Every moment I live, I keep having imaginations of things I wish I could do to make the lives of people around me better. Most times, I do feel uneasy because things are not going smoothly with the people living around me, some months ago it was reported that a 50 year old woman fell into a gutter after a heavy downpour of rain, she was actually returning from the market when this mishap happened to her.
Hearing this news, I felt so sad because that wouldn’t had happened if there were good and accessible roads in my town, I said to myself “ the best way to make things happen is by proffering solutions to the challenges of people”.
I realized that there are so many challenges that are greatly affecting people and challenges to be fixed in my town; Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State here in Nigeria
The following are things that can be improved upon in my town in order to make people live comfortable and happy.
1. EXORBITANT PRICES OF FOODSTUFFS: For months now, there have been an uncontrollable hike in the prices of foodstuffs in my town, each day, the prices of every single foodstuffs keeps getting higher and that is a paramount problem that should be tackled with. I was baffled yesterday when I went to buy garri, two cup of garri was sold to me for five hundred naira, I couldn’t help but exclaim, I thought the vendor was actually joking not until she packaged the garri for me telling me that she bought it at a very exorbitant rate per bag.
I was surprised because 90% of people in my town and state consume garri. Garri initially was three cups for two hundred naira and seven cups for five hundred naira but presently two cups of garri is sold for five hundred naira, you can imagine the differences from seven cups to two cups.
I kept wondering how the less privilege will survive in a situation like this, there is an increase in the number of beggars on the street because most of them can’t afford to buy garri. Aside garri, there is an increase in the price of everything including the least thing as sugar. This is indeed disheartening, people are dying of starvation, people are dying of hunger but yet nothing is done.
The cultivation of crops and rearing of animals have greatly reduced due to Scarcity of land, I think if there is enough land for agriculture, things will change for good. If the Government could regulate laws on the selling of foodstuffs at a subsidized rate, it will make life comfortable for people.
2.** Another Challenges That Should Be Improved Upon Is Fuel Prices**:
fuels ranging from petrol, gas, diesel, kerosene etc is very exorbitant that people of lower status can't afford. Fuel is like an energy that is used every day in all areas of life, this mineral resource is now very exorbitant and scarce and it affects every other areas like transportation, educational sector, industries and even our homes. Most of my neighbors are now using firewood to cook because they can't afford to buy gas or kerosene for cooking.
Transportation is greatly affected, because of high fuel prices, the transportation fare has increased geometrically. On Monday, my friend and I wanted going to school for practical, we were baffled when the driver told us that transport fare has increased due to fuel Scarcity. We were not happy at all and some of my course mates couldn't join us, they had to look for alternative means because they didn't have enough money. This is a serious challenge to so many people, as an oil producing state and country we ought to have a lesser fuel price but instead the fuel price keeps increasing. This is a great challenge that should be improved upon.
**3. ELECTRICITY: **this is another aspect that should be improved in my town, there are frequent power outage and unreliable service in my town and it is not convenience at all. The power supply comes up two times a week, this poor power supply is not only inconvenient to residents but it also disrupt the business and essential services impacting productivity and economic growth.
To improve electricity in my town several measures can be taken, measures such as smart meters and energy appliances can help reduce overall electricity consumption. Additionally, diversifying energy sources by using renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind power can provide more sustainable and resilient electricity supply in my town.
4. The State Of Roads In My Town Is Another Aspect That Requires Improvement. Like I stated earlier how an elderly woman fell into the gutter, this happened as a result of bad roads, poor road conditions do not only pose hazards for motorists and pedestrians. It also reduces the economic development and access to essential services. Portholes and gallops contribute to the majority of accidents in our town, this is a serious challenge that needs to be solved.
Government agencies should provide good and accessible roads to
help curb the excesses of accidents in our roads.
These are just but a few of the things that should be improved upon in my town, if these challenges are effectively addressed, our town will be a better and comfortable lithosphere for people to live happily.
This is my entry for Aprilinleo initiative.
Thank you for reading .