Most Nigerians have been reduced to mere existing creatures living on hourly/daily basis, not sure of where the next meal would come from.
The situation is worsened by the scorching heatwave in some parts of the country, which has coincided with widespread power outages that have seen many areas experience total darkness for days on end.
The issue of Insecurity has continued to ravage the country with victims and their relatives disposing their assets to pay mandatory ransome by the bandits and kidnappers.
The hitherto food basket states of the nation have become shadows of themselves as their farmlands have become nogo areas or paying handsome levies before accessing their farms.
At Abuja, the nation’s capital, the bill proposing the establishment of state police to possibly tackle this menace has successfully passed the second reading in the House of Representatives.
The legislation, backed by 13 House members, gained the majority’s favor in the Green Chamber, with many legislators contending that worries over political victimization by state governors should be deprioritized in light of the country’s ongoing security concerns.
During Tuesday’s plenary session, as lawmakers engaged in debate on the House floor, Kalu, acting on behalf of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, encouraged members to prioritize the safety of Nigerians and the country over political ambitions.
Furthermore, Babajimi Benson from Lagos of the APC remarked, “Maintaining law and order is the essential function of the police. Considering our vast population of over 200 million and a police workforce of less than 400,000, the creation of State Police is imperative for addressing Nigeria’s internal security concerns.”
What you should know
Since the Seventh National Assembly, the topic of state police has sparked debate and has consistently failed to progress through the amendment stage.
Moreover, regional socio-political organizations, including Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Middle Belt Forum, and the Northern Elders’ Forum, have consistently advocated for state police as a response to the growing array of security issues facing the nation.
States in the South-West geopolitical zone have formed the Amotekun while their counterparts in the South-East also created state-owned security outfit Ebube Agu.
The Benue Guards has also been operational in Benue State in the North Central while states like Katsina, Zamfara and other bandit-prone sub-nationals have also come up with similar state-established outfits.
These security formations have fallen short of their expected impact, primarily because they lack endorsement from the Federal Government and the Presidency.
Concurrently, there is a push from state governments for the authorization of groups like Amotekun and Ebube Agu to wield assault rifles like AK-47s to battle against armed assailants.
Earlier last week, the Federal Government and the governors of the 36 states mulled over the creation of state police as part of measures to address the worsening security challenges across the country.
But, prices of staple foods in Nigeria have continued to increase, with between 50 and over 100 percent recorded in the last two months, a market survey by metrobusinessnews.com (MBN) has revealed
Last week, our survey showed that prices of rice, beans, garri, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and bread witnessed astronomical increases from December 2023 to February 2024.
For instance, a carton of Super Pack size of Noodles increased to N12, 500 from N6,000, 25 litres of groundnut oil rose to N57,000 from N34,000.
Similarly, a crate of eggs rose to N4000 from N2,500 and a 50kg bag of Sugar increased to N88,000 from N40,000, a 900g loaf of bread rose to N1,400 from N600, Semovita 1kg to N1,600 from N900, Tomatoes small dustbin basket N5,000 from N1,600 the list is endless, with daily increase of prices.
The development has resulted in the citizens lamenting the high cost of living, while some prominent Nigerians have continued to warn the federal government on the impending crisis if the situation is not urgently addressed.
According to the latest numbers released on Thursday, February 15, 2023, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s headline inflation rate jumped to 29.90 percent from 28.20 percent.
This rise is due to a combination of factors including a weaker naira, high diesel prices, cost of logistics, and the cross-elasticity effect on domestic commodities, particularly the substitutes.
Also notable is the amplified inflation expectations of consumers which have risen significantly compared to prior months.
Specifically, food inflation surged by 1.48 percent to a record high of 35.41 percent especially the prices of cereals, yams, fruits, fish, meat, potatoes, vegetables, and eggs experiencing the largest price hikes.
Core inflation rose by 0.52% to 23.59 percent from 23.07 percent, with highest price hikes observed in the cost of transportation both by road and air.
Consequently, Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company, in the current Economic Splash released on Thursday said the possibility of raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at the maiden meeting under the Yemi Cardoso leadership as Governor of CBN, by 200 basis points is very high.
“The monetary policy meeting (MPC) is scheduled for February 26 and 27. In view of the foregoing, the MPC is expected to maintain its hawkish stance in a bid to rein inflationary pressure. Analysts posit the likelihood of MPC raising the policy rate by at least 200 basis points (bps) to 20.75%p.a. from the current rate of 18.75%p.a. In the past, an increase in the policy rate has not affected the general rate but this time it may likely do,” Rewane said.
As a result of these developments, many Nigerian households are currently battling with high cost of living, that is threatening their lives and livelihoods.
This is forcing them to adopt new survival strategies in their purchasing decisions as prices of goods and services reach an alarming level.
Households are now being compelled by the unbearable high cost of living to adjust
lifestyles as well as resetting priorities amid soaring prices.
The outcome is resorting to rationing of meals by most households in favour of children and as well forgoing other food staples now regarded as ‘no go areas’ due to prohibitive costs.
As if these are not enough, in major cities including Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, residents are complaining about worsening power supply, which electricity distribution companies have attributed to low generation occasioned by gas shortages.
The blackout, which has persisted for weeks in some parts of the country, has disrupted daily life, affecting businesses, healthcare facilities, and households reliant on electricity from the national grid for necessities.
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC), on Tuesday, said the poor power supply currently experienced by its customers across the Southeast region was beyond it.
“We understand the inconveniences this situation has caused our esteemed customers and appeal for their understanding as it is beyond us,” Emeka Ezeh, head of corporate communications at EEDC, said.
“Efforts are being made by the various stakeholders in the power sector to address this issue, and we hope this yields positive results so that normal distribution will return,” he added.
For other distribution companies like Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electricity Distribution company, among others, rationing has become new normal.
This is beside constant breakdown of the machines that are, in most cases, obsolete that require maintenance at the expense of customers.
“Dear Customer, There is a planned outage on the Feeder supplying your vicinity, to enable our engineers to carry out Preventive Maintenance. Date: Friday, 16th, February 2024. Time: 11:00-14:00. Duration: 3:00hrs. Please be assured that the supply will be restored once the maintenance is completed,” a statement from IE to its customers on the outskirt of Lagos state on Friday read.
But some analysts see inconsistency in policy formulation and execution on the part of government as partly responsible for the problems.
According to them, if the present administration is really serious about the economic development of the country as it will want the citizens to believe, the issue of gas supply should be carefully looked with the aim of tackling the perennial gas problemby,for instance, mandating the gas suppliers to price in naira.
“The domestic supply is just a fraction of what the gas suppliers supply to the international market, so paying in naira should not be a problem,” an analyst said.
But, the severe heatwaves, which experts have attributed to global warming and continuous depletion of the ozone layer, have combined with the steep drop in power supply to exacerbate the suffering of many Nigerians.
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About half of the country is in danger of sunstroke, muscle cramps, and heat exhaustion as air temperatures hit 47°C over the north and 39°C over the south, according to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
Its modelling model projections released on Wednesday indicate that temperatures will remain high in the coming days, particularly reaching a peak in some parts of the south.
“The heat is unbearable, and with no power, we can’t even turn on fans or air conditioners to cool down,” lamented Adesuwa Omoriege, a resident of Lagos, who likened it to being “trapped in an oven.”
NiMET said as a result of the high temperature, people will experience dehydration, which could cause fainting, chickenpox disease, measles, and heat rash.
The agency also said people could experience weakness of the body, slight fever, and dry lips; heat-related illnesses; respiratory issues, and increased vulnerability to chronic conditions.
“Stay indoors as much as possible between 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm evening time,” it advised.
But, most Nigerians are querying the order of staying indoors, when there is no electricity to power the appliances, and in most cases, some Nigerians won’t eat if they do not go out in a day for me Nial jobs.
The situation, according to them, is worse in the nights when they are forced to remain indoors with windows and doors firmly locked due to heightened insecurity
However, the recent announcement by the federal government that it is planning removing subsidy on electricity has become a source of nightmare for most Nigerians.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, February 14, said that Nigeria cannot continue to subsidise electricity, adding that the nation must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model.
The minister noted that the country is currently indebted to the tune of 1.3 trillion naira to generating companies (GenCos) and 1.3 billion dollars owed gas companies
Adelabu said only 450 billion naira was budgeted for subsidy this year but the ministry needs over 2trillion naira for subsidy.
He said state governments will now be allowed to generate power independently to supply power to their states.
He however warned electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to sit up otherwise anyone found wanting will have his licence withdrawn.
This development comes 8 months after the president Bola Tinubu removed subsidy from petrol which has plunged the citizens into hardship.
But, the organised labour, manufacturers and economic, financial and legal experts have warned the federal government not to remove electricity subsidy as canvassed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This is coming at a time when the country is battling with a cost of living crisis brought on by the removal of fuel subsidy, on the advice of the IMF and the World Bank.
Nevertheless, the Fund, in its recent report, advised the government to completely phase out fuel and electricity subsidies as part of measures to address its economic challenges.
These subsidies, which it deemed inefficient and ineffective in reaching intended beneficiaries, were identified as worsening the nation’s fiscal challenges and hindering efforts to address poverty and food insecurity.
In its report entitled ‘IMF Executive Board Concludes Post Financing Assessment with Nigeria,’ the IMF reiterated the importance of eliminating the subsidies to redirect resources towards more targeted and impactful social welfare programmes.
Amidst the prevailing cost-of-living crisis, the IMF proposed targeted social transfers to provide temporary assistance to the most vulnerable segments of the Nigerian population.
“Temporary and targeted support to the most vulnerable in the form of social transfers is needed, given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Fuel and electricity subsidies are costly, part of the advice from IMF read.
But, the analysts have faulted the prescription of’palliatives and handouts’ to citizens regarding the method as equally ‘vulnerable’ that has seen most civil servants and appointed government officials smiling to the banks after embezzling billions of funds earmarked for the same vulnerable Nigerians.
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