Left with their farms, petty trading, craft making and other menial jobs, many Nigerian rural dwellers have little opportunities to better their lives.
Today, they face the same harsh economic realities with folks in the cities, where opportunities abound, a human rights group observed.
“I live in Ogidi-Ijumu in Kogi State, I buy fuel at N1,400 per litre, cement that is produced in nearby Obajana is more expensive here, even our garri is out of reach because food merchants from cities, who buy in bulk, pay more. Virtually, everything vendors bring here are almost twice the price in the city markets. Life is harsher in rural areas now unlike before,” Jolomi Okun, a primary school teacher and a rural dweller, decried.
With the heavily polluted waters, creeks destroyed by militancy activities, little farmlands rendered infertile by oil spillage, rural dwellers in Sagbama in Bayelsa, and other coastal towns in the Niger Delta region, are finding it difficult to earn a living.
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“I cannot fish again because pollution has killed the fishes, I pay same amount to buy airtime and data for my calls and social media, one sachet of pure water is N50 because of our salt water, bread and meat are luxury here. So, we are barely living here despite our rich crude oil resources,” Hopeful Berekemo, a commercial boat driver in Sagbama said.
He decried the decline in business as many rural dwellers cannot afford the high cost of water transportation in the area, which is surrounded by water.
“You are talking of fuel, diesel is more expensive here and that is what powers our boat engines. We buy at N1,600 per litre and sometimes N2000. No distance on water is short or cheap again. But there is no money here, people are just managing,” Berekemo lamented.
He argued that those in the cities can afford to trek if they cannot afford the hike in transport fares, but riverine dwellers must use boat because nobody can swim the many rivers and seas around to run his/her daily business.
“Life is no longer sweet in rural areas because we depend on supplies from the cities, while the little we have are often taken to the cities because of the huge financial gains from doing so,” the boat driver decried further.
Considering the high cost of living, coupled with the worsening insecurity, Moving Minds, a humanitarian organisation, revealed that many rural dwellers are moving to urban areas, especially in the North-East and North-Central states of Nigeria.
According to the organisation, in the past, the rate of rural-urban migration has been more in the South-East and South-West regions, but the north is taking over because people are relocating to safe areas and are also looking for opportunities to sustain a living too after losing loved ones, properties and means of livelihood to terrorist attacks.
According to Mathew Alabi, an Economist and university don, rural dwellers are the most impacted in the current economic challenges in the country.
“I am from there and I feel their pains. They face unique challenges from limited job opportunities to poor infrastructure and limited access to social services. These are also in addition to the higher costs they have to pay for goods and services.
They buy fuel higher, grocery higher, even recharge card higher. I paid N320 for N10,000 for POS in my village Ushi, in Ekiti State, in August. Imagine how the rest of the rural dwellers survive. It is harsher out there,” Alabi decried.
Chiamaka, a middle-aged mother of two based in Anambra State, told BDSunday that her family has been struggling to earn a living, since relocating from Port Harcourt.
“We are in the village now, but things were not as hard as they are now. It is really tough here, even tougher than in the cities,” she lamented.
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She also regretted that the farms where rural dwellers usually engage for food and sustenance are depleting in size due to growing housing needs.
Again, she argued that people in the urban areas seem to enjoy some level of price stability compared to rural dwellers.
“Before I relocated from Port Harcourt to the village, we were buying a bottle of palm oil for N1, 200. But when I got to the village, I realised that it is about N1, 500.
“Now, it goes for over N2, 000. A paint of garri in Port Harcourt is about N2, 800 and about N3,000 in my village, which shouldn’t be,” she said.
Victoria, a mother of four, who recently relocated from Lagos to her village in Imo State, in anticipation of her husband’s retirement in 2019, narrated her ordeal to BDSunday, that life has not been the same since returning to the village.
“It has been a big struggle to eat and meet other basic needs here in the village. Unlike before, the village is no longer a safe haven for those who cannot afford life in the cities. Please stay back,” she admonished.
But as the economic hardship bites hard, many rural dwellers have resolved to fate. “Where do we run to? Nowhere. We keep on surviving now. At least you see old women going to farms to fetch firewood and sell for survival. People manage whatever they harvest from the farms and vegetables from their gardens,” she concluded.
For Igwe Nzekwe, chairman, Delta State Forum of Kingdoms and Clans/Communities President-Generals, said life is harsher for many rural dwellers due to the dwindling opportunities they have.
According to him, subsistence farming is not helping again as food merchants from the cities buy up farm produce from local farmers at higher rates, leaving the community with little to feed on.
Improving infrastructure, opening accessible roads, offering farmers grants and inputs, establishing discounted stores, siting industries closer to them, are among suggestions by Nzekwe to alleviate the sufferings of rural dwellers in face of the economic hardship.
Experts have observed that fuel, food and utilities are more expensive in rural areas due to higher transportation costs. There are also scarce employment options and low wages, as many businesses are not willing to open shops in some of these rural communities because of the low purchasing power of the dwellers.
Also, inadequate transportation, healthcare, and education have forced many of the rural dwellers to seek healthcare, childcare, and social support from the city centres that are usually hard-to-reach and faraway.
While rural communities struggle to access basic needs with limited resources, schools and other facilities that should have supported their livelihood are underfunded by the government.
According to the World Bank, about 25 percent of rural households live below the poverty line while about 40 percent of rural residents lack access to healthcare based on the WHO data.
Similarly, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) data shows that about 60 percent of rural youth migrate to urban areas for better opportunities.
According to analysts, the cost-of-living crisis has disproportionately affected rural dwellers, exacerbating existing challenges.
While it is certain that urgent action is needed from the government to address the harsh realities faced by rural communities; analysts have also urged Nigerians to be more proactive and innovative to cope with the current realities.
They also urged the government both at the federal and state level to create and invest more in initiatives aimed at alleviating the current crisis.
It is believed that targeted support for low-income families through subsidies and assistance will go a long way in alleviating challenges faced by these classes of Nigerians.
Similarly, advocacy and policy reforms seen at pushing for rural-friendly policies coupled with more investment in infrastructure and job creation are considered as some of the critical measures to be taken by the government.
With the persistent cost-of-living crisis, these rural dwellers, who have many untold stories, have resigned to their fate as the government, especially local governments, which is the closest to them, do little or nothing to alleviate their plight.
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