Award-winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie on Sunday, decried the growing hardship faced by Nigerians across the country.
Adichie, speaking during an interview on Channels Television, said the hardships and challenges in Nigeria have reduced the middle class to beggars.
Also noting that a progressive nation is measured by the well-being of its citizens, the writer said foodstuffs and basic household items have become expensive.
She also expressed worries about the trajectory of the country’s economy and how people are surviving the hardship.
Her words, “Life has become so hard in Nigeria, and I can see it. For example, people who were formerly kind of securely middle class, not that life was rosy for them, but they got by, are now people who beg and are in need. That worries me greatly.
“The level of suffering, how expensive food has become… I think the biggest political judgment one can make is about the lives of ordinary people,” Adichie said.
Noting that several people speak about how the Nigerian stock market has been quite progressive, Adichie said that what she cares about are earners on the minimum wage.
“People talk about the stock market. Personally, I don’t really care about those sorts of things. What I care about is: that person earning minimum wage, how is that person getting on in this economy? It’s the suffering that worries me the most. And it’s terrible,” she added.
She also warned of the consequences of the growing challenges to the nation’s security, economy and other aspects in general.
“It’s not to excuse crime, but I think when life gets very hard, even people who before would not have considered certain things suddenly are willing to, and that’s dangerous to society,” the writer stated.
