Tinubu’s Nigeria Becomes Hell On Earth *Food, Cement, Fuel prices Hit Rooftop
7 min read
Edith CHUKU
Nigerians have continued to lament over the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led administration, as they describe the country under his government as hell on earth.
They gave this description following the exorbitant cost of rice, garri, beans and other food items, as well as the hike in the prices of fuel, cement and other commodities.
As at the time of this report, a liter of fuel was sold at N720, a bag of rice for N75,000, a basin of Ikwerre Garri N12,000 and N12,000 for a bag of cement.
Some traders lamented been out of business following their inability to restock their shops, while some others expressed regret that they have children they are unable to cater for.
Motorists, traders and commuters who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, urged Tinubu to salvage the situation and save the people from the sufferings and hardship bewildering the country.
They warned that if nothing was done to rescue Nigerians from hunger, impoverishment, people would take to arms and other criminal activities as a means of survival.
TNN was at the Rumuowha Gate Market, Eneka, in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State and spoke with traders and their customers.
Here are the excerpts:
Mrs. Victory Ogidi
Please we are passing through hell. What we are buying; like this Egusi we were buying it N4,000 before, but now it’s N6,000, Ikwerre Garri is now N12,000, people cannot afford it, we are selling custard N2,500, they cannot afford it to eat. Now, the one they can eat like this Ogoja bag, the very day I bought this Ogoja bag I bought it N51,000, I went to buy it again now it’s N65,000. How are we going to cope? We are dying, we are lamenting. Please, we are begging our government, we are begging our president, help us so that things will be well with us.
Mrs. Ijeoma Iheanyi
Biko government make una help us, things too cost, we don suffer. Ikwerre Garri we dey buy N7,000, N8,000, now Ikwerre Garri is N12,000 per basin. Make una help us make we see money train our children. We dey borrow money here and there because hungry dey, make una help us before we die finish.
Transportation to go buy the garri don cost, fuel don cost, things cost well, well, we don die for hunger, make una help us I don tire to borrow money. Make government reduce the price of things, reduce cost of fuel, make dollar come down.
My pikin no fit go school, no food to eat, the sufferings too much, we don tire.
A butcher, Mr. Ibrahim Francis
See goat wey we dey buy N17,000, now na N75,000, N70,000. Before you chop meat you must buy meat N2,000, N3,000, no 500 naira meat for market, no 1,000 naira meat. Make government help us before everybody go become thief.
To cook now no be small thing oh, to cook food now, if you no hold N10,000, N20,000, you no go cook food. Garri we no fit buy, tomatoes, egusi for cup we no fit buy again, we know know wetin government dey do, na the one wey them promise us be this? Make them try help us before everybody go die finish.
Fish seller, Mrs. Glory Amadi
My sister this market too cost. Fish wey I dey buy N20,000 before now na N60,000, N61,000, how we go take survive? Rice now na N80,000, how we go take train our children? It’s too much, make them help us make we no die here. Me I dey faint because I go born pikin I come dey regret, dey ask God why you give me pikin, person born pikin em go train em children. Make una reduce price make we see wetin we go chop, use train our children, make person no go thief.
Any customer wey come, if I tell am the price em go leave am commot, em no go gree buy, my market go dey there dey spoil. My money no go complete, na so me I go dey borrow, borrow money, I don tire.
Transportation too much, from here-to-here N200, from here (Eneka First Market) to Oil Mill N300, how we go do this kind thing?
Mrs. Ayi Ayi
Well, cost of living now is terrible, we are dying, we are dying. We don’t know what to do even the money is not in our hand, things are adding every day. Something you buy N1,000 today, by tomorrow it will go up to N3,500, we don’t even have the money to buy the things. We are dying. Look at rice, I bought rice January N48,000, now it’s N75,000, we don’t know what to do. Please, we need government to help us.
We are suffering more than Bible Job, we are suffering, we are really suffering, we need help.
Cat Fish vendor at the entrance of the market.
My sister the thing no easy, eh get as eh be, there is nothing we can do again that is why everybody is still coping like that. Who you go ask, who you go tell? Like what we are buying maybe N1,500, now it’s N3,500, not even N2,000, so it’s only God that can help us.
This cat fish before we buy the one of one-KG N1,200, N1,300, it’s now N1,900 for one kilo. 900gram is now N1,750, N1,800.
For transportation that one na another wahala, maybe where them go carry you N1,000 when driver see say you carry fish they say madam na N3,000, if you don’t want to pay you leave and no be all drivers dey carry fish, na very few persons.
People are dying seriously, make government help us.
Also, Mrs. Favour Jackson who sales Bole at the OPM junction spoke with our correspondent.
Concerning the way things are now is really terrible; things are very expensive and our customers are complaining, not knowing that I am buying it too expensive. Like this plantain this morning I was not happy, even after pleading, this plantain is N18,000. Each bunch N4,000 or N5,000, if you don’t like it you go.
We are not happy. Even this yam here is N3,500 if you buy from someone that will pity you and reduce the price.
Transportation is another challenge, it’s too expensive. Before we pay from this OPM to first market N100 but now we are paying N200, N250. It’s terrible, we are almost out of business, how much are we making a day? We are even struggling to recover our money not even to make gain, everybody is complaining. If we stop this business, hunger will kill us, government should help us. Imagine charcoal I used to buy N2,000 is now N7,000, look at it here, one bag N7,000, if it continues like this what becomes our fate?
A commuter, Emmanuel Okwdiri.
It’s affecting everybody, everybody but the most unfortunate is that our salary wears same look. It’s really terrible, we are helpless.
Tricycle (Keke NAPEP) who ply Eneka-OPM Link Road also reacted in this interview.
Mr. Nduke Wokwaido
I feel very bad, it’s a surprising thing to me. Honestly, something that we produce in this country, we are still buying at high cost, it’s not fair, it doesn’t allow things to move the way it’s supposed to move, even we the drivers we are suffering to buy fuel, and they are charging us each rubber that we buy and the passengers are also complaining that we are charging much and don’t want to understand our pain.
We are the only unit that doesn’t add price to our transportation, others have added but we are still carrying N100 along and our end point N200 but other units have added. We can’t stay in the house idle, it’s just for us to have something to eat.
Mr. Okeke Shedrack
Fuel dey dey hard for us to get, even some filing station if you go buy before you go come back them don close, you no go see them again, if you buy in the morning before you go back next three hours them don close.
For here wey we dey now, them dey sale N800 one liter for this near filing station, some filing station dey sale N810, N820.
We never increase anything, as we dey carry before na so we dey carry but we dey buy the fuel costlier than wetin we dey buy am before but we never put money for the transportation.
We dey beg government make them work our refinery, make them start work so that the cost of fuel go come down so that we poor people will not be suffering like this. Like this morning na Rumuokoro Road I go buy fuel, so make our government try build our refinery make them start work.
