Many faces of survival strategies adopted in Kano amidst hardship

By Braimoh Musa On Feb 19, 2024

Nigerians, lament ,minimum wage, delay, economic hardship, electricity tariff hike — Nigerians lament minimum wage delay amid economic hardship, electricity tariff hike

No doubt that when Nigerians are faced with difficult situations such as the current difficult socio-economic conditions, it is quite apparent that they usually come up with series of steps as well as adopt measures to ensure they survive the situation.

However, ever since the fuel subsidy removal announcement by President Bola Tinubu things began to change as life and livelihood became so tense and almost difficult that people have begun to devise ways to survive the difficulties.

In Kano state, many people who owned cars have abandoned them and adopted either the use of motorcycles or public transport. However, despite the indicators that show that there has been a rise in the fares of public transport, the system remains an option.

A resident of the state who had resorted to the use of a motorcycle revealed that before the subsidy removal he usually spent N13,000 to N13,500 to fill up his tank, according to him with the subsidy removal he has to spend N38,000 to N39. 000 as against the initial amount spent.

“I have since parked my car because I can’t afford to spend N39,000 to fill my car in this situation where the minimum wage is N30,000. That is why I parked the car and acquired a motorcycle which is more economical to maintain,” he said.

Another resident Malam Habibu Ashiru told SOLACEBASE that he had to change his children’s school because he couldn’t afford their high transport fare increase due to the subsidy removal.

According to him, he had transferred his children to a nearby school that requires no transportation as they can just walk a short distance to school. “I used to pay N600 every day for my children’s transport and after the subsidy removal, the fare went up to N1,500 every day which I couldn’t afford. Therefore, I decided to find a nearby school and enrolled them and that was what I did,” he said.

Moreover, the difficulty occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal had triggered a hike in prices of food commodities and that had pushed many people to find a solution to the situation.

SOLACEBASE gathered that due to the increase in prices of food commodities, many houses’ menus have changed to reflect the current situation.

It was discovered that people no longer use corn flour as they used to, because the flour is no longer affordable and accessible to the common man. It was also gathered that a mudu that was sold at N750 is now selling at N2100. Therefore, people have now adopted the use of rejected known as ‘A Fafata’ rice throughout their menu.

According to Malama Amira Umar, with the current situation, preparing a rice meal is more economical than any other meal, “An average family can eat rice and palm oil with a little minced pepper as a lunch and also as a dinner. If you are to prepare the usual tuwo it will cost you much when compared to preparing your rice. Even though the price of rice has also gone beyond reach of many, it is cheaper to prepare than the corn flour meal.’’

However, another trend that was adopted to cushion the difficulties is the mass hawking of boiled cassava and groundnuts. According to a young man Bello Isah, boiled cassava and groundnuts are playing a vital role in saving situations recently, according to him, it has become a normal trend in Kano to see young girls every morning trooping into the city to hawk boiled cassava . These young hawkers are referred to as the ‘Rapid response team’.

They are tagged as the ‘Rapid response team’ because they offer cheap and easy meals to the people.

SOLACEBASE gathered that with N300 one will be satisfied with the boiled cassavaa sold by these girls. “Go to any restaurant and see how much you will spend to have your lunch, but with the ‘Rapid response team’ N300 is enough to get you filled and all you need is to take cold water. These girls are indeed saving lives here, and their services are highly commendable, these girls are almost everywhere in the northern part of the country.

Another trending pattern in cushioning the difficulty occasioned by the fuel subsidy is the proliferation of soybeans (Awara) joints. This has become a common sight in every community within the state’s metropolis and other local governments. It was gathered that Awara has become a breakfast treat to a lot of households in Kano state.

Recent findings have revealed that the difficulties being experienced recently have induced several changes in the life pattern of the people of Kano state, a lot of innovation in survival strategies have been adopted to keep moving in life.