From Tom Garba, Yola
As the dollar continues to pummel the naira at the parallel market, scores of people living in Adamawa have shifted the blames to both the previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan government and current Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying both were insensitive to the pleas of the people whose take home pay is nothing to write home about.
In Jimeta and Yola towns of Adamawa state The Dream Daily listened to tales of woes told by residents over the matter.
A kolanut vendor, Mallam Abubakar Aliyu, who was seen hawking an almost empty tray of the Kolanut lamented that “government is not even ready to address the issues that concern any “Talakawa (the common people). It is only when the economy is favourable to all low income earners with a very good policy on the prices control of all consumables goods and products in the country that we can be boast of eating three square meals in a day.”
According to him the economy mishaps had inflicted untold hardships on him and many less-privileged people living in the country. He laments that his seven children who are all dependents have resorted to begging in the streets of Jimeta and Yola.
“I and my entire household have virtually became baggers. Imagine me that I have a business with a capital of N30,000 now my capital is not up to N2,500. Worse of it is that the patronage is very poor,” he said
He lamented that “the appreciation of the dollars over the naira is virtually affecting every bit of the economy as there has been 100 per cent rises of prices of almost every commodity.”
A popularly Food vendor in Jimeta roundabout, Maman Ali, complain of poor patronage since this year.
Maman Ali, who managed to communicate in pidgin English, said the economy has badly affected her customers, including government officials, bankers and businessmen: “As you can see you met me sitting down less busy, if it were before this place is used to be crowded and as noisy as a market. Nobody is coming around, and if you ask everybody tells me it’s dollar that’s beating naira”.
“I think the government should do something fast, otherwise there will be more crisis in the economy. Imagine you have a family and they all depend on you for a living and you are not forthcoming in taking care of them, you may be tempted to go and steal or do something strange to survive”. Maman Ali said
Mr Joshua Tambo, a fisherman on River Gongola equally complained about commodities price hike in the market without a corresponding increase in personal income, most especially of people like himself.
Joshua said when the economy was good he could make N50,000 in a month, but now he only fished for storage purposes as “nobody will buy, even if they come to buy they bargain the price cheaply.”
Joshua blame the government “for being indifferent and insensitive to our plight and allowing the problem to linger up to this time.”
A tricycle commercialist, Ibrahim Ahmadu, narrowed down his worries to the fall of crude oil and “I wish the government will device other means of balancing up the huge gap created by the fall of oil price.”
He said he because of the harsh economy he hardly made “N500 in a day, which is not enough to take care of my wife and three children.”
Ibrahim said if the government did not do the needful now “sooner or later naira will just become tissue paper.”
Leave a Reply