Nigeria, Hard Times And Cacophonous Tunes

By Abiodun KOMOLAFE

Fellow Nigerians, if reports emanating from the grapevine are anything to go by,then,interesting times beckon in 2022.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Nigerian government is expected to fully remove the “unsustainable and economically disingenuous” fuel and electricity subsidies next year. In simple terms, the dreaded full deregulation of the oil and power sectors will most likely take effect next year, to pave the way for “market-based”, “cost-reflective” pricing mechanisms.

However, government is said to be ‘forgivingly’ planning a“well-targeted” N5,000.00-a-month social intervention scheme to cushion the biting effects on about 40 million vulnerable Nigerians.’So far, so excruciating! But, from the look of things, it’s like Nigerians ain’t seen nothing yet,given the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the country. Why did I say so? Well, despitethe troubling status of Nigeria’s economy, with many Nigerians becoming dangerously poor – the poor remaining poor; or, getting poorer – it is important to note that a certain bloc in the Nigerian power elite still holds the notion that Nigeria’s economy has not only recovered from recession but also improving quite remarkably. Like children born into homes with certain privileges, KingHerod and Pontius Pilate became friends and the country is in turmoil.

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In the view of this privileged clique, statistical indices are all we need to proclaim a healthy economy. Hence, some of them are always quick to heap the blame of the food scarcity currently ravaging Africa’slargest economy on the doorstep of insecurity while the soaring prices of goods and services are blamed on the activities of smugglers. In a recent edition of ‘Axios’, an American news website, Felix Salmon and Hans Nicholsberated Joe Biden’s Administration’s use of positive economic indicators to demonstrate signs ofstrength in the American economy. Echoing the concerns of the broad population of ‘God’s owncountry’, “who are yet to be convinced”, Salmon and Nichols urged President Biden not “toworry about the economy” but “about what Americans think of the economy.” After all,“consumers don’t live by data points.”

Compendiously, people’s experiential knowledge of the reality and dynamics of the economy is what really counts.’Sociological imagination mimics reality and gives interpretive understanding of the norms and values of a given society or civilization. In the Southwest Nigeria, for example, there is a general belief, which is cosmic to the people. It is the belief in a better tomorrow. In the same vein, the society believes in communal togetherness; thus, has developed copious coping mechanisms that help to stabilize the society. Coincidentally, governments, over the years, have capitalized on thisbelief; and, have encouraged a laisser-faire attitude on the part of the government towards responsive, good, and accountable governance. To most public servants, the people will not revolt unless instigated by disgruntled elements in the society. This means, people should just bemuddling through without demanding accountability.When Fela Anikulapo sang that Nigerians were ‘suffering and smiling’, the late Afrobeats king sang like a man who saw tomorrow! Tragically, the society in which he lived had woven astigma of ‘unseriousness’ around him. Even, among the intelligentsia, Fela was seen as one unrepentant, recalcitrant, noisome pestilence, who was only out to rebel against the government.