Buhari Now Called ‘Garri’, Osinbajo ‘Groundnut’ & Saraki ‘Sugar’ as Nigerians Feel Pains of Hard Times

Since the minister of Finance recently confirmed that the country was technically in recession, it had been a battle for survival for citizens, organizations and governments at all tiers.

 

As the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government kept repeating that the hard times as a result of an economy in recession would turn to be better, and in spite of government’s assurances, Nigerians are still bracing up over the challenge of petroleum scarcity, increase in electricity tariff, hike in cost of goods and services, skyrocketing exchange rate of the naira to a dollar, backlog of unpaid salaries and mass retrenchment of workers.

A public affairs commentator based in Kano State, Aminu Muhammad has recounted his experience of the hard times, which has gone viral on social media.

According to The Guardian, he said;

“I was sitting with a guy who sells tea when an elderly man came and said ‘Give me ‘Buhari’s mixture’. Without saying anything more, the man was given some tea and small bread for a sum of N40.

 

“I was baffled, so I asked the seller what the man meant by ‘Buhari’s mixture’. He explained that it means tea without milk plus a small loaf of bread.

 

“Again the next day, I stopped by a small kiosk to get a battery for my wireless computer mouse. While I was leaving, a guy came who said: ‘Give me Buhari and Osinbajo. I waited to see what he meant and the seller handed him garri and groundnut.

 

“I inquired from the seller, who explained that garri is the street term for President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is groundnut, while Senate President Bukola Saraki is sugar, slang for the staple foods the poor can afford,” he added.

According to a public opinion survey by NOI Polls, released on August 10, 2016, 97% of the respondents said the recent economic realities have had a negative effect on the wellbeing of the average Nigerian.

Some survival methods discovered by the polls include cutting down on household expenses and luxury items, resorting to prayers and hoping for a miracle, engaging in subsistence farming, adjusting feeding patterns in place of the regular three-square meals.

A businessman, Emeka Obinna told a correspondent that he has had to adjust the feeding patterns of his family.

“I have a family of six, with several other dependents. That’s the only way we are managing to survive. No more three-square meals. It is either breakfast and dinner, or lunch and dinner. So, it is the 1-0-1, 1-1-0 or 0-1-1 formula I am operating now with the little resources at my disposal,” he said.