Back to school: Women, children struggle for food, transportation

As schools resume nationwide, many families have been lamenting how they would survive with the economic realities.

From the East to the West, North to South, no home is left without feeling a bit of the situation in Nigeria.

For Bisi, a single mother of three took her children to one of the private schools on Monday, September 9, 2024, to resume after the summer holidays. Her hope was to pay her children’s school fees and buy books. Little did she know that her expectation would be a mirage

She could not pay either her children’s school fees or buy their books because the money she was supposed to pay had increased.

Instead of the former total sum of ninety-eight thousand naira, N98,000.00 for her three children, the school management told her that she would pay the total sum of one hundred and fifty thousand six hundred naira, N150,600.00, only.

Her children, who would be resuming into JSS 2, Basic 5 and 2 respectively according to Bisi would not be able to go back to private school. Rather, they would be withdrawn and moved to a Lagos State public school in the neighbourhood.

Bisi told Vanguard she has been taking care of her children’s educational needs since their father died. “It was a struggle to pay their school fees but this time, I think, it is best if I take them to public school. Even if I would pay anything at all, it would not be more than transfer charges.

“I am a trader and I am still struggling to pay for house accommodation. My house rent will be due in one month. I cannot add this school fees problem to the challenge on ground. I do not want to die young. Many families are passing through the toughest challenges of their lives with this economic crisis. I do not want to commit suicide. My business is not moving. People are not patronizing me as they used to. So, there is no business. The situation is tensed”, Bisi laments.

Another woman, Bella Akhagha, CEO, Maternal and Child Health Foundation, said with this economic crisis, many families would be forced to withdraw their children to public schools.

“Unfortunately, some of the public schools, especially the federal secondary schools and universities are not affordable any longer. Many families are lamenting because of the fuel prices. Some whose children are going back to school as boarders in some federal schools are withdrawing their wards to state public schools. Transportation has skyrocketed, cost of living is high, and foodstuff is on the rise. Yet, the school fee is added to the problem of most Nigerians. This is very sad.

“The fuel I bought this morning was N1200 per litre. How do you explain this hardship? This is outrageous and it will worsen the cost of living. For some of us who are living in the Ojo area of Lagos, it has been hell since the fuel crisis began and now that the NNPCL has officially announced the new price, it will worsen the livelihood of people.

“My Accountant came to the office today and told me that she spent N500 instead of N200 today, so she indirectly told me that I need to increase her salary. She lamented that she has nothing else to fall back on. Her husband has been sacked from work because the company can no longer retain some of the workers. They cannot pay salaries.

“She told me her only backup plan is the Accounting job she is doing. Her children cannot continue unless they go to public school. This is the height of frustration and agony on Nigerians.

“The fuel hike is cruel and we condemn it. We are not accepting this economic situation because it will worsen the cost of living.

“Traders, marketers on the street, teachers, and the rest of the people who are not depending on the government for funding, will grossly be affected”.

Secretary, Small Scale Farmers in Nigeria, Chinasa Asonye, also lamented that the new fuel price will affect everything and there will be an increase in everything.

“Everything will increase when it comes to fuel and means of livelihood of Nigerians would be grossly affected.

“Is this how they want to reduce our hunger? Is this the reaction to the protest by the youths? Is this how this government wants to solve the problem of the masses? This will only aggregate hunger in the land.

“Agriculture will be affected badly and the cost of food will skyrocket. This simply means that masses’ voices are meaningless when it comes to governance in this country. Nobody is ready to listen to our groaning, this is cruel.

Atinuke Owolabi, an engineer, said, “ I do not know why the price should be N855. Even with N600, a lot of people could not take their cars out. So many families are suffering. They cannot afford to send their children to private school. So many businesses have collapsed. They cannot power their generator sets. It seems they want to crumble the economy. This is not fair. They do not even care about the masses. I do not think they know that the masses are suffering.

“In Lagos State, communities have no toilet. People are dying, the situation is causing depression, and people cannot feed again. This is not right.

“This is really affecting everybody and business. People are dying every day. People at the grassroots cannot afford three square meals again. Their children cannot go to school. The vulnerable women and their children cannot feed again”, she lamented.

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