AS the year 2024 is winding down, the situation faced by the citizens can only be described as precarious, as many of them faced untold hardships right from the first day of the year till today, Sunday, just as the citizens are yet to find their bearings as a result of the various policies of the governments at different levels

In fact, more citizens of the country who hitherto were able to make ends meet found it extremely difficult to survive as they had been pushed into deep levels of poverty owing to various policies of the government that made life unbearable for them.

From the civil servants across states who perenially craved for a living wage to the artisans who could not get power supply to run their businesses and were made to live in abject poverty due to the social, economic and political situation in the country, the cycle of poverty, deprivation, among others, continues to haunt them.

This therefore made the year 2024 very tough for many Nigerians who, with bated breath and forlorn hope, now wait for what the new year has in stock for them.

The abysmal and confusing social, economic and political situations cut across the entire spectrum of the country, as both the Northern and Southern parts of the country are feeling the pangs of the situation the citizenry had found themselves in.

Prices of goods and services have gone beyond the reach of the proverbial common man while many citizens are no longer able to afford the minimum comfort expected for them to lead a normal life. The usual one-dollar benchmark for a meaningful living has become a mirage in Nigeria.

This year, no doubt, is the worst for many citizens of Nigeria. It is the year the nation?s currency, the Naira, went on a free fall against major currencies of the world, especially the Dollars and Pounds Sterling. This is also the year when prices of petroleum products became so volatile that the product became out-of-reach for many citizens, many of who had to abandon their vehicles dues to escalating cost of the products, especially petrol, almost on a weekly basis.

It is not unusual for many citizens to visit supermarkets or shops and meet different prices at different supermarkets for the same products, as there seems to be an indication that every trader determines prices of their goods based on their fancies. It is therefore not surprising that the same products, of the same brand, will be sold at different prices in supermarkets in the same area.

Therefore, many Nigerians did not find it easy this year due to various unstable, topsy-turvy and inconsistent policies of the various administrations at both the state and the federal levels of the government.

However, as the New Year rolls in, many citizens of the country, though currently despondent, have the belief that the New Year will bring comfort, hope, positive development, as well as good tidings. But they all agreed that the Year 2024 has been quite a very tough one for many of them. (Sunday Tribune)

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