THE DAILY INCREASE OF LIQOUR JOINTS IN POOR COMMUNITY

It is no news that the daily increase of liquor joints in poor community has tripled. 

Compare to the sixty's, seventy’s and eighty's including ninety' we have less numbers of these joints, people on daily basis troop in like repatriated refugees for bread.

In fact,  you see people in the very hour of when able women and men should be going to work; will now be seen around in any of the joint in the area, in a strategic location in the community from the hour of 6am to possibly 12noon. 

A lot of these people will burn hours drinking away the day loaded with crisis.  Crisis that they can't attend to due to failure of the system has been designed for them in the country. Others are with the myth the liquor is going to cure any infection they have. 

There is a joint I know which is owned by a lady popularly called: "Aunt Blessing" in one of the areas I usually visit. Around 7am, a lot of grown men (who should have been working, pensioners, and teenagers etc) will gather in her shop to drink the day off.  They will stay till is dark, talking themselves into the wind of life experiences, their youthfulness and the expectation they await from the people in government to offer. Sometimes, young women are also seen coming around the liquor joint to swap the day that leap in life challenges.

About 40 years ago, it was never like this.  The country then under government like Jakande in Lagos State in the 2nd Republic between 1979 and 83 engaged people of all categories and ages with better job that are worth living without any sense of disenfranchisement in order to close the gap of unnecessary social odds in society that break someone down. In fact, through massive State involvement in social welfare, it ensured key sectors of the economy were adequately developed. Today a lot of people are corked inside either the branded bottles or to get sleepy in liquor.

The Jakande led government then was responsible for the provision of social welfare and adequate management of public resources, according to statements of people whom I have met that benefitted from the regime directly or indirectly.  

Comparing the Jakande administration to today's government is out of positioning better life for the destitute especially this current regime of Buhari and its predecessors. They said life was full of fulfillment and satisfaction. At least the percentage of people visiting liquor joint weren't much, compare to what we relatively have today where the increase of it is couple with joblessness and economic frustration that ride people into such.

Among those saying this was one Mr.  Akin  (a tutor and cybercafe owner). He said that if not of Jakande Low Housing Scheme his late father benefitted from, by now, he would have been rendered homeless because of the high cost of getting accommodation in Lagos, which is astronomically and very unaffordable for people like him receiving salary that is nickel. This is coupled with the way landlord and landlady treat people wanting to rent tent called 'room' most especially in slum community.

He further said there was a lot of a welfare package provided by the then 2nd Republic Unity Party Nigeria (UPN) administration in Lagos State. For examples jobs for the youths, free quality education, housing etc were all in the UPN agenda as program for economic development. 

Another interesting story was a Civil Servant named Mr.  Segun Ajayi who is a teacher and unionist in one of the public school situated in Ajegunle community. According to him he said "without Jakande administration funding public education adequately in Lagos State he wouldn't have been able to acquire basic education when the regime was in affairs". For him, this is what government should be all about than what we have now.

Thus, poor families were the priority of the government who largely benefitted from these provisions. Social deprivation eats people raw and is cracking millions to pain and poverty.  This is not to say virtually everything was better.  But relatively, compared to what we have now, it is terrible saying it realistically because of capital running inequality society of the rich eating to bone the poor. 

Many have lost their lives suffering from one form of sickness and another; and unable to treat themselves out of it due to no money to afford medical treatment caused by failure of those in office to use the resources of the society for the benefit of the vast majority.How it has to be stressed while Jakande is a great man with love for the masses, it is not the reason for what he achieved. 

It was because of welfarist program that was fashionable globally then due to the threat of socialism, albeit waning as from early 1980s, that was implemented by social democratic parties across the world. If he has been a governor in the current era of neo-liberal capitalist agenda he would not achieve the same feat.

Despite this,  out of every ten persons you see at least five or six in the neighbourhood I reside visit liquor joints.  According to some of them I was opportune to interrogate said they drink it to kill the circumstances they go through mentally.  For example when they are embittered over the life they live the country offers them, they have to roll inside the joint to wrap it off for the next day to come. Sometimes they buy it on credit, promising to pay later just to try to  keep the soul intact.

The joblessness they are into is linked to the way this country has shaped life for them. They get angry and have to come to a place like this to paddle the frustration they drown into on daily basis. Sometime from the outlook of an experience I observed in one of the joints, they got excited and catch their fun for the moment for the day to be squeeze away into trash bin. I could possibly remember one certain epoch one saying "if country beta. Nobody go come here to waste him time dey drink ogogoro this morning".

This is the exact reality that shadows the poor.  In fact, those women who sell it are into it to feed their children and also take care of other domestic expenses piled up to attend to.  In the other hand,  for the government is more revenue as we have in Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA,  generating huge multiple levies and taxes from these means.  Yet the condition of living is like rag trouser for the third estate.

Fundamentally the government run by thugs and thieves have continued to squeeze millions of useful lives inside stroll with harden policies of deprivation as the system of capital permits them to do, becoming richer while millions die in hunger as we have it in "Tale of Two Cities". On daily basis these are what people are forced to go through in life because of the failure of government to clean the mess they created. It will require a socialist government with programs and policies to provide good life for people wasting away in the frustration of liquor joints that increases. Read more on: http://www.lifeinslum.blogspot.com

 By

 Fidel Davy