Politics
SOME residents of Lagos have decried the effects of economic hardship on the harmony of families and lives of citizens, saying the situation was causing more domestic violence in families.
The residents expressed their views to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Mrs Buchi Godwin, a mother of three children, said that the current economic hardship, coupled with the level of poverty and other social factors in the country, had made more people and families to be victims of domestic violence.
Godwin listed the social factors to include high cost of living, poverty kidnapping, insecurity, financial problems, inflation, frustration, betrayals, traumatic experiences and degrees of abuses among others.
She explained that people who were predisposed to the social factors were more likely to perpetrate violence at any time, anywhere, be it at homes, on transit, in the market, churches and even during public gatherings.
“The hardship has led to ‘low purchasing power’, which has consequently resulted to low patronage of goods and services.
“People no longer buy things as before due to high costs.
“This can be very frustrating if one cannot manage himself or herself. ”
According to her, the country’s economic condition has made a lot of people to be more frustrated; making them to resort to the option of domestic violence when they return home.
” No doubt, people who are predisposed to the social factors are more likely to perpetrate violence at any time and anywhere.
“Due to the current high cost of goods and low purchasing power; people no longer buy goods as before, leading to low patronage, which affects the traders.
“Imagine a father who is a trader, who goes to market and makes little or no sales, returning home to face his wife and children, whom he is unable to provide their meals and cater for their needs.
“For such father, greetings only from his wife is a problem and will make him angry.
“In fact, the nation’s economic situation is bringing frequent misunderstanding and quarrels between husbands and wives, parents and children, and it is contributing to a lot of broken homes in the society,
“When a man is no longer or not sufficiently providing, and the expectant family is not happy, it can lead to rift and quarrels ” Godwin said.
Mrs Philomena Patrick, a Civil Servant, said that the economic situation had resulted to increased aggression and grievances among people in the society.
“People are becoming unnecessarily aggressive and annoyed at any slightest provocation unlike before.
“There is high level of transferred aggression in the families, on transit, schools and everywhere now.
“The most common of it, is the level of transferred aggression that exists between parents and children in the families.
“Many parents, after facing some degrees of frustrations, inflation and unmet targets out there, come home to transfer the aggression on their children and get annoyed at any little provocation.
“I am a good example of such act. Unfortunately, I get annoyed with any little provocation so easily these days; but ordinarily, these are things I usually overlooked before.
“Sometimes, after beating my children or laying abuses on them, I will start to regret my actions,” Patrick said.
Mr Abayomi Adeleke, a Teacher, identified lack as a leading cause of domestic violence.
He said that many Nigerians were battling poverty, which could predispose them to easily getting irritated, offended, feeling unfulfilled, and then lead to domestic violence..
“In some cases, the individuals may not even know they are being exposed to domestic violence”.
According to him, the money he gives to his wife for upkeep of the house is no longer enough for the wife, and that has been a problem in the family.
He said, “No doubt, the situation has resulted to an increase in the number of domestic violence cases.
“In some cases, the individuals may not even know they are being exposed to domestic violence; but the truth remains that the socioeconomic crisis is taking a toll on the well-being and living standard of the citizens.
“Myself for instance, the salary I earn monthly plus other little money I make from the teaching profession are no longer enough to cater for my most pressing needs.
“My wife is complaining bitterly about the money I give her to make food for the household.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to increase her request, considering the high cost of things in the market; this has led to series of misunderstandings between us.”
Also, Mrs Gloria Chukwudi, a stay-at-home wife, bemoaned the harsh economy and high cost of living standard.
Chukwudi attributed the situation to the high cost of transportation, goods and services, including hike in the prices of food commodities across the country.
She emphasised that the solution to the hunger and other challenges in the land depended on strengthening the nation’s refineries and restoring security of the country.
Chukwudi, therefore, called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts to address the hunger in the country and ensure access to affordable and quality foods for healthy living of the citizens.
“Food production is a key component of any economy.
“The cost of transportation is currently a factor in the movement of goods and services in Nigeria.
“Everything started when the fuel subsidy was removed. If government can channel that fuel subsidy money to fix and make our refineries to effectively function, the cost of fuel and transportation will come down and everything will fall back to normal.
“So, everything boils down to high cost of fuel, whenever the fuel price is touched; it touches everything.
“Like some farmers in the rural areas, after harvesting their produce, maybe if you meet them at the place, the farm produce they sold at the cost of N2,000, will be sold at the rate N7,000 at urban areas due to the high cost of transportation of conveying it to the urban cities.
“Above all, security has to be ensured for the economy to thrive.
” If the economy is improved and people are living better with employment opportunities available, many Nigerians will not be as tensed as they are now.
“It will also play a huge part in reducing incidents of domestic violence,” Chukwudi said.(NAN)
A.I
Feb. 9, 2025
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