What are at Stake for Young People as Inflation becomes the order of the day

The continuous rise in prices of various products have put Nigerians out of reach with basic necessities of life. This inflation has cut across all kinds of products in the country; fuel hike, rise in food stuff, high cost of transportation. Feeding has become a big problem in the country, many are struggling to eat not to talk about proper meal, this is proportionate to the recent remark of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio that Nigerians should take advantage of free foods whenever the opportunity is presented. Such statement can trigger reactions from both sides of a coin, whether he is making mockery of suffering Nigerians as politicians are known to live in affluence in Nigeria, or whether he is sympathetic of the economic situation, either ways Nigerians won’t be happy with the statement as they perceived the government which he is part of as mastermind of the hardship.

It has become almost impossible for aspiring or new businesses to survive in Nigeria due to inflation, the current economic realities and continuous rise in products are knocking prospective entrepreneurs out of their perch. For young Nigerians, it has become a serious riddle in navigating how they tend to escape such debacle of an economy. And the options are not numerous, young people are selling family property, ancestral land and taking loans to relocate in foreign countries to fight for greener pastures, they want to be able to take care of their families against all odds, and the economic atmosphere is largely unfavourable, despite alleged economic reforms, yet there are little or nothing to show as hardship bites harder.

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The odds that are stake for young people have changed over time, and it is taking negative toll in the future of the country, as inflation takes the order of the day, young Nigerians have switched to survival mode, it is not about how passionate they are about their dreams or positive impacts they can make in the world through promoting hardwork, sustainable leadership and good governance. Above all they want to be able to put food on their table and take care of basic needs, it becomes dangerous when young people are pushed indirectly in a very negative way through economic and political policies to the extent that they become desperate to whatever they can do for survival and earn a living, the odds are stacked against young Nigerians, especially those coming from humble background.

The effect of continuous rise in almost all the products and young Nigerians cannot afford to feed their families, and young people aspiring to start families are getting overly saturated with what it takes to start families and the financial burden that comes with it. The idea of starting families are slowly sliding away from list of young Nigerians, as they are struggling to feed themselves and find their feet, not to couple with audacious responsibility of taking care of family. Young Nigerians are vocal about the current economic realities, they have demonstrated it through protests, showing dissatisfaction of policies and how the country is run, and the need for system overhaul and attitudinal change for progressive country, yet no step has been taken in that direction.

Nigerians will strongly disagree with Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank, Indermit Gill, as he expressed strong support for CBN, Governor, Olayemi Cardoso. The recent economic policies Nigerians groan about the woes it has brought to livelihood and has inspired unending inflation across all products and heavily on household products. He has recognised the hardship caused by the policies and also acknowledged that it is needed change that needs to be made drawing contrast with Poland, Norway and Korea, in his words “I don’t know if you agree with me or not, but if the reforms are sustained, they will significantly benefit the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa. Implementing such changes is challenging, but the rewards are substantial, as demonstrated by lessons from the last 40 years and by countries like Norway, Poland, and Korea.”