The economic situation all over the world pointedly suggests that a lifestyle of heavy spending or careless expenditure of any sort cannot be sustained for the rich, the middle class, much less the poor. What this means, therefore, is that people have a need for major adjustments in other to be able to avert severe financial crisis and at least manage their finances without a lack of basic amenities that they previously could afford.

Part of the lessons of COVID-19 is that some pre-COVID-19 expenses are not sustainable and so cannot be carried over into post-COVID-19. Already, some of us have discovered to our amazement during the lockdowns, that there are a few things which we until then, had assumed are core, only to realize that we were able to live without those things through the lockdowns.

For instance, many people especially men had a lifestyle of daily routine evening socials which usually take a toll on their pockets but when the lockdown forced everyone inside, some quickly learned they can do without the routine evening outings. The point is that COVID-19 created new realities which rendered many pre-COVID-19 lifestyles unnecessary. Frankly, many pre-COVID-19 lifestyles do not seem to appear economically compactable with post-COVID-19 realities. One’s economic class notwithstanding, the coming months looks like people need to tighten their belts to be able to keep their heads above the water level. Already, millions of people around the world are out of jobs on account of COVID-19. For most countries where there is no structured system and robust governance, millions of citizens may be stranded and not able to eat.

Though before now, thousands of people go to bed daily in Nigeria hungry, according to a UNDP report. The 2020 World Food Programme report claimed that 60% of Nigerians live below the poverty line. That is to say that over one hundred million Nigerians live on less than N400 daily. A plate of food at a local eatery is about N300. With that, it means that in Nigeria, millions of people do not eat more than once a day. This dangerous trend as bizarre as it is further deepened by conflicts in the northern region which has displaced millions of people, forcing them to be dependent on government and NGO handouts. Then again, there are recurrent herdsmen attacks and willful destruction of cultivated farmlands across the entire country, which negatively impacts food production.

An aggregation of these facts into perspective sends a gloomy message of the future. While the unemployment rate was high before now, many more jobs have been lost and many more may still be lost. Whatever may be the case, however, the truth of the matter from every standpoint imaginable is that the economic times have changed, altered even, and anybody still living under the pre-COVID-19 economy may be asking for trouble. Even though before now, many middle class and poor Nigerians have depended on frequent financial assistance and aid from relatives and friends. But now, the situation is different and even those that previously gave help may need help themselves. The import of these is that whatever was wrong before may have doubled. And this is putting it mildly in comparison to the brutal reality on ground.

Continue to read: https://www.anaedoonline.ng/2020/09/08/surviving-the-harsh-economic-realities-of-post-covid-19/