Greetings, everyone! 馃檶
The situation of the world dictates that no matter how harsh the world economy turns, some countries will suffer the most while others won't feel a hitch at all. That's the way the world and human existence have been; all fingers are not equal.
Many times, I've tried to compare the cost of living with many of my non-Nigerian friends, and I've noticed a big margin.
I would try to tell them that they're living better, but they would say no, that things are tougher on their side.
Look at this typical example:
For those of us aware of the Premium subscription in the Inleo DApp, it costs $10. Oftentimes, one of the reasons some Nigerians find it hard to subscribe is because $10 is a significant amount in our Naira.
Some months back when the Naira was at 1,900 Naira per dollar, that $10 was a whopping 19,000 Naira. Although things are very costly now, if one were gifted 19,000 Naira, the appreciation talk would be long like a rope. But to other countries, the $10 is very little amount to them, it's just like money for a Coca-Cola drink. Do you see the big difference now?
Things were a little bit manageable as of early last year (2024), which made us complain less and somewhat comparable with other countries. But immediately after the current president was sworn in, things took a bad turn. Fuel subsidy was removed, and fuel prices increased rapidly by 300%, which caused everything else to skyrocket as well, and it has only gotten worse till today.
How am I coping?
To be very honest, it's not been easy!
I live alone, and most times my immediate younger brother lives with me. We (especially me) buy everything we eat. We go to the market to buy food items, and each time, the body boils in anger with the increase in the cost of commodities. These days, we don't budget before going to the market; we go with money to buy anything it can afford.
The high cost of living has resulted in my earnings not matching my spending. I've tried in so many ways to increase my earnings to match the recent cost of spending, but to no avail. The more I push, the more commodities and services increase.
Currently, the value of the Naira has increased negligibly against some of the world's global currencies, and unfortunately, things are still very much the same as they have been. Although I expected this because what goes up hardly comes down....in Nigeria
My earnings here on a weekly basis are still the same in dollar quantity, but when converted to Naira, it's nothing to write home about.
I got talking to a friend today about how what I earn a week is no longer worth a thing and wished for the dollar to rise, and he was shocked to hear me say that because naturally, every Nigerian wants an increase in the Naira rate against the dollar.
The sincere truth here is that,
if I get an opportunity to leave this country for a better one, I would jump at the offer without giving it a second thought.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to the Week 108, Edition 03 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community
Image 2 is mine
