Sir: The current economic situation has taken a lot of negative effects on many undergraduates in various universities in Nigeria, including those in private institutions. Perhaps, the act of waking up to the exorbitant and nefarious prices of cost of goods and transportation has grossly taken a toll on many students nationwide.
Nowadays, many undergraduates are faced with the problem of enquiring about the price of a particular good at each time of the day. Despite that, it would still be a shock by the time they are about to purchase the product on the same day, the price would have increased by not less than N500, which is a serious concern.
Furthermore, the cost of foodstuffs has been a great concern for many students as the prices of rice and beans and even garri have increased tremendously making parents to call on their children to give them warning on being prudent with their foodstuffs. The issue of foodstuffs has been a major concern for students as eating thrice a day is no longer achievable as a result of hike in all food items with less money at hand.
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In all these, the harsh weather condition cannot be left out as the sun has been so scorching, causing serious heat and thirsty. However, the price of a bag of sachet water is now ranging from ₦300 to ₦400 and even ₦500. As alarming as the price of sachet water is, the thirsty that comes with the current weather condition hardly allows a bag of sachet water to last for two days.
The price of accommodation cannot be left out on this issue. Some schools do not have hostels, while some have just female hostels. Some have both, but their students do not find it accommodating enough; hence the need to get accommodation outside the campus is deemed necessary. Many of these off-campus houses are being let out at exorbitant prices due to the nation’s worsening economy. Even the local “Face Me I Slap You” apartments are now going for over a N100,000 each despite being single room with terrible toilet and bad kitchen. Getting a room self-contain even for students at this dispensation runs for about N250,000 upward, excluding agent and agreement fees.
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According to a friend of mine, who is a Direct Entry student at the Lagos State University, he got a single room at about N250,000 with agent fees. He still complained that the house lacked good ventilation as a result of terrible toilet and bad kitchen. He blamed with lamentation the pressure of resuming as a Direct Entry student for being the reason for his urgent payment of the nothing to write about apartment.
Finally, the cost of transportation as a student cannot be overemphasized. As much as the price of petrol has increased, the motorcyclists, commercial bus drivers and tricycle riders; popularly known as maruwa have been quite inconsiderate with the prices of transportation. They do not consider students at all, they change prices of transportation every now and then. The price one pays in the morning is different from what one would pay in the afternoon, which is quite uncomfortable for students.
The undergraduate strife with this harsh economy is a lot to think about. I just hope the government looks into these issues and try to reduce the economic problems to help the undergraduates and the Nigerian populace at large.
