This is the concluding part of this contribution which was first published, Friday

By Our Reporters

PRIVATE schools introduce incentives Some private institutions have introduced discount and some incentives to keep their students. A check in some private schools showed that their managements have introduced discount for prompt payment of school fees as well as introduction of payment in instalments.

Cost of rice, others: Mrs. Agelina Obe, a rice retailer at Ikotun Market in Alimosho Local Government Area, LGA, said: “Before, we sold a bag of rice at N9, 000, but now we sell between N16, 000 and N18,000 depending on the type of rice.

Before, in a week, we made more money, but now we rarely make 50 percent of what we used to make. One of the reasons for the high cost is the Federal Government ban on importation of rice as well as the falling value of our Naira against the dollar. The price of palm oil is also not spared. A five litre keg of palm oil now sells for N2, 300 as against N1, 200. Mrs. Nimota Aina, a trader at Egbeda Market, said: “Before, palm oil was N1, 200 for a five litre keg but now the least you can get it to buy is N2,300.

Economic situation

The poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer. We want this government which has promised us heaven on earth to deliver their promises without further delay. People are really suffering the crunch.”

House rents too: Landlords have taken advantage of the economic situation in the country to increase house rents by over 100 percent. A check in places like Egbeda and environs in Lagos, which many people regarded as safe-havens because of the low cost of accommodation, showed that rents are on the increase in the area. A two bedroom apartment which used to be N150, 000 has risen to between N250, 000 and N300,000, while a three bedroom apartment goes for between N400, 000 and N500, 000.

Prices of commodities increase in the FCT: In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, residents are not spared of the pangs of the conomic downturn. A survey of markets like Gosa, Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, Chikara, Utako, Garki Model Market and Dutse Ultra Modern Market among others revealed that there is increment of about 40 per cent on the prices of food items and other commodities.

At Chikara where before now, there used to be traffic congestion, weekends, because of the purchase of brown beans, white beans, yams and onions among others, has seen traffic reduced tremendously as one can hardly see more than three vehicles parked at the same time. This also applies to Jiri junction that leads to Edo, Delta, Ondo, Lagos, Osun and other parts of the country.

A trader at Chikara, Mary Amos, disclosed that the recession was really affecting them as a mudu of brown beans that used to sell for N1,000 now goes for N1,200. According to her, a bag of beans which they used to buy at N17,000 is now N27,000. At Gosa market, a woman who simply gave her name as Bridget said in 2015, a bag of rice went for between N8,000 and N9,000, it has now risen to N23,000, while a keg of four litres of Turkey oil, which was N1,200 is now N2,400.

She said that four litres of palm oil she used to buy at N1,200 is now N2,300; a kilo of meat which was N800 is now N1,500; a carton of Titus fish, which was sold for N8,500 is now N19,000. ‘This is the first time in my life that I would buy a ‘derica’ (unit of measurement) cup of rice for N230. During the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a ‘Derica’ cup of rice was only N150. For how long will the price of rice continue to rise?

Soaring prices of goods

The way things are going, we may get to the market one day and find that the same ‘derica’ cup of rice is now sold for N300. If everyone is blaming the soaring prices of goods and commodities on the high value of the dollar against the naira, does this mean that the government has no solution to the problem?’’

Hardship takes on Adamawa residents: As prices of food items continue to sky-rocket, many people in Adamawa especially the ordinary people can no longer afford three meals a day. Prices of food items, especially the staple ones like rice, maize, beans and yams among others have gone up by nearly 200 per cent. For instance, a bag of rice, maize and beans, which hitherto sold for N12,000, N5,000 and N8,000 now sell for N22, 000, N18,000 and N20,000 respectively depending on availability in the market. The development has now forced many people to limit their meals to two per day, even as many others cannot afford the two as they make do with anything they have. The situation has increased hunger induced crimes like petty stealing and pick pocketing.

Parents worse off in Anambra: A popular Igbo adage says once there is change in the sound of drum, the dancer equally changes his dancing steps. That is what obtains among all classes of people in Nnewi and Onitsha the industrial and commercial cities of Anamnbra State. People are now ‘rearranging’ their spending pattern to suit the reality of the time. Families and people have reviewed their spendings downward. The hardest hit are parents. Prices of various food items have gone up. Now, what people call tin paint of garri, rice and beans cost between N350, N1250 and N900 but today the prices go for between N700, N,2000 and N1300 respectively and families, who used to buy them in bags or large quantities now buy in cups. A bag of rice costs N22,000 in Onitsha and Nnewi.

The astronomical increase in prices of these food items have compounded the problem of parents in taking care of other family bills, like house rent, school fees and transportation. Thousands of parents in Nnewi and Onitsha have withdrawn their children from private schools and enrolled them in public schools due to the difficulties in meeting up with the high cost of school fees, text books, exercise books, uniform and other charges they have to settle in private schools. The economic situation has led to loss of jobs. Thousands of people have lost their jobs in Nnewi and Onitsha where the industries located in Nnewi and Onitsha particularly at Harbour Industrial layout Atani Road in Onitsha where most of the big industries are located.

In Osakwe Industrial cluster, president general of small scale industries, Mr. Johnson Okolo told Vanguard that following the epileptic power supply many small scale industrialists are folding up their businesses because they cannot afford to produce under high cost of diesel. He said those that have an average of 10 regular and causal workers have sacked half of them, adding that before there were about 15,000 people working in the cluster as owners of companies and workers but there are not up to 5,000 people remaining there, which means about 10,000 people have lost their jobs.

The experience in Nasarawa: In Nasarawa, a level-8 worker in the Federal Ministry of Justice who had dreamt of giving his children quality education, had to withdraw his seven children from private schools and enroll them in public schools. The move was hastened by the non-payment of his gratuity since his retirement last November. He said, ”since I retired in November, last year, I have not been paid gratuity and the little pension coming to me is not much to sustain the family.

I had planned the best for them in terms of education but given this new situation occasioned by the ongoing recession, I can no longer cope with their sponsorship in their various schools. The prices of things in the market have risen very high in the last five months that I barely can meet the family’s needs like before. I can tell you without mincing words that sometimes, we go on two square meals against three or more which we were taking before.”

Mrs. Ibenre Adie, a 37-year old mother of four, who struggles as a single parent to train her children through petty trading, having lost her husband three years ago, has withdrawn her four children from the private schools they were attending. “I was paying N30,000 each for the two in secondary school and N18,000 for the ones in primary schools but I can no longer sustain that and have withdrawn them to public schools. My husband died five years ago leaving me with the children and since my business was doing well, I continued the sponsorship of the children where he left them for me.

Private schools

The two elder ones are in SS2 and SS1 while the two younger ones are in JSS3 and JSS1 but because the weight is so much on me following the low patronage in my business, I cannot continue to train them in private schools any more. That was why I withdrew them not minding that the first one is to sit for his senior secondary examination next year,” she said.

Also, a civil servant with the Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, Mrs Mary Adiri, whose husband works with a federal ministry said the hardship forced their 18-year old Law undergraduate student of the University of Calabar to spend almost three weeks at home after resumption for first semester as they could not raise even her fare to go back. “Our second child, Favour, who was in SS1 in a private boarding school has been withdrawn to a public school near our house here at Ado, in Karu Local Government of Nasarawa State where we live.

The Nasarawa State Government where I work has been consistently cutting our salaries as workers and the little left for us can no longer buy reasonable food items in the house talk less of training children in private schools. So we had no alternative than to withdraw them to public schools, “she said.

Her husband, Mr Adiri, said his salary has not been coming as at when due. ”Considering the high cost of everything in the market, we can no longer continue with their education in private schools where they have been all the years. My wife’s salary is nothing to write home about.”