Economic crisis: Nigerians ignore phone calls as desperate requests for assistance now rampant
BUSINESS DAY
Unarguably, Nigeria is in a desperate moment as the economic crisis in the country is not only spreading, but also deepening.
The situation is gradually shifting from the painful and frustrating to the ludicrous as exemplified in a new phone culture that is fast-evolving.
Increasingly, people are now ignoring phone calls coming mostly from friends, acquaintances, relatives, including, church members, office colleagues and corporate beggars.
This is because, besides being brazen, spurious and inconsiderate in most cases, the requests that follow these calls have become a case of “one good turn deserves another.”
Essentially, it has become a risk to pick these calls and attend to the demands of the callers as such action is an invitation or licence for more calls and more requests.
Almost on daily basis, people call to say they have no money to feed, transport themselves to places of work or that one child or two are in hospital or have been driven out of school for unpaid fees.
Sometimes, calls come from people who have gone to the hospital and got drug prescriptions from the doctor but no money to buy those drugs, hence, the request for help.
Read also: Nigerians tap micro pension savings for survival as hardship bites
While at a barbing salon waiting for his turn, a middle-level public servant was irritated by the many calls, which the barber ignored after checking the identity of the callers.
He was angry that the unanswered calls were disrupting the barber’s work, considering the many customers on the queue. Angrily, he urged the lanky barber to pick the calls or switch off the phone.
“Oga, the calls are from my younger brother and a neighbour, they want money and I don’t have any. I can’t switch off my phone because I am expecting an alert from a customer who is owing me,” the barber responded in cold tone.
The once-irritated customer laughed and advised the barber to always pick his calls, no matter the caller.
“My dear, I get such calls every minute, but I explain to them that the Tinubu economy is biting harder on everyone and some callers who are reasonable have stopped calling because I will keep picking their calls and wasting their little airtime without sending the money they are requesting,” the customer said.
Nowadays, on commuter buses and public places, many are often reminded that their phones are ringing, yet they wave it away, knowing who the callers are and why they are calling.
As well, in corporate places, many now put their phones on silent mode due to the many calls from relatives, begging for money or for one favour, as putting them on vibration mode also attracts attention.
Well, the habit of ignoring calls to fend off callers seeking assistance is not new, but the rate seems alarming nowadays due to the harsh economic realities.
“I often ignore calls that I think are for requesting assistance. Sometimes, I summon courage to answer and tell them my mind because the situation now implies that people should carry their cross. The days of Father Christmas are over because the givers don’t have enough to go round again. I tell them to manage what they have because I am trying to manage here too,” Ajoke Lawal, a banker, said.
Speaking further, Lawal, a single mother of two, decried that apart from relatives, even her mechanic, house-help, gateman and church members, who have her number, will always call, seeking financial assistance and that such calls often weigh her down, when she cannot assist.
“When I decline calls, I often get text messages like, but you work in a bank, you don’t want to help, there is God.
“But they fail to understand that I don’t own that bank, I only earn salary. Sadly, those I have assisted in the past don’t appreciate the gesture. Now, I decline calls, and I don’t care,” she said.
For Onyewuchi Akagbule, a senior lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, ignoring calls to fend off callers seeking assistance is a trend now and also a function of the economic hardship.
According to him, with a 33.9 percent inflation in October, from 32.7 percent in September, amid the anticipation of further rise, the purchasing power of many Nigerians is dwindling daily, hence many now beg for assistance from people, especially to meet the escalating food prices.
“As an economist, the reality in a persisting inflation period like we have in Nigeria now, is being frugal.
To survive, people have to adjust to the situation and…
