How we cope as bread winners —Niger Delta women

The life of an average Niger Delta woman is preoccupied with taking upon their shoulders the responsibility of fending for the families. Most of them, therefore, venture into farming, petty trading and selling products from illegal oil refineries, among others. Invariably, with the crunching inflation and other indices of the current economic recession, the women, who are mostly-breadwinners are subjected to more hard-work to meet responsibilities at home.

It is, therefore, a known fact that the female folks in the Niger Delta are not only industrious, but leading in fending for their families with or without the man. But since the inception of the current recession, said to have receded.a few weeks ago, such female breadwinners from the region have.more challenges to contend with as ‘they doubled their efforts to provide for their homes. Hence, to meet with demands from the home front, they joggle procreation and parenting with their daily business activities to make a difference. A number of these wornen weather the economic storms through hawking, farming, and what have you .

Mummy Precious abandoned her tailoring job in the wake of the recession in 2015 for farming due to low patronage from her customers. A single mother with three children – a boy and a twin girls, her husband had abandoned her and the children over five years ago over an irreconcilable differences. To avoid her children starving to death, pay house rent, school fees and other needs, Mummy Precious headed for activities in  Obiaruku in Ndokwa West Locai Government Area of Delta State to commence farming.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Mummy Precious, who hails from the Jgbo-speaking part of DeIta State, said her husband’s nonchalance and indolence must be matched with her resilience of hard work to earn a living to salvage the future of her children.

‘I left tailoring for farming quickly as customers were no longer coming. At Obiaruku, where I relocated to, most of the fanners are women like me. So, I began to plant cassava, plantain suckers, vegetables and others.
“I have to leave my two daughters and son in the hands of God in Warri township to cater for while I devote my strength to rigorous farming over which I’m beginning to smile today,” the woman in her late 40s but now looking like a 70-year-old, disclosed.

From her farming engagements, a relatively-educated Mummy Precious, brings hoine foodstuff and money for the children who have now finished their secondary school education and now doing some clerical jobs to augment their mum’s efforts.

The Nigerian Tribune took up another woman who fends for her family by trading in farm produce such as banga, garri, starch and cassava. Identified as Roseline Scott. To her, the recession had multiplied her laborious efforts to cater for her family as the bread winner.

Bearing her mind in Warri pidgin, Scott said: “We dey try to manage 0, as money nor dey so, market nor dey move, make government bring money because na hungrywe dey so.
“E don tey wen I dey this business; e don pass 30 years, we nor dey make gain again 0, we fit pay light bill and my children don finish school, make una tell government make them release money, everywhere too strong.”
Some of the women confessed that they had to engage in shady deals in the course of rendering services to their customers to mitigate the-pains inflicted by the biting fangs of recession. A woman, who simply identified herself as Madam Rice, falls into this category. The hawker of rice heaped the blame of her trick on the hardship, she claimed was introduced by the current Federal Government into the-system.

“We dey manage the market 0, because rice wen be N7, 500 don go N18,000.
“Thank God say na government school my children dey go, if not if you gain Nl , 500 pay light bill ofNl, ‘000 how much go remain? No be even this rice I dey sell before na pepper, but as the market be, na im I switch come rice, make Buhari comot, everything go dey okay. Make everything cheap,” she averred in pidgin.

Aisha Suleiman has been in the sale of yams, onions and palm oil for over 20 years. Although from the northern part of the country, she has naturalised in the Niger Delta in all sense of description. Her business has been the source of her income which she exerts on her children’s school fees, house rent, and other necessities.

With some.air of comfort, Mrs Sulaiman explained her recent sales activities. According to her, “the market depends, like if you buy 100 yams and you fit sell am before one week, you fit get like N5, 000, so market dey small small, we dey cope. I fit pay my children school fees and other things, I don dey this business pass 20 years.”

Two other women who spoke on their existential experiences amid the current economic exigencies, were Mrs Ogwe Great and MrsGloria. The formersells meat, while the former deals in rice, bean” and onions. They both claimed thetare finding very hard to cope well with payment of bills of their children and managing the general affairs of the home as bread winners because ofthe current economic hardship.

Ogwe, in Warri pidgin, said “How we ‘want take cope? Money nor dey, market nor dey, e don reach 20 years wen I don dey do this business, before when I fit dey pay my children school fees but nor be now again, make dem talk to Hausa people make dem sell cow cheap.”

Gloria’, on her part, said although she could foot the bills of her children, extending same gesture to members of her extended family, friends or neighbours would be suicidal.

“Normally before, even if the town bad, we dey push am dey go, N2 or N 1 we nor gQ. say the market bad,
as far as God keep us alive.
“I fit pay my children school fees; I fit.settle some kind things; we no go fit calculate the gain because we.n.or
go fit sell the load finish for one day” I don dey this business for three years now, “ she lamented.