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t’s a common knowledge that economic recession is
characterized by poor standard of living, high cost of living, astronomical
inflation rate, unemployment, unstable marriages and relationships among
others. But it’s unusual to note that recession also results in rise in the
number of wedding ceremonies, more romantic relationships, increased quest for
higher degrees, and the most disastrous being the increase in the number of
reported cases of adultery in which women are found guilty.
The increase in the number of reported feminine
adultery of recent has been disturbing. This new development of infidelity has
resulted in a number of depression cases, divorces and very often deaths. So
many stakeholders have blamed the fall of values and prestige for this ugly
development, while others have conveniently pointed their accusing fingers at
the infiltration of African’s unique traditions which define threshold for
taboos, by the untamed culture of the West. These persons easily support their
assertions with the fact that in those days, if you dared to commit a taboo like
adultery, there was bound to be a repercussion of some sort; and even though
these spiritual repercussions weren’t that potent, they carried with them great
fear which checked the excesses of the populations. But these taboos were
condemned by new faiths introduced by foreigners, and the fear the taboos took
along with them was eroded gradually. Hence the consequential result of
immorality.
But I don’t entirely agree with the above
assertions. Yes, they might be true, but in my own opinion, recession has a
far-reaching effect on the crackdown of values and dignity than the
condemnation of taboos by new faiths. This is my observation since the
recession began, or since Nigerians were told the suffering they’d suffered for
many decades is called Recession.
During hunger and strife, there is breakdown of law
and order. In this case, value and dignity are no exceptions. With the hassle
in our national life since the recession, I think cases of feminine adultery
have more than doubled the number of the past decades. A housewife with a very
poor husband, for example, who has five little children crying for want of
food, wouldn’t think of dignity if a wealthy man offers her a slim wad of crisp
naira notes for sex.
Apart from feminine adultery, many things
change during recession. Like numerous marriages. In this case, young ladies
want to get married because of unemployment; they just want men they can depend
on no matter how meagre the men’s salaries are; they pressurize their partners
with threats of breakup if they refuse to marry them. At last, many men fall
for these threats and borrow to walk the young ladies down the aisle. The
hardships which follow soon after these premature marriages lead to marital
instability and infidelity. If the economy
were to be stable, women would be fully engaged, and they’d think less about
marrying for dependence.
Also from my observation, the increase in the number
of University graduates desirous of master’s degree and PhD is a direct
consequence of a recessive economy. If the economy were stable, so many
graduates would prefer to seek for jobs rather than go for higher degrees. Only
those who have interest in research and the academics will aim for further
education. Nowadays, graduates would most likely want to have a higher degree
either to increase their chances of securing jobs in the already congested
labour market or to keep themselves engaged with a comforting sense of
dependence, while they scout for jobs which aren’t within reach.
