RISING COSTS - by Jefferson Nnadiekwe

We are in the third month of the year, and as Nigerians, the constant backdrop of this year is the economic hardship and it's effects on the prices of goods especially foodstuff. I don't enjoy the regular tirades in the media about the situation of things in the country. Not because I'm apathetic to the reality on ground, but I just like to tune out sometimes because I'm an overthinker and it's not the best thing for your mind to constantly dwell on negativity. Today however, I have decided to talk about it albeit from a different point of view. I understand that the surge in dollar rate against the naira has made it difficult for businesses to run smoothly. But we have to address the fact that a lot of companies have found a way to exploit the situation inorder to widen their profit margin. If a company tells the general public that due to the increase in production cost, they would have to increase the price of their goods, we can understand. What I can't understand though is why you increase the price of your goods to compensate for the cost of production, but then reduce the quality of said goods. That's just an evil thing to do. I got a tube of toothpaste during the time I was in Port harcourt for the Christmas break, the cost had gone up likewise everything else. What pissed me off was that this tube of toothpaste I got was filled with air. You might say it's production error, but when it happens two times, then it's a problem. If you are going to charge people more for your products, the least you can do is maintain the same quality that attracted them to your brand in the first place, otherwise you're no different from a scammer. It's a total ripoff to reduce production quality right after an increase in your prices. Another thing that really bugs me is the varying prices of goods in retail shops. Two retail stores along the same street selling a bottle of soda from the same company at different prices is utterly ridiculous. I once bought a case of super glue at N100 while it was sold for N50 somewhere down the street - same brand! Is there a special price for certain retailers? Possibly those with a golden ticket get to buy at cheaper rates, while the others have to upgrade. I really hope a retailer gets to see this post, perhaps he or she might be kind enough to explain it to me. And if there are any reading this, or maybe a top execs in these companies, I have a message: I understand that running a business in this economy is no child's play and government policies are unfavorable to you. But they are also unfavorable to us consumers. People struggle to make this money with which they are able to feed. A little consideration wouldn't be such a bad idea. It's heartbreaking to spend so much money only to be left unsatisfied. If we really want to be so honest, some of these goods shouldn't really as high as they are; but we are Nigerians and it's the Nigerian thing to take advantage of every situation to our benefit. What we don't factor into consideration is that in a bid to exploit the dire situation, things would only get worse for everyone involved. Absolutely nobody wins. In a time where we need to stick together, it's really sad that greed and selfishness remain our driving force. I will stop with an advice - we need to learn how to boycott brands and encourage competition. More developed countries do it as a means to check companies and the earlier we adopt it, the better it would be for the collective. Me, I've sort of ditched that popular noodles brand ever since their prices have been soaring every week. There are nice alternatives out there. I heard the price of their product has come down, can someone confirm this?

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