By Abraham Boluwatife Sewedo
“Adulthood na scam” a song by a Nigerian popstar explains the harsh side of being an adult. The unusual increase in the price of everything in the nation has become quite unbearable. Even the cheapest things in the country are now expensive. Every now and then, you find people complain about the price hike. Gone are those days when a sachet of water was sold for N5, now three sachets are sold for N50. The increase in the price of everything is now annoying.
The latest gist is about the increase in fuel price. Even students bear the pain and agony inflicted by the price hike. Distances covered for a N100 trip is now N150. I remember my uncle always mention that during his days as a student, they board buses at cheap and reasonable fare.
The increase in price not only affects the student’s allowance, it makes them get late to class because you have to wait patiently to get a bus ready to convey you at the price you can afford. The situation of the country is now so bad that people “japa” daily to survive. Even students now look for means to leave country. They feel things are easier overseas.
As a Nigerian, you are scared to leave the house every day because leaving your house means “constant debit alert”. A student from an average family has to live on a particular amount as the monthly allowance. They feed from this money, purchase books and materials from this same money and also their transportation is from this allowance. As an undergraduate you are visited constantly by “debit alerts” because even when you write a plan on how you will spend your allowance you end up over spending. Inflation is not even helping matters rather it worsens the situation. Everything is expensive. A sachet of Dangote salt previously sold for N50 is now N80. Being a university undergraduate in Nigeria comes with a whole lot of “shege”.
It is now quite impossible for students to live for two weeks on an allowance of a month. As much you try to be understanding as a student you will end up complaining because things are not so easy. Lay your complains to your parents and get ready to be schooled. They sit you down, tell you stories trying to compare their days with the recent generation. Change they say is constant, parents fail to understand this.
Conclusively, It saddens one enough to know that the government seems not to be doing anything about the issue of inflation. If you live in the days of old you would never have envisaged things being this bad.
An unimaginable increase on the price of almost everything making life unbearable for the living. Inflation is a big problem that ought to be discussed and treated, else complains will never cease. The issue is affecting the nation because every single citizen bears the negative effect of inflation.
For students to survive in their various schools the issue of inflation has to be dealt with. Students lives matters.
