Two weeks ago, just as we were going to press with the first part of this report, news filtered in that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, officially declared that the Nigerian economy had slipped into recession after successive months of negative growth.
The minister’s admission confirmed the fears of many Nigerians who had, all the while, suspected that there was something definitely amiss about the direction in which the economy was headed. Also, it showed that we were right in reporting that most people living in the country are currently facing hard times as a result of the crisis.
However, what we did not know, until a few days ago, was that the present economic situation has assumed more frightening dimensions in some parts of the country than imagined.
Soup thieves on the prowl
Investigation also shows that as more Nigerians slip further into extreme poverty and the resulting hunger bites even harder, especially in the rural areas, some people may have evolved different strategies to keep body and soul together. For example, in some communities around the Federal Capital Territory, such as Korunduma, Mpape and Kisiri, there have been reports about pots of soup (almost a luxury item in many homes nowadays) vanishing from individual kitchens into thin air.
Obviously, the pots of soup were stolen by unknown thieves driven into such despicable acts by intense hunger and frustration. “This occurs almost daily. The thieves usually sneak into their neighbours’ kitchens to steal their pots of soup at odd times of the day. Of course, a few people have been caught in the act, but everybody understands that they were driven by hunger and desperation. So, they let them go,” a resident of one of the communities tells our correspondent, on condition of anonymity.
Parents offer children as deposits, collateral
Our correspondent gathered that in some of the Abuja communities, poor parents who have many dependents and yet, lack the means to feed them, have resorted to handing their children as deposits to sellers of food items. Also, others desiring to convince money lenders to borrow them some money are willing to present their kids as collateral. With this, it is evident that more Nigerians are increasingly driven by desperation to break the chain of suffering that the dying economy has foisted on them by any means possible.
Emergency taxi drivers
ShittuThe hard times have also given rise to emergency taxi drivers in some major cities in the country. Eager to earn extra income and to cushion the negative effects of the current economic recession, some non-commercial drivers now operate as taxi drivers in their spare time.
No imports, no jobs, no money
The present economic crunch seems to have completely grounded the activities of some agencies or parastatals that offer vital services in the society, just as it has significantly weakened certain sectors of the economy. Some of the most affected are licensed customs agents.
The president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, says in an interview with our correspondent that nothing has been happening at the ports since the economy took a turn for the worse. He says, “As licensed customs agents, we depend on the importation of goods. This in turn translates into revenue for the Federal Government. So, when we don’t have any work to do, it means that we will suffer.
“We live by the grace of our importers who import cargo into the country. With the recent government policy on foreign exchange, people will not be able to import goods. And if there are no imports, we won’t have any work to do.”
Noting that even the Nigeria Ports Authority has recently admitted that it is losing about 40 percent revenue, Shittu adds, “The Nigeria Customs Service is losing revenue, too. If Customs cannot meet its target, it means that the volume of operations will come down. On the average, we have lost about 50 per cent revenue within this short period. In a nutshell, the current economic situation affects everybody and institution, including the Federal Government itself whose revenue has dropped significantly.”
A few weeks ago, it was rumoured that many licensed agents had left the ports for want of jobs to do. But he waves the rumour aside, saying, “It is the freight forwarders, who themselves are not licensed by Nigeria Customs Service, that are leaving the ports because NCS tightened up the interface between its officials and the general public.
“Many people in the ports today have no business being there. That is why you see them loiter around, sit down to eat peanuts and gossiping or reading newspapers. But a licensed Customs agent who needs to renew his licence will be conscious and maintain his client. It does not matter if the man is importing or not.”
He says that freight forwarders are compelled by the economic downturn to leave the ports to find other things to do.
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Source: Punch Newspaper
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