the time to be spending on luxury.
“We should do away with anything that is not that important to us at this crucial period. Things like Aso Ebi and other unnecessary things should be avoided.
“While buying food items, people should embrace bulk buying. The more you buy in bulk, the more you can bargain properly and the cheaper the things you buy.
“As much as possible, one should avoid going into debt, unless there is a clear capacity to repay it. If you must take loan, you have to use it on profitable ventures that will yield returns.’’
Others
In Ibadan, Oyo State, an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan, Christiana Akande, said: “I have reduced the way I purchase food from food vendors. I now deliberately skip meals. I am spending more money to get less quantity and quality of food items. I buy more Garri and rice because Indomie Noodles is a luxury. Since my rent expired two months ago, I was forced to get a roommate to split the cost of the new apartment I just rented.
Fuel subsidy: Employees stay week days at work, return home weekends
Following the worsening effects of the removal of petrol subsidy, some employees have been forced to devise means to survive amid the hard time.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that some employees have now resorted to spending weekdays in their offices while they go home to their families on weekends in a bid to reduce cost of transportation.
Recounting the struggles witnessed since the removal of fuel subsidy, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Ondo State, Stephen Adewale, said: “Nigerians are adopting cost-cutting strategies to stay afloat because times are extremely tough.
“First, I noticed that more people now walk a considerable distance to get to work or their places of business to save money.
“You would note that streets and highways are no longer busy in the morning and evening. I have noticed that many of my acquaintances now opt to leave their cars at home and take commercial transit instead.
“For instance, recently, I spent N80,000 refuelling my car as I travelled from Ondo to Ilorin. In contrast, my friend who travelled from Akure to Ilorin for the same occasion left his car at home and chose public transport, which cost him only N20,000. I have noticed that many employees now choose to spend the weekdays at work and return home on weekends.
“Businesses are also adjusting to the new reality. For example, my office had to lower the number of days workers would come to work to three days per week to cushion the effect of the fuel price increase on the staff.”
On his part, a public affairs analyst, Ayo Fadaka, said: “Life for Nigerians under the administration of President Bola Tinubu is hell.
“We simply jumped from the frying pan that Buhari’s era represented directly into fire.
“I consider it stupid to make our pump price at par with what is obtainable in the US or UK.
The joke that government wants to distribute N8, 000 per household for 12 million Nigerians is another ploy to bleed our nation dry.
“Buhari may have done the same and got away with it, entrenching the same by this administration will not only be criminal but also provocative.”
Advising citizens on how they could survive amid the austerities, politician and farmer in Ondo State, Zadok Akintoye, said: “To adjust, I am aware that some of my friends and associates have had to sell off one or more cars for low fuel-consuming vehicles. Some pre-plan their movement. “Citizens would look for cheaper options to meet their basic nutrient needs. The full impact of the policies you see now would become fully felt in about one year.
“My advice is for citizens to tame their expectations and prepare for the worst.”
Credit: Vanguard
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