NIGERIA, THE NATION AND THE PEOPLE: THE MIDDLE CLASS IS GONE

Almost thirteen months down the line in the Tinubu administration, another thing is gone: THE MIDDLE CLASS

The words of Bola Ahmed Tinubu the moment he was sworn in as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria still rings in my head. "FUEL SUBSIDY IS GONE.", his voice rang through the speakers into our ears and many in the arena didn't know whether to smile or frown.

The effects of the statement on the economic and social life of Nigerians is cause for discussion another day.

Almost thirteen months down the line in the Tinubu administration, another thing is gone: THE MIDDLE CLASS.

The economic debate on the existence and definition of the middle class has become particularly lively in many developing countries.

The middle class group can be defined as those for which the probability of falling into poverty is below a certain threshold.

Up to the seventies the socio-economic strata was made up of three levels.

There were the rich and there were the poor. Then there were the ones that were neither rich nor poor. They were the MIDDLE CLASS. They formed about 60% of the population.

According to data from Pew Research, the share of adults who live in middle-class households was 61% in 1971.

This class of people consisted of the Civil Servants, Corporate Employees and Traders and Craftsmen.

Most families we grew up with were in this category.

They could afford the basic things of life. They had access to Education, health and good housing.

The middle class is defined by five factors: education, occupation, income, lifestyle, and housing.

The poor and children of the poor struggled to climb up the social ladder. Their climb was quite easy and attainable through education and self-development.

By the early seventies the population of people in the middle class began to reduce.

The rise in the cost of living, combined with stagnant wages/salaries and inflation were the main contributors to the shrinkage of the middle class.

By 2013, the population of the middle class had shrunk to about 20%.

The figure had gone as low as 15% in 2021.

The figure had dropped to 8% in April 2023.

In Nigeria today the whole of the population of Nigerians are either poor or rich.

In Nigeria the socio-economic indices have made it almost totally impossible for the poor to climb up to middle class.

Many people in the middle class have fallen below the line to the lower stratum. The basic things of life such as education, occupation, income, lifestyle, and decent housing are no more affordable to the middle class or “Average Nigerian”.

“Some people have everything while some people have nothing.” That line from a song by a popular Reggae musician sums up the situation. The class of people who have “some things” has completely disappeared.

The result is the “Get rich Quick” attitude in both young and old in the country.

Climbing from poverty through middle class was supposed to be a steady and gradual process.

With the disappearance of the middle class, the tendency to want to jump from the poor to the rich without passing through middle class has resulted in crimes and corruption.

For lack of conscious efforts to stabilize the economy and provide the basic necessities the middle class has totally disappeared.

The gap left by the absence of the middle class has led into desperation to become rich and live in wealth at all cost.

Unless something drastic and cogent is done to re-enshrine the middle class, controlling or curtailing the social ills will be a herculean task for both government and the people.