Recently I went on a trip all the way to the other side of my country, and it made me realize that realities differ. I have always felt like an alien anywhere I am, so I am no stranger to this feeling, but this one was something else. I don't know how to explain it, and in a way I started feeling like maybe I am a little narcissistic. But there's just this draining energy almost everyone around here has. I mean, I grew up here and a lot of the people I've met we've had interactions in the past so why was this time different? Majority of the time when I feel this way It calls for some reflection and this time was no different. I had to do some inward looking.
After that, I realized that these people's presence wasn't the problem they were simply mirrors reflecting the real problem,(Oh my God, maybe I really am) which is the state of the economy. I dislike talking about the state of the economy, but it is not something that can be ignored. During my journey I remember when we stopped at a small town to stretch our legs and buy some food and I looked around to see some groups of children just going around asking for things from we the tourists, and then some slightly older ones hawking things, and then some grown men just in a corner sitting and gisting. None of these sets were on their phones, and it prompted me to ask myself "How many of these people are even aware of what goes on online?" Probably a very very small number. And then I remembered a tweet I saw that said "The people that are feeling the effects of this economy the most aren't even on social media." Everyday they hustle to get something to eat, from a very unsustainable source and then they never know if the next time they want to get something it has doubled in price.
At times I look and wonder how it got this bad so fast. I still remember when BAT came to say he'll hit the ground running, or is it "Cassava, Garri, Ewa, and Agbado" like it was yesterday. And since then the price of almost everything has tripled or more while the minimum wage was just given a slight bump (after so much struggle by the way). I really don't like talking about the situation cause it pisses me off tbh.
Like I said earlier I grew up here. So yeah, I realized the draining feeling had nothing to do with them but was more to do with the psychological aspect of watching the effects of the economy wear down the somewhat bountiful nature of how things were when I was little. Sort of like the feeling you get when you buy an egg 20 naira, and then come later to see the price is now 250. But with people it's somewhat different. You see them show more restraint to their kindness for monetary reasons, or is it the marks on their skin that are a combination of ageing and the work they are doing, or maybe it's how they're now constantly fitting "the price of things have skyrocketed o" into every single conversation.
I feel the effects of the state of the economy, but I am privileged not to feel it as much as some others so maybe that might play a part in how I feel, but nonetheless I am of the opinion that since there's nothing I can do about the state of the economy the goal is to keep making myself better and better, and perhaps when that is achieved, one would be in a better position to help.
Cover Image created by me using Leonardo AI
