The battle over the New Year Day’s removal of fuel subsidy may be over, but the masses now contend with the negative effects. Here, however, are survival strategies for the hard times
He did not know that Nigerians had become an altogether different breed. Otherwise, President Goodluck Jonathan would not have behaved like a man toying with the tail of a giant mamba or the head of a rattle snake, when he, with magisterial finality, yanked off subsidy on petrol on 1 January, raising the price of a litre to N140.
The effect was like throwing a lit matchstick into a drum of napalm. The country literally went on fire. For seven days, according to the President himself, the nation witnessed a disruption of economic activities. The government/labour talks, brokered by a committee led by Justice Alfa Belgore, a retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, did not succeed. The leadership of the National Assembly and other well-meaning Nigerians intervened and Labour agreed to meet with government. The talks also broke down.
As Nigerians were going through hardship and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, threatened to strangle the oil exploration and export activities of government, a scenario that would have had far-reaching consequences on the global oil market, Jonathan addressed Nigerians last Monday. In his words: “Given the hardships being suffered by Nigerians, and after due consideration and consultations with state governors and the leadership of the National Assembly, government has approved the reduction of the pump price of petrol to N97 per litre. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has been directed to ensure compliance with this new pump price.”
He added that government was working hard to reduce recurrent expenditure in line with current realities and to cut down on the cost of governance. “In the meantime, government has commenced the implementation of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment projects, including the Federal Government-assisted mass transit programme which is already in place, and job creation for the youth.”
These notwithstanding, the prices of goods and services that went up before the President’s down.
The first consequence of the President’s first broadcast, removing the subsidy was that inflation went on a tailspin. In less than 24 hours, prices of goods and services jumped through the window. Areas mostly affected were transportation, food items, accommodation, and cost of essential services. With regard to this, Dr. Simon Chukwuemeka Okolo, former president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, argued that the subsidy removal would unleash chaos and hardship in the informal sector of the nation’s economy which, he believed, “is the mainstay of the poor, the vulnerable and all those who cannot find gainful employment in the formal sector”.
Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, immediate past president of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN, similarly submitted that the removal would lead to increase in the prices of commodities and rent.
True. A research conducted by TheNEWS after the subsidy removal that week, showed that food prices had increased. A plate of rice, amala, semolina and eba that previously sold for N200 rose to between N300 and N500. Even sachet water, which people used to take for granted and which sold for N5 each for many years, jumped to N10. From the old price of N80, a bag of the water now attracts N120.
People who liked to visit their watering holes after work, now pay more for soft drinks and beer. For example, according to the survey immediately after the subsidy removal, a 35cl bottle of Coke rose from N60 to N80, a 33.33 per cent rise. Also, a bottle of Maltina, which sold for N100, jumped to N150. From N120, a bottle of Malta Guinness rose to N150.
From the former prices of N200, N300 and N350, a bottle of Star, Gulder and Harp rose to N250, N350 and N400, in that order. Some palates cannot be cooled down effectively with beer without the accompaniment of isiewu (goat head) and nkwobi. From its original price of N2,500, isiewu went up to N3,000, a 20 per cent increase. There was also a 25 per cent rise in the price of nkwobi, from N400 to N500.
As this medium discovered: “The cost of baked food items has also increased. For instance, Queen Meal Bread, which formerly went for N160, is suddenly being sold for N180; the cost of flour, its main ingredient, increased. And since the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, the price has risen to N200. Similarly, Val-U bread now costs N200 as against N180. A pack of Coaster biscuit has increased in price by 100 per cent, from N5 to N10. Prices of toothpaste are not spared. A big-sized Maclean’s which used to sell for N170 now sells for N200.”
As argued by Mr. Jerry Ossai, former Commissioner for Agriculture in Delta State and now a farmer, “the cost of transplanting produce has risen with its attendant effects on the vicious cycle of poverty.” For food items, a De Rica tin of rice, which used to go for N130, now sells for N180, just as beans, of the same measure, rose from N120 to N160, a 33.33 per cent increase.
According to the magazine’s survey, a medium-size tuber of yam now attracts N350, up from N280, a 25 per cent rise. Similarly, a big tuber of yam that sold for between N450 and N500 previously now attracts between N550 and N600. The cost of garri (small paint plastic) is now N300, up from N230. The price of a basket of fresh pepper has changed from N200 to N400, an increase of 100 per cent.
Also affected were the costs of services. A man who used to spend N150 for his hair cut will now cough out N200. Vulcanisers who charged between N50 and N100 to pump a tyre now ask for between N300 and N500 to seal a puncture. Football fans now pay N100 as against the previous N50 to watch their teams play at viewing centres.
Now that the NLC has called off the strike, air passengers may pay more: between N40,000 and N55,000 for an hour trip. As Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, Assistant Secretary-General of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, put it, “passengers should expect an adjustment in the price of air fares as subsidy removal would also affect the cost of flight operations.” He added that the situation might get to a level that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the Ministry of Aviation “would find it difficult to prevail on the airlines not to increase fares”. However, Mrs. Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, the Aviation Minister, said nothing like that would happen.
The cost of health care services is bound to rise also, according to health practitioners, since the hardship that people will go through will worsen health indices. This, experts say, will negatively impact on the cost of running hospitals, rise in cost of treatment, drugs and general health care services.
Another area that will be seriously affected is the building sector, as costs of building materials are expected to go up before the month ends. This will affect rent.
Now that the battle over fuel subsidy is over, the hardships that it created remain. That was why Son Gyoh of the Awareness for Development, a diaspora intervention network, wrote that the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria “is a direct affront to the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015 and at odds with global concern for the low levels of economic growth and declining human development index in Nigeria”.
But trust Nigerians. They have adopted different strategies to survive the hard times ahead. Here are 20 survival measures that every Nigerian will find useful.
• Inverter Usage
This is one sure way of reducing fuel consumption in a situation of poor power supply that will entail the usage of electricity generating set. It is an electrical device that converts direct current, DC, to alternating current, AC, which, according to experts, can be in any voltage and frequency.
In layman terms, the number of batteries determine its capacity to power refrigerators and air conditioners.
• Solar Power
This can be another alternative to electricity generating set which consumes petrol. Solar power is, as engineers explained, the conversion of sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaic, PV, or indirectly, using concentrated solar power. This makes use of “lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus on large area of sunlight into a small beam.”
Although solar powered systems have not been largely successful in homes (government uses them for street lights), there are smaller versions, which have mini- panels, that can be used in homes. Therefore, instead of switching on the generator at night, these mini-solar lamps, can become ready alternatives to darkness.
• Rechargeable Lamps
For people whose houses are highly ventilated so much that they do not experience heat, rechargeable lamps are a means of illumination at night.
Of course, they need to be charged with direct electricity or a generator. However, the lamps will reduce the length of hours one would switch on the generator.
• Rechargeable Fans
These are useful in situations where a man wants to cut down the length of time he uses the generator (and fuel). Instead of using power overnight, it can be switched off around midnight and the lamp and fans can take over.
Mr. Femi Gbadamosi, who lives in Orile Agege in Lagos, told TheNEWS that with this approach, his fuel consumption had considerably reduced.
• On Power Voltage
Electrical engineers explained that the rate of combustion depends on the number of bulbs switched on. In other words, the higher the number of bulbs that are on, the faster a generator burns fuel.
The style that Mrs. Idowu Alonge of Idimu Road, Lagos, has adopted is to switch off all bulbs and electrical appliances that are not needed when the family members are asleep.
Comrade Dele Hunsu, National Deputy President of Textile Workers Union, said before the removal of subsidy, once the light went off in his neighbourhood, generators were usually switched on within minutes. “But now, my street has been very quiet. In my house, I put on the generator when my family is having dinner. It goes off immediately after,” he said.
• Energy-saving Bulbs
This is another way of reducing power consumption. According to an electrical engineer, Ishmail Hassan, about five energy-saving bulbs, depending on the size, consume the amount of power that a non-energy-saving 60 watts bulb will.
“So it is better, to reduce cost, that all bulbs in the house be replaced with energy-saving bulbs,” he advised.
Apart from those who use generator, individuals who own Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, prepaid metres, will pay less on power consumption.
• Genuine Products
To survive the hard times, Nigerians have been advised to go for genuine products at authorised selling points.
According to Mr. Dende Iwadara, a commercial bus driver, buying used tyres is akin to being penny wise, pound foolish. “I discovered that it is better to obtain a loan from our cooperative society to buy new tyres than to purchase used ones that burst too soon,” he said.
This also goes for electrical appliances, electrical parts, plumbing materials and others.
• Going For Cheaper Alternatives
There are different food items that supply the same nutrients. For these, it is suggested that one could go for cheaper alternatives.
David Abari, a food scientist, advised that if yam is too expensive, “nothing stops a man or woman from buying sweet potato, which is cheaper.”
According to Chinwe Martins, a teacher, “I have cut the cost on my purchase on groceries and domestic supplies. My family used to enjoy the luxury of eating Golden Morn and Corn Flakes, but now we have to choose one of the two. As a worker, you pay more on everything, but I have no business or service through which I can increase my income.”
Also, according to Hunsu, the removal of fuel subsidy has dealt a great blow to Nigerian families financially, psychologically and morally. This has multiplier effects that have called for serious adjustment on cost of living.
In his words: “The cost of consumables have gone up and, of course, wives, including mine, now complain bitterly. Since then we have been planning to adjust our budget at home. I asked myself If I will be able to cope, as my salary has not been increased. For this reason I have begun introducing other cost cutting measures in terms of our consumption pattern like when the children demand for noodles we have agreed to force them to eat a cheaper alternative.”
• Water Purification
Many Nigerians, in order to avoid contracting water-borne diseases, drink only bottled water.
But since the fuel subsidy removal, a 1.5cl bottle of water, which sold for N100, now costs between N120 or N130.
Ebenezer Ajakaiye, an insurance broker, has taken to boiling and filtering his own water. He puts them in plastic bottles, takes them to his office and refrigerates them there for drinking.
• Cooking At Home
Eating out is another way of incurring expenses. It is for this reason that Nigerians have been advised to prepare their own food, a practice that will considerably reduce cost.
Mrs. Mary Eberechukwu, a teacher in one of the private schools in Lagos, told this medium that she cooks at home and takes the food to school daily. “I have another flask for my husband, too. This has reduced our expenses,” she said.
•Bulk Purchase of Food Items
This is another means of cutting waste. Biodun Ariyibi, a land surveyor, whose job takes him out of the urban centres, uses the opportunity to load his car with food items that can last his family three or four months.
An advantage of this, according to him, is that when one is low on cash, “the danger of starvation in the family is eliminated.”
•Reduce Drinking
Stress at work and on the road, or sheer habit could, daily, put one in a “beering” mood. But given the high cost of beer in these hard times, it is wise to drink less or, if one cannot do without booze, buy and drink at home.
Mr. Cosmas Adedamola, a businessman who, every evening, used to frequent a popular watering hole at New Oko Oba, Agege, Lagos, told this magazine that since the subsidy removal, he had reduced the number of bottles he consumes daily. “I buy and drink at home now and this has created a healthy experience for my pocket and my protruding tummy!”
• Fuel Efficient Vehicles
There is a historical development to the prevalence of Sport Utility Vehicles in Nigeria, the ugliest of which is Hummer, a fuel guzzling monster.
With the rising high cost of fuel, the Americans started going for smaller, fuel-thrifty vehicles, while dumping the guzzlers on the Nigerian market.
But with the fuel subsidy removal, Engineer Mohammed Abdulkadir, counseled that Nigerians should go for those that are fuel-thrifty. With that, an avenue of waste will be blocked.
• Grow Your Vegetable & Spices (Gardening)
This is easy for those who have their own homes or live in rented homes with space for gardening. With gardening, a family could produce its own vegetables, fruits, especially oranges, banana and plantain.
“This, to a large extent,” as retired Major Tijani Onibudo explained, “will enable my family save a lot of money. Moreover, products from our farm are fresh.”
•Walking
Health experts have advised that to survive the perilous times, Nigerians must form the habit of walking, rather than mounting motorbikes and vehicles to short distances.
Mrs. Mary Abraham, a fitness expert in Ibadan, said in doing that, people must wear sneakers, rubber-soled shoes or any comfortable footwear.
However, Mr. Lucas Chamberlain, an officer with the Federal Road Safety Corps, cautioned that if one must walk on a busy road, “then do so on the left side, facing oncoming vehicles. This is to prevent a situation whereby one gets hit from the back by motorbikes or vehicles”.
• Reduce Partying
Nigerians have been regarded as one of the happiest people on earth. This was, again, recently reported by London’s The Guardian. “In a 53-country Gallup poll, Nigerians were rated at 70 points for optimism. By contrast, Britain scored a deeply pessimistic 44. Why so glum, Britain? And what, in the world, makes Nigerians so happy?” the report asked.
The report goes further by quoting a Nigerian proverb:
“If a Friday is to be sweet, you’ll know by Thursday.”
Of course, loud parties or “Owambe,” are what Nigerians look for every weekend.
But analysts have advised that this must be reduced.
Mrs. Ifeoma Oladipo, who works at Dallas Cosmetics in Lagos, said she had adjusted to the new reality dictated by the subsidy removal.
“As for women, we must cut down on going to parties, buying of clothes (aso ebi) unless it is necessary,” she said.
• Avoid Expensive Clothing
A lot of money is also expended on buying expensive clothes and jewelry. In the spirit of the hard times, analysts have suggested using fabrics like “ankara” and batik.
• Stop Impulsive Purchases
This is a pastime that suits periods of buoyancy.
“Whimsical shopping can be corrected by patiently comparing prices,” Iyabode Ogunmodede, an accountant with an insurance company, explained.
• Avoid Expensive Supermarkets
It is a fashion for families to go on shopping sprees at expensive supermarkets.
However, there are bargain basements in less glamorous supermarkets. According to John Ibidapo, a lawyer, avoiding expensive supremarkets is “a veritable way of cutting costs.”
• Reduce Travel
In the age of enhanced communication, unnecessary trips, either through public transport or personal vehicles, can be cut by relying on the phone. Transacting business online is also an alternative.
Kehinde Ogbonnaya, an information consultant, maintained: “I have not gone out since the subsidy was removed. I stay online to close my deals and when I have to show up in person, then I go.”
• Reduce Telephone Calls
It is tempting to always use the mobile phone, especially when it has plenty of airtime.
However, it is advised that one could keep a specific budget per week. To do this, John Onyichi, an estate agent, counselled: “Use of text messages more.”
• Number of Cars
Families that have more than one car are admonished to, if possible, use one. This will considerably save cost.
• Limit Family Size
When God, in the Bible, said to Adam in the Garden of Eden: “Be fruitful and multiply,” He did not say “indiscriminately.” Although couples that have large families are not expected to throw them into the Lagoon, because of the hard times, they are, however, not expected to strain the world population further!
And for those who are going into matrimony, having two or three kids is in line with the hard times.
• Explore Other Sources of Income
Without compromising one’s loyalty or time to one’s employer looking for other avenues of making money is another way to survive the hard times.
According to Mr. Bello Tajudeen Alani, a security man with a blue chip company in Lagos, “there is no way one can live on one’s salary. You must have investment in other areas to be able to adjust.”
• Differentiate Between Needs And Wants
In these hard times, an individual must be able to distinguish between needs (necessities) and wants (which one can do without).
With regard to needs, one can, according to Anthony Ibirogba, an economist, draw a scale of preference.
“But when it comes to all those items, which our lives do not depend on, we have to close our eyes and yank them off,” he advised.
• Keeping Full Housewives Busy
Men who do not allow their wives to work because money is rolling in have been advised to rethink the policy. Women in such situations have been advised to find something that can generate money for them.
The removed governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke, has appealed to the people of the state to remain calm, in the light of his sacking by the Supreme Court.
Joke Silva in ‘For Coloured Girls’ by Wole Oguntokun
