The other day, when I was sorting through old files in my closet, I was shocked to find some documents and receipts. Among the worn-out, brown-colored documents was a receipt from a private elementary school where he paid his eldest daughter's school fees.
The school was a middle-class school that charged 5,000 naira ($228 at 1995 exchange rates, $3.28 today) per semester. Attached to the faded receipt was a message of thanks from the birther. I was shaking with laughter. This was in 1995 and my monthly salary after working for almost 7 years was around 60,000 Naira. I'll never forget my mother's reaction when she found out how much I was paying for my granddaughter's subscription. “Did college cost that much?” she asked desperately.
Of course it happened, but not by much. That day, as I held that rusty receipt in my hand, the shock and despair I saw on my mother's face as the prices went up and how bad things had become flooded into my heart.
But less than 30 years after my mother expressed her concerns, the joke was directed at me. But this time, it was no longer a laughing matter.
Iluo…!
I want to know how much my daughter is paying for her granddaughter's tuition, which is certainly more upscale than the school she attended, but which, according to my calculations, is unlikely to get into an A-list school in the town where she lives. I managed to find out if it was there.
What she was paying for my granddaughter's kindergarten each semester was about 10 times my salary in 1995, after 7 years of work. I couldn't help but wonder what her mother would have said and done to live to see the tuition fees for her great-granddaughter, who entered school barely out of diapers. And this was only her 3 years ago.
Many of the things in the old files in my closet reminded me of changing times. Remember Victor Olaiya's famous highlife song? Il le au! This movie was released more than 40 years ago and is supposed to depict the misery of men and women complaining about tough times, but what was that moaning about?
nuts for the rich
A few days ago, I spoke with a local cashew nut seller. I have been buying cashews from her since four years ago, when a bottle cost 800 Naira. Slowly but steadily, the price rose to her N1,000, then N1,200, then her N1,500, and before she could say “cashew”, it was her N4,000 per bottle. This is roughly equivalent to her one semester's worth of tuition. My daughter's school in the late 1990s.
How do I buy a bottle of nuts for 4,000 naira? Probably because I drive a big car. Tokunbo, By the way, the nut seller seemed to think he had tricked me. Whatever the price, you should be able to afford the nuts. Well, she was wrong and I told her so. Of course she complained that it wasn't her fault but, you guessed it, her exchange rate. Dollar or not, I won't buy cashews, which are now priced as a luxury item.
Of course, we all know about the fiber, protein, and healthy fats you get from cashews, not to mention blood sugar control, heart health, and weight loss. But why should I sleep less because of my weight when I weigh 72.5 kg and have the gift of height that allows me to eat both pounded yams and mortar unobtrusively? Whatever you provide, especially the fiber, comes from sweet potatoes.
But this cost-of-living crisis isn't all about cashews. Even potatoes have doubled in price.according to be BBC reportPrices in Nigeria are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years.
In this way, BBC report “A standard 50kg bag of rice, which can feed a household of eight to 10 people for about a month, currently costs N77,000,” about double what it was in December last year. Prices of other staple foods such as beans, garri, maize and millet have also increased, with the average worker paying two months' minimum wage per bag.
portion control
Portion control was a frequent topic of discussion in my house. Of course, that's a men's problem. But it's even worse for African women, who have been brought up to believe that evidence of mate consideration is measured by her husband's weight, or the amount of food on his plate. In many places, especially in southern Nigeria, for example, it is considered taboo for a man to have only one piece of meat or fish in his soup. Or maybe because his fabric, which is famously called “swallow”, looks stingy.
This deliberate excess of culinary culture is captured in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart., There, a wealthy man held a banquet from morning until night, in which the guests on one side of the table did not see the guests on the other side, and at the reception, a large pile of food was placed in front of him. Stories are told of people successfully flattening food. Yam Festival.
But if Okonkwo's customers lived in modern-day Nigeria, where a sachet of water in a 50cl plastic bag costs N20, more than double last year's price, they would be left with a meal after their meal. You'll be lucky to find enough water to drink. Afafata, Rice grain husk. It is now a staple food in parts of northern Nigeria.
What I mean about portion control is that after years of struggling to convince my wife, and often female domestic staff, that my meals should contain far less protein and the amount of food I eat Even if it's less, it doesn't mean there's a lack of care or money. The life crisis is finally getting to the heart of it!
After the subsidy was removed in May last year, petrol and other energy costs increased by 216% from N195 per liter. I threatened to buy a bike to cover my transport costs before being warned by concerned staff. Learn about the risks of cycling nearly 15km to work across two major highways.
However, there was one area that needed to be adjusted, and after struggling in vain to keep it in check, I decided to seek what is popularly called “divine intervention” with no luck. It's a blood pressure medicine. In a country where less than 5% of the population has health insurance and the rest pays for their care out-of-pocket, people with underlying health conditions are hit hardest by the current 28.9% inflation rate. ing.
It's no laughing matter. For example, last year, the blood pressure medication I recommended cost about N8,000 per packet. Currently, its price is 24,000 Naira and still rising for the same packet lasting 28 days.
troubles in the world
Of course, this is not a problem unique to Nigeria. From New Zealand to Nepal Country The world is grappling with a severe cost of living crisis. This crisis is a combination of factors, from COVID-19 and associated supply chain issues to the war in Ukraine and extreme climate change around the world.
In fact, Nigeria is not listed. 10 African countries Senegal leads the list of countries with the highest cost of living, followed by Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cameroon and Kenya.
Just as economic problems mimic physical illnesses, countries with underlying structural problems are hardest hit. What differed from place to place, however, was how leaders repaired trust and mobilized resources accordingly.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu campaigned for his current position knowing full well that his honeymoon would not be possible from day one. I urgently need to keep something in my closet that my granddaughter might see someday to show that I wasn't wrong in voting for him. DM
