Who Is the Problem — The Government or the People?

Every day, life in Nigeria seems to get harder for the average person. Ever since the rise of the dollar against the naira, survival has become a daily struggle. The prices of food, transport, and even basic necessities have skyrocketed to the point where even the rich complain that their purchasing power has dropped. For the poor, it’s even worse, they live from hand to mouth, eating only when they earn.

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It’s becoming crazy because people now increase the price of things intentionally without any reason. Recently, there was a huge economy fight between some top companies on the country and in a blink of an eye, the price of gas skyrocketed. The sad thing about this whole situation is that, people who sell gas, immediately increase the price of the gas they already have in their station which they bought at the normal price when they sell per KG for 900 naira. Due to this news, the price of gas went from 900 naira to 1800 naira in a day.

At first, I believe the reason why the price of commodities and goods increase was because of the devaluation of naira but now go to any market today, and you’ll hear the same complaint: “Dollar price don go up, naira don fall.” That’s the excuse many sellers give to justify the high cost of goods and services. But recently, things have started to change. The value of the naira has been rising, while the dollar has slightly dropped. Yet, the prices in the market remain the same, or even higher.

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It makes you wonder, who is really the problem?

The government, no doubt, has its fair share of blame. Corruption, mismanagement, and poor policies have crippled the economy for years. But even in moments when the government tries to stabilize the currency or ease the economic pressure, the people themselves seem unwilling to play their part. Many market people and service providers refuse to reduce prices, not because the cost of importation remains high, but because they’ve gotten used to making higher profits, even if it means their fellow Nigerians suffer. This is just crazy and unfair to ourselves.

This mindset has spread across different sectors, from transporters whose price changes when rain falls, fuel price increases or when there is traffic, to landlords who keep increasing rent, to vendors who blame the economy even when things slightly improve. The truth is, we have become our own problem. Everyone wants to gain, even if it means another person has to suffer. That’s the problem we are battling at the grass root.

So maybe the question isn’t just “Who is the problem the government or the people?” Maybe it’s “When will we stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution?” Because until we change our mindset as citizens, no government policy will ever truly fix this country.

Thanks for reading. My name is Fashtioluwa.

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