In many parts of Nigeria, a small apple sells for fifty naira only (N50) but it is surprising that it has become a luxury many Nigerians cannot afford. The reason is not far-fetched; we cannot see the reason to spend that much on a product with less utility, because the idea is that it has no potential to satisfy hunger nor thirst and has been accepted largely as the exclusive luxury of the wealthy.
Let me expatiate: why would I spend so much on just one fruit, when I have Mango freely growing at the back of my house or even on the street, and Guava, Orange, which sell for a lot less etc.
However, apple in this article is not a fruit, but our lives. Nigerians can no longer afford their lives. Why? Even when we have the resources to help us take charge and to steer the affairs of our nation, we do not see it as something we can afford; it is too much for us to spend on. As cheap as it is, it is still beyond our reach and until we own up to the fact that things can get better when we work towards it, we will continue to see metrics such as growth, development, stability as the exclusive preserve of European nations and we will never have a taste, not even a bite, because the problem with apples is that it is not sold in bits, you either buy the whole or nothing.
I strongly resent the use of the parlance “Nigerian roads” used as a synonym for bad roads as though Nigerians should not enjoy good roads. I was discussing with a family member sometime ago about automobile and the conclusion was that “oh! you should not buy that type of car, because it is not meant for Nigerian roads”. Ah!!! I exclaimed in my mind. So does it mean automobile manufacturers have to consider our roads as a key factor to access market in Nigeria? It is exceedingly baffling to say the least.
This mentality has fuelled our slow pace of development. One prominent example is to try to equate a fridge to a clay pot. I was in a gathering and some folks argued that a clay pot is more effective and efficient than a fridge and I looked at them in amazement and chuckled at their folly. Maybe that was why our grandparents never saw a need to improve on the functionality and interface of the clay pot to make it something better. We like to continue to bask in darkness and call it tradition or rather culture or more profoundly an evil we must endure with no dedicated effort to even try to improve.
Apple will become affordable, when we try to understand that life is not about what we get out of it now (satisfaction). How about sound health? Research has found it to be medicinal and of much value to especially the pregnant. If we (our Government and institutions) do not want to continue to give birth to babies with deficiencies, kwashiorkor babies and malnourished children (bad roads, poor power supply, uncompleted infrastructures, poor social services, etc.)
then we must accept to feed our pregnancy with good fruits, which we must strive to buy.
Finally Christmas is a time of the year where general prices rise, bonuses are given, bonanzas abound and all that as incentive to spend more on clothing, foods, drinks etc., but even then many will never go for an apple, because Christmas does not exactly change their preference. Once Nigeria enjoyed boomed, but we didn’t make the choice to buy apples, now Nigeria is experiencing an economic low, how can we afford to buy apples? However, we need apples to grow.
