The Unseen Consequences of Recession From My Observation: Ohikhuare Isuku

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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.