“Buhari is a human being, don’t trust him. If he decides to help Nigeria, God will help him. We’re tired.”

Mr Abraham spoke the mind of many Nigerians, while speaking to a correspondent of contemporary lifestyle and cable television channel, Hip TV on the state of the economy.

Recently, Nigeria’s economy has been hit, very severely, by the fall in global oil prices. This, coupled with a high rate of inflation, has made living almost unbearable in Nigeria. The cumulative impact of certain policies by past administrations and the seeming ineffectiveness of the present one have made a recession imminent. Therefore Abraham, like other Nigerians, is frustrated and trapped.

One of the points that Abraham was really passionate about is the plight of Nigerian graduates today. He laments about the poor state of the economy which has subjected a crop of its youth (who are university educated) to menial jobs. A recent survey indicates that almost half of the population of Nigerian graduates are unemployed and the government is yet to successfully tackle this problem. Several companies are laying off staff as they cannot afford to keep up with the overhead costs and salary payments. There are still no measures put in place to cushion these effects instead, Nigerians are forced to live in a harsh reality.

Due to a sharp increase in the price of petrol and depreciation of Naira against the US Dollar, the inflation rate in Nigeria has increased rapidly. This has caused a resultant increase in the price of basic commodities like water, oil and food items. Most suppliers and retailers are blaming the high cost of basic produce on the cost of transportation, which has increased with the cost of petrol which is almost twice its former price. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has stated that inflation in the country has reached a six-year high. At 15.6 percent, it is the highest Nigeria has witnessed since 2010. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) attributed the inflation to the overall increase in the price level across the economy.

While petrol has become very expensive, Nigeria is still incapable of refining its own oil. The government was still trying to figure out a way to get the refineries working before the Niger Delta Avengers launched their untimely mission. In the midst of a possible meltdown, the NDA threatened to make Nigeria unbearable until the government gives in to their demands. Their increasing threats and actions have placed the country in a state of uncertainty, and of course Nigerians bear the consequences.

With the advent of NDA, Boko Haram has more or less been displaced as the top threat to national security. The avengers have continued to bomb oil pipelines in the Niger Delta. According to experts, bombing the pipelines leads to a power shortage. A fresh power cut added to an already existing problem of erratic electricity supply is a negative sign for potential investment. This, in addition to several economic woes, is a recipe for economic disaster.

The hardship faced by Nigerians has made them apathetic to several issues. Their voices have been drowned by the noise of the so-called ‘president’s spokesmen,’ who have failed to identify with them. They have become so apathetic that news of the Fulani herdsmen killing and the maiming of Biafra protesters no longer evokes any emotion. Sympathy has been lost to the need to find ‘daily bread.’

Even though the President has shown a level of commitment to fighting against corruption and Boko Haram, Nigeria needs a guarantee, that he’s equally committed to ending economic woes. While it’s understandable that Buhari did not create this situation, as the president, it is his job to find a solution.