So I shook off the illness I've been plagued by for the past two weeks and went to the market yesterday. A man's gotta eat, but in these desires to survive by feeding, I've seen people who have reduced their food intake, not because they cannot afford a decent meal but because accessibility to physical purchasing power has greatly reduced, and owning or having cash, now comes at a very great cost. I've been cashless for seven days now, (the longest I've ever gone in my entire life) and after these seven days.
I've discovered that one's ability to survive is greatly tested by lack and limitations, and even people who have been previously exposed to plenty will find ways to deal with scarcity because I believe man attains his innovative best when his survival is threatened.
So throughout these seven days, I've been feeding on scraps at home and trying to avoid financial commitments that would require physical cash to handle. I believe such an irony is queer. Looking at one's bank account, the figures on the screen signal evidence of ownership, but converting these figures into physical cash to run your life becomes virtually impossible.
In reality, money in the bank only gives mental assurance, in unlikely situations where a bank goes bankrupt and people experience withdrawal restrictions, this is when they'll understand that the only way to truly own your money is to own it.
The Nigerian government is currently proving to its citizens that they do not own anything unless they (the government) will it. All over the internet, videos of people scaling bank fences, putting their lives in danger to access their hard-earned money is proof that this nation has capitulated. If the monetary system of a state fails, it only signals chaos, but, surprisingly, the government would allow her policies to affect financial sectors that are supposed to enjoy independence and be free from external control.
When I was at the market yesterday, people purchased 1000 with 300 naira, which means a person who is trying to buy 10k will pay 300x10 which is 3k.
In real-time, 3k is now meant to be disposable, meanwhile, in real-time, you work hard to earn it, only to use it to buy 10k, which means you're incurring loss on money withdrawn, while also incurring loss through inflation. Every Nigerian is currently playing a losing game, no matter how smart and innovative they are. This means for every time you're trying to find ways to beat the cheating system, you're going to be incurring incalculable losses in places you don't even fathom.
I haven't felt so poor in a long time, the mental limitations that come with knowing that you have to fight to have access to money are cumbersome.
When I was heavily sick, sometime last week, I couldn't buy some decent medication, because cash is difficult to get an online bank transfer shut down. The most surprising thing is that a lot of Nigerians are used to suffering and hardship, they do not think it's a situation that's evitable. Why? People are constantly making mistakes.... Sentimental mistakes prevent them from making realistic choices that might herald a workable system.
A lot of people believe that Nigeria is doomed to fail irrespective of the choices they make, while this is untrue, the elites and the ruling class have created an illusion, that Nigeria is already dead, and people shouldn't think of creating a revolution that would abort the cohesive governance methodology of the old guards.
It's all mind games.
To be able to control people, the elites have realized that meandering people from what matters more is how to do it. The average Nigerian is hardly calculative, we pay attention to the things that are trending, rather than building slow momentum that can create a force of change.
In reality, the Nigerian government is not primarily the problem of Nigeria. Nigerians are the problem of Nigeria. People are educated, exposed, and informed, but they still allow things like religious and tribal sentiments to influence their choices.
When the ones who have finally snapped out of this zombic mentality, this is when the elites/ruling class, resorts to using scarcity and poverty to further control and enslave people. Tomorrow is a big day in Nigeria, another opportunity to abolish the old guards and install something different, but even in the state of perpetual suffering, some people are still rooting for the old guards, when the echoes of their travails should remind them that they need to take back the country for the sake of the children who might grow up to become tech and crypto enthusiasts.
Nigeria is currently not tech and crypto-friendly, and these two are the biggest innovations that are currently bringing opportunities.
The current old guard has outrightly banned the latter (Crypto) while everyone who is trying to indulge in the former (tech) is limited in resources and Opportunities and is currently being touted as criminals, haunted by corrupt law enforcement agencies. Not everyone can afford to run away from the dilapidated nature of the country, the cost of permanently relocating to the UK cannot be afforded by 70% of Nigerians.
The only choice is to currently fix the country, but I have a premonition that if people make another call tomorrow, then it'll be difficult to liberate Nigeria forever, because of the inability of people to snap out of the charade of control.
Interested in some more of my works?
