• Main News
  • About Us
  • Contact
Premium Times Opinion
Sunday, May 22, 2022
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight
No Result
View All Result
Premium Times Opinion
Home Columns

Learning To Live With Poverty, By Uddin Ifeanyi

by Premium Times
December 21, 2020
4 min read
0
Picture credit: Kachxtra.com

Anyhow you look at it, poverty (for that’s its name) now roams the streets of Lagos with careless abandon. Officialdom may continue to excite itself by how lofty the intents of its programmes are. But the outcomes are far from re-assuring anymore. The streets no longer feel safe, especially in daylight.


On the streets, you bump into it regularly. Not too long ago, it masqueraded as a beggar ― importuning, and stuck on you like a shadow (lengthening if you felt any empathy, and abrupt if you didn’t) as you meandered your way through bothersome traffic. Then, it morphed into agile young things, trays of bric-a-brac on their heads, accelerating and screeching to a halt in ugly symphony with the best of the vehicles in traffic. This iteration was focussed on one thing, and one thing alone ― selling a unit of whatever it is it purveyed.

Ever wondered what the country’s outlook at the Olympics would have been were these youthful types better educated, trained, fed, and outfitted? I have. As indeed I have remained baffled by the economics of it all. A back-of-the-envelope estimate of the total cost of the tray on each street hawker’s head never ever yields much of value. And this is before you factor in the wear and tear from exposure to often inclement weather conditions, the sheer health expense of the episodic 100-metre dashes, the fact that, invariably, the contents of the tray are obtained on credit every morning, and the ground rent that each vendor pays daily to “those who own the earth”.

Today, its habiliment is different, once again. Neither mendicant nor merchant, it is now a lot younger than the earlier cohorts. He (nearly always male) hugs your side mirror ― the one by the median barrier ― melodramatically pointing incessantly at his mouth as if suffering from a mild case of Tourette’s syndrome. Until recently, I would have attributed the emptiness in his eyes to the use of narcotics. But, today, there’s a difference from meeting him eyeball-to-eyeball. Whereas before, there was diffidence and deference, in its place, now, is an unspoken indictment, at once cathartic and minatory. After the first glance, you struggle not to catch his eyes as you rapidly decide whether giving him money is such a good idea. There’s that part of his stare that a good meal could fix. But you also fear that there’s the other part that a bulging wallet could incense. Any which way, you only feel safer when traffic begins to move and you can put considerable distance between you and him.

…in truth, there goeth the consequence of our collective failures. (And God may not have much to do with this). A failure that’s compounded by my occasional refusal to part with a dime. How do I explain this act of wickedness to myself?


Anyhow you look at it, poverty (for that’s its name) now roams the streets of Lagos with careless abandon. Officialdom may continue to excite itself by how lofty the intents of its programmes are. But the outcomes are far from re-assuring anymore. The streets no longer feel safe, especially in daylight.

And so I avoid downmarket experiences. I now shop for my groceries in fancy outlets located in equally fancy malls. Parked cars are safe, for starters. Poor odds of returning to a “danfo”, “okada”, or keke Napep” driver’s poor ministrations leading to re-doing of your car’s bodywork or altering the complexion of the paintwork. Besides, the ambience in the bigger shops ― air-conditioning, etc. ― makes for a better overall shopping experience.

That is until our new reality inveigled its way into those places, too. Better accoutred and pleasantly spoken than the cohorts on the streets, this version of want is far more troubling. If, given how badly-run our economy is, I am one unpleasant experience (ailment, job loss, etc.) away from extreme want, then each time I look into those eyes, I see myself. The counter-glare never offers a reproach. Not at all. Instead, it holds a disquieting promise of things to come. I turn my back after each encounter, muttering, sotto voce, “There goeth I, but for the grace of God”. But long before I’m done uttering these words, the sheer meaninglessness of the very idea hits me.

A decade ago, a not too dissimilar anger led Mohammed Bouazzizi to douse himself in lighter fluid and self-immolate. The rest is history. Fortunately, we still have the chance (and hopefully, just enough time) to write a more salutary future for this country.


For, in truth, there goeth the consequence of our collective failures. (And God may not have much to do with this). A failure that’s compounded by my occasional refusal to part with a dime. How do I explain this act of wickedness to myself? Twenty years ago, a friend invited us to convert N5,000 into N50 notes and to hand one over each time a beggar approached us. It was impractical. It was unsustainable. Charity can’t patch the hole in our social and economic fabric. Nor can any one person give enough without blowing a huge hole in his/her income-welfare continuum. And yet we have to give. But it is possible also, for the sufficiently desperate, wily, and slatternly to create a list of 50 friends, and monthly send out an SOS to them. All that’s required is for any ten of them to part with N20,000 every month, and one is in business.

Unsure, then, what is legit and what is scam, charity suffers. And in some scorned heart, in some forlorn place, anger builds up ― even as the pangs of hunger never cease to rumble. A decade ago, a not too dissimilar anger led Mohammed Bouazzizi to douse himself in lighter fluid and self-immolate. The rest is history. Fortunately, we still have the chance (and hopefully, just enough time) to write a more salutary future for this country.

Uddin Ifeanyi, journalist manqué and retired civil servant, can be reached @IfeanyiUddin.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Previous Post

Sam: The Stone the Builders Polished, By Wole Olaoye

Next Post

The Perfect Christmas Present for Nigerians, By Ebere Onwudiwe

Related Posts

Trust and Confidence Building As Conditions of Good Governance, By Uddin Ifeanyi
Columns

The Policy Implications of 2021’s Low Growth Projections, By Uddin Ifeanyi

February 1, 2021
Akinwunmi Adesina: Africa’s Spotless Son, By Wole Olaoye
Columns

Iron Woman of Berlin, By Wole Olaoye

January 31, 2021
Rethinking Heroism and the Nigerian Civil Service, By Festus Adedayo
Columns

Aliko Dangote’s Costly Mess of the Libido, By Festus Adedayo

January 31, 2021
Why Lai Mohammed Must Be Fired Immediately, By Femi Aribisala
Article of Faith

Is God Invisible?, By Femi Aribisala

January 31, 2021
Religion As Africa’s Trojan Horse, By Osmund Agbo
Columns

South-East Governors: Preparing For a Post-oil and Restructured Nigeria, By Osmund Agbo

January 30, 2021
People Deserve The Coach They Hire, By Owei Lakemfa
Columns

Again, Entombed Humans Triumph Over Death, By Owei Lakemfa

January 30, 2021
Next Post
Nigeria: Facing Down Our Demons, By Ebere Onwudiwe

The Perfect Christmas Present for Nigerians, By Ebere Onwudiwe

#EndSARS and the Rise of A New Nigeria, By Dakuku Peterside

Leadership and the Burden of Insecurity, By Dakuku Peterside

Editorial

  • EDITORIAL: The Urgency of Tackling Nigeria’s Second Wave of COVID-19

    EDITORIAL: The Urgency of Tackling Nigeria’s Second Wave of COVID-19

  • EDITORIAL: Unearthing the Cogent Lessons In the NESG-CBN Economic Policy Imbroglio

    EDITORIAL: Unearthing the Cogent Lessons In the NESG-CBN Economic Policy Imbroglio

  • EDITORIAL: COVID-19: Calling On Nigeria’s Billionaires and Religious Leaders To Step Up

    EDITORIAL: COVID-19: Calling On Nigeria’s Billionaires and Religious Leaders To Step Up

  • EDITORIAL: Bichi Must Go; Buhari Must Halt Slide Into Despotism

    EDITORIAL: Bichi Must Go; Buhari Must Halt Slide Into Despotism

  • EDITORIAL: The Flaws In Governor Emefiele’s Five-Year Plan For Central Bank of Nigeria

    EDITORIAL: The Flaws In Governor Emefiele’s Five-Year Plan For Central Bank of Nigeria

Subscribe to our Opinion articles via email

Enter your email address to get notifications of new opinion articles as they are published.

Join 526,538 other subscribers

Most Popular

  • The Bad Consequences and Dangers of Adultery and Fornication (Zina) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    The Bad Consequences and Dangers of Adultery and Fornication (Zina) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • World Teachers Day and The Position of Teachers In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    World Teachers Day and The Position of Teachers In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • Islam and the Conditions For Marrying More Than One Wife, By Murtadha Gusau
    Islam and the Conditions For Marrying More Than One Wife, By Murtadha Gusau
  • The Qualities of a Good Leader In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    The Qualities of a Good Leader In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • Olabisi Ajala, the Traveller: Of Fame and Penury, By Femi Kehinde
    Olabisi Ajala, the Traveller: Of Fame and Penury, By Femi Kehinde
  • You Will Be Held Responsible On What Happened To Your Children!, By Murtadha Gusau
    You Will Be Held Responsible On What Happened To Your Children!, By Murtadha Gusau
  • Slaughtering Animal for the New Born Baby (Al-Aqiqah) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    Slaughtering Animal for the New Born Baby (Al-Aqiqah) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Podcasts

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

  • Main News
  • About Us
  • Contact

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.