Favour and I were frustrated. It was 2 pm and the sun was beating down on us as if we had offended it in some way. The smell of sweat and natural ingredients was heavy in the air and as bodies rubbed on mine consistently, my skin began to itch.
Source
I was going to suggest that we returned home from the market but that very minute, Favour tapped me and pointed. There was a wheelbarrow filled with every foodstuff imaginable. Cartons of noodles, small bags of rice and other grain food such as beans and garri, baskets of onions and tomatoes, and full cartons of cereal.
“People have money in this country o!” She exclaimed, leaving her mouth open afterward.
“It may be for a family. Look, why don't we mind our business and get what we came here for?” I wiped sweat off my face with the small towel I was holding then moved along, only pausing to ensure she was really behind me.
“But Treasure, I saw a young lady following the aboki that was pushing that truck. Surely it can't be for a family”
The sun was too scorching for me to laden myself with other people's business so I released a deep sigh and said nothing to Favour.
We had been at the market for over 2 hours without making progress with the items on our list. Whenever we heard prices that had tripled since the last time we got the goods, we went to a part of the market to confer on what to take off the list and what to leave.
Eventually, there was almost nothing that we could do without so we had to settle for buying in lesser quantities than usual.
The young lady with the wheelbarrow passed by us again and Favour couldn't help staring at her goods. I agreed with her, if she was single, then she either had a very good-paying job, or someone was taking good care of her.
It still wasn't my business so I dragged her along.
“Wow, Treasure. Even you and I cannot finish that quantity of food in a month”
“The cost of living in this country is not high, you're the one who is not making enough money,” I told her. She fluttered her lashes at me as we went along.
“It's not my fault now. Working and schooling are not for the weak. One will surely suffer”
I smiled when she said so. That was the exact reason we couldn't complain, we were already stretching ourselves as the case was.
“But are you serious about the cost of living thing? I think living in Nigeria is expensive o” she said as I picked a pound of meat and waved it at the seller to get the price.
“Yes, I'm serious. Compared to other countries, it's easier to survive in Nigeria if you have money. I learned from www.numbeo.com that a family of 4’s estimated amount for monthly survival is 869.4$”
Her face screwed up in confusion.
“How much is that in naira?”
“Almost 1.3 million. I know you'll think that is too much but think of it. If you want to travel abroad and probably stay there for some time, how much do you think you would be needing?”
She thought for some time while I supervised the cutting up and packaging of the meat which I had just paid for. When we started moving again, she began to speak.
“Well, it's more expensive to live abroad because their money has more value than ours. So maybe 10 million?”
I flagged down a tricycle and pulled her into it before replying to her question.
“We can say 10 million naira for a single person. What about someone with a family? 2 or 3 kids?” She was nodding her head as the picture became clearer. We were already at our estate so I asked her to hang on while I paid the transport fare. Then we began our walk home.
“That means if you have enough money and stay in this country, it's most likely to be better than taking that money abroad”
“Exactly,” I shifted the bag from one hand to the other and Favour did the same with the one she was holding. “The value of the currency is not the same at all. If I make some cool cash, I'm staying in this country o. I can travel out for visits but trust me, I would love to be based in Nigeria”
Favour made a face while I was talking. I dropped my bag to throw one leg of my slipper at her and she too dropped her bag to run. We laughed hysterically then picked our bags and continued on our way again.
“I'm not staying o, please. Let me also go to this abroad everybody is talking about” she said. I shrugged.
“That's your choice, my sister. Already, the money I earn currently cannot do anything for me there, but look at it. I've been able to purchase some foodstuffs here in Nigeria”
“That's true o, things are expensive abroad. It's all about the money value we were talking about the other time though. The money value is different so prices in the different countries cannot be the same”
I sighed tiredly.
“In the end let us just have money to sponsor the kind of lifestyle we want”
“Amen to that” Favour replied as we went into our compound.