Olufunmi P E P E R E M P E

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with working or affiliating with the government. Take their money, defend them, sing their praises. That’s all within your prerogative. But when the government you’re choosing to affiliate with is responsible for mass hunger, pains and suffering then you’re very well in the wrong and there’s no amount of gaslighting and manipulation tactics you want to deploy, you simply cannot erase the realities of the people who have suffered at the hands of the reforms and “tough decisions” this government has made. I don’t think we truly realize that people can no longer afford to live. I’ll give you an example. My mechanic is at Obalende, Lagos Island. So whenever I go there, I like to eat street food. That tiny meat we used to decorate the top of our plate was once N20. Now it’s N200. A spoon of beans is now N500 and the cheapest amount of jollof rice you can buy is N500. Now I should be able to afford food and eat till I’m satisfied if the government is working, right? Sadly, that’s not the case. People now rationalize what they eat, when they eat. Balance diet is out the window, that means on an average, we are all unhealthy. Let’s do the maths. Jollof 2 spoons 1,000 Beans 2 spoons 1,000 1 egg is 250 2 beef is 400 Takeaway pack is 150 Bottled water 200 Before you submit your rebuttal, go to your kitchen and put 2 spoons of rice and beans in a plate and look at the quantity. If you don’t have rice at home, then why exactly would you want to attack this? Can’t you see the problem? It costs approximately N3,000 to feed. If you have to eat twice that’s N6,000. Multiply this by eating everyday in a month. That’s N90,000 for one person without any dependents. It now costs 90k to eat an unbalanced and unhealthy meal in a month. Minimum wage is 70,000 and this covers every aspect of life including feeding. The alternative is shortening your ration. I’m losing my mind as I’m typing this because this is actually unbelievable. Now, I’d spend more than 3k at Obalende because I’m able to afford it. But there are millions of Nigerians who can’t, who earn lower than the minimum wage. That means if they’re reading this, seeing someone spend 3k on a meal would be considered a waste because asides all the other things they need money for: transportation, bills, emergencies and other psychological needs, spending three thousand naira out of the money they’ve labored for to eat, is just ridiculous. This is the reality today. It is okay to defend this government, freedom of choice and expression, but asides from the mobilization fee you’ve gotten this period, Nigerians (including yourself) as a whole have not benefited from this government and there’s no logical reason why this government should return. So let me ask, why are you so invested in the success of a wealthy politician, as opposed to fighting for your rights and your own survival?