Omotayo Omolade
Have you ever been in a situation where you receive guests and then grumble under your breath or even loudly because you need them to leave? Then you would definitely understand what I mean.
Sapa, maybe not so fondly called by young people in Nigeria, is a slang that is used to describe one’s financial status; the state of being extremely broke or poor. It can also be termed as a “spiritof poverty” that targets youalmost all the time.
This word is currently amongst the most used words on Nigerian social media spaces, especially twitter, and has recently been infused into sentences, skits, trending and popular songs. The term is usually used with Nigerian pidgin, for example; “Sapa dey hold me”, “Sapa wan kill person”.
In as much as the word is used light-heartedly, its important to not ignore the true meaning of the word and what it truly stands for. Typical to Nigerians and their huge sense of humour, they tend to trivialise serious matters as a coping mechanism, but the main idea behind the word is poverty. The degenerating state of the Nigerian economy is a major cause for concern and the reason for the unintended invitation of Sapa.
World Bank projects that before the year runs out there will be an additional one million Nigerians apart from the Six million Nigerians that were formerly forecasted, that will be trapped into poverty cause of inflation in the country in recent times. Also, the report also details that the number of poor persons will rise to 95.1million in 2022, as against the 89.0 million in 2020. Showing by the difference of 6.1million, more persons have fallen beneath the poverty line in the last two years.
It is believed that a major cause for this decline is the COVID-19 pandemic turmoil as well as a growing rise in population. Although some believe that the current Russia-Ukraine war is also a determinant factor in the rise of inflation in the country. Nigerians constantly battle unemployment, corruption, income equality, rise in flight fees, lack of infrastructure, terrible educational system, non-diversification of the economy and steady decline of the naira.
Nevertheless, it is impossible to note the effects of the downside of the Nigerian economy without acknowledging the role of the government. The ineffectiveness and inefficiency of the government in the management of the country is evident and has become a huge cause for concern and worry for members of the public. The current financial situation has caused a large divide between the several social economic classes in the country.
However, there are some measures that can be taken in order to reduce the frequency of this uninvited guest, such as working, investing and saving more but if the situation in the country makes it even harder to feed, how then does one go about it? Apart from praying, it is imperative to participate in choosing and electing leaders in all positions of power as this will help the state of the nation and that of Nigerians.
