The Rumuowha Gate Market women have cried out over the life-threatening high cost of living in Nigeria and have lamented over the continuous increase in goods as they go to buy from their various suppliers.
The Rumuowha Gate Market, located in Eneka community in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, spoke with a reporter for Golden Page Magazine concerning their plight over the outrageous cost of living in Nigeria.
As of the time of writing this report, a basin of Ikwerre Garri was sold for N12,000 instead of N10,000; an Ogoja bag of Garri was sold for N51,000, now N65,000; a bag of rice which was sold for N45,000 has been hiked to N80,000; a bag of cement that was sold for N6,500, now cost N12,000; and a liter of fuel, that was 280, is now 820.
According to the interview conducted with a few market women who spoke with a reporter for Golden Page Magazine, the current price of food commodities has been doubled.
Okeke disclosed to the Golden Page Reporter that the recent increase in commodities has caused her child to drop out of school because she could not afford the fees, following the low patronage of customers.
She therefore calls on the Federal Government, President Bola Tinubu, to help aggrieved sellers like her.
“Biko govt make una help us. Something too cost. We don suffer. Ikkewere Garri wey we dey buy N7000 – N8000. Ikkewere is now N12000 per basin. Make una help us make we see money train our children. We dey borrow money here and there because hungry dey oh, before we die finish.
“Transportation to go buy the Garri, no dey. Fuel don cost, something cost well well oh. we don die for hungry, make im help. I don tire to borrow money, something don cost.
“Make government put mouth for this matter now, make dey talk and help us, something too cost. I dey cry my pikin no fit go school make them help. No food to chop, make them help us bring price of fuel – make everything come down. We don weak here,” Ijeoma described.
Here is Adeago Michael, in her late 40s, another food seller in Rumuowha Gate Market, was seen seated in her shop, filled with emotions, lamenting over the current hardships faced by the present government of President Bola Tinubu in Nigeria.
While speaking to the Golden Page Reporter, she pleaded that the current government of President Tinubu look into the recent hike of food items because they are passing through hell. This is so her goods will be sold and have something to take home as profit.
“What we are buying, like this Egusi wey we dey buy for N4,000 before. Now it’s N6,000. Ikwerre Garri is now N12,000, people cannot afford it. We are selling custard N2,500, they cannot afford it.
“Now, the one they can eat like this Ogoja bag, the very day I bought it. It was N51,000. I went to buy it again, now it’s N65,000.
“How are we going to cope? We are dying, we are lamenting. Please, we are begging our government, we are begging our president, help us so that things will be well with us,” she lamented.
As a result of the economic challenges, meat is now sold at N2000 and above. He, however, called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to assist before citizens venture into armed robbery activities.
“We no no wetin government dey do. See goat wey we dey buy N17,000, now na N75,000, N70,000. Before you chop meat, you must buy meat N2,000, N3,000, no 500 naira meat for market, no 1,000 naira meat. Make government help us before everybody go become thief.
“To cook now no be small thing oh. To cook food now, if you no hold N10,000, N20,000, you no go cook food. Garri we no fit buy, tomatoes, Egusi for cup we no fit buy again, we know know wetin government dey do, na the one wey them promise us be this? Make them try help us before everybody go die finish.
A tomato seller, Tosin Femi, visibly seen carrying a 4-month-old baby on her back, shook her head in anger while clapping her hands together continuously as she explained that the current economic challenges faced by Nigerians, including her, are causing suffering and making people die.
“We’re hungry in this country. There’s no money to buy and sell as well as cook. Nigeria is hard. We can’t buy garri or rice, Tinubu should help us make things easy.
“We’re suffering and dying. I’m angry,” Femi explained.
Mrs. Ayi Fabian said, “The cost of living is high; we are dying; even if money is not in our hands, then things are adding up every day. Something you buy for 1000 has gone on to cost 3500; we don’t even have money to buy the things. Look at the rice. I bought rice. In January, we bought rice for 48,000; now it is N75,000. We don’t have what to give, and we don’t know what to do. We are really suffering; we need help.”
A catfish seller at the gate of the Rum market laments: “My sister the thing no easy, eh get as eh be, there is nothing we can do again that is why everybody is still coping like that. Who you go ask, who you go tell? Like what we are buying maybe N1,500, now it’s N3,500, not even N2,000, so it’s only God that can help us.
“This cat fish before we buy one-KG at N1,200, N1,300. It’s now N1,900 for one kilo. 900gram is now N1,750, N1,800.
“For transportation, that one na another wahala. Maybe where them go carry you N1,000, when driver see say you carry fish, they say madam na N3,000. If you don’t want to pay, you leave and no be all drivers dey carry fish, na very few persons.
“People are dying seriously, make government help us.”
Another fish vendor who sells ice and smoked fish is located inside the market. One could tell from the sound of her voice as she raised her voice in anger. She complained about the alarming rate of the cost of food items, urging that the government attend to the hike:
“My sister this market too cost. Fish wey I dey buy N20,000 before now na N60,000, N61,000, how we go take survive? Rice now na N80,000, how we go take train our children? It’s too much, make them help us make we no die here. Me I dey faint because I go born pikin I come dey regret, dey ask God why you give me pikin, person born pikin em go train em children. Make una reduce price make we see wetin we go chop, use train our children, make person no go thief.
“Any customer wey come, if I tell am the price, im go leave am commot. Im no go gree buy. My market go dey there dey spoil. My money no go complete, na so me I go dey borrow, borrow money, I don tire.
Transportation too much, from here-to-here N200, from the market to Oil Mill is N300. How we go do this ka thing?”
More so, Ngozi Emeka, a Boli Seller, speaks about the challenges she is facing; she says, “Concerning the way things are now is really terrible; things are very expensive, and our customers are complaining, not knowing that I am buying it too expensive. Like this plantain this morning, I was not happy. Even after pleading, this plantain is worth N18,000. Each bunch is N4,000 or N5,000; if you don’t like it, you go.
“We are not happy. Even this yam here is N3,500 if you buy from someone who will pity you and reduce the price.
“Transportation is another challenge; it’s too expensive. Before, we paid N100 from this OPM…, but now we are paying N200 and N250. It’s terrible; we are almost out of business. How much are we making a day? We are even struggling to recover our money, not even to make a profit; everybody is complaining.
“If we stop this business, hunger will kill us; the government should help us. Imagine that the charcoal I used to buy for N2,000 is now N7,000. Look at it here: one bag of N7,000. If it continues like this, what becomes our fate?”
The tricyclists, popularly known as Keke drivers, are not left out. Here is Emmanuel Famous, a Keke driver, spilling on how the increase in fuel has affected his business:
“Fuel dey dey hard for us to get, even some filing station if you go buy before you go come back them don close, you no go see them again, if you buy in the morning before you go back next three hours them don close.
“For here wey we dey now, them dey sale N800 one liter for this fueling station. Some fueling station dey sell at N810, N820.
“We never increase anything, as we dey carry before na so we dey carry but we dey buy the fuel costlier than wetin we dey buy am before but we never put money for the transportation.
“We dey beg government make them work our refinery, make them start work so that the cost of fuel go come down so that we poor people will not be suffering like this.
“Like this morning na Rumuokoro Road I go buy fuel, so make our government try build our refinery make them start work.”
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Another Keke driver told a reporter in Golden Page Magazine that he feels bad about the hike in fuel:
“I feel bad; it’s a surprising thing to me. Honestly, something that we produce in this country, we are still buying at a high cost; it’s not fair; it doesn’t allow things to move the way they’re supposed to move; even we, the drivers, are suffering to buy fuel, and they are charging us for each rubber that we buy, and the passengers are also complaining that we are charging too much and don’t want to understand our pain.
“We are the only unit that doesn’t add price to our transportation; others have added, but we are still carrying N100 along, and our end point is N200, but other units have added. We can’t stay in the house idle; it’s just for us to have something to eat.”
A passenger, named Ikechukwu Samuel claimed that while the price of petrol is increasing for everyone, “the most regrettable thing is that our salary seems the same.” It’s horrible, and we have no power.
