WAEC English Language 2018 Theory — Question 2

Model answer

THE HIGH COST OF LIVING The poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer, goes the popular aphorism. The indigents, who constitute the larger fraction of the population, are bitterly gnashing their teeth because of the exorbitant prices of goods and services, which are making their lives unbearable. Unfortunately, there have been puzzling consequences of the high cost of living on the common man. There has been a high dropout of students from schools because they could not keep up with the financial obligations of their education; disheartened, these young minds resort to pilfering and other sinister acts as their auspicious future has been blighted. Parents can barely afford two meals for their children, resulting in a malnourished and underfed teeming population who need urgent medical attention, else mortality rates will snowball. Vices like gambling, cybercrime and robbery have become the order of the day for the Nigerian youths, the supposed future of the nation. This pathetic situation precipitates a clarion call on the government to intervene promptly or risk an imminent catastrophe. The government needs to get their priorities right by focusing only on the important and facing off the inconsequential. The budget needs to be thoroughly appraised so as to cut down frivolous expenditures and conscientiously maximize funds to help the poor and the downtrodden. Huge investment needs to be given to the agricultural sector, as this would in no small measure alleviate the pathetic condition of the populace. Investment in agriculture would make food items (a basic necessity) available in large quantity and also at affordable rates, reducing to the barest minimum cases of malnutrition and mortality. The presence of food heralds the emergence of a booming economy. Monopoly of certain resources and products needs to be discouraged — deregulation of these products/resources would encourage competition and reduce prices for easy affordability by the rank and file of the country. More so, the minimum wages of workers need to be reviewed so that they can have the financial wherewithal to meet expedient obligations, live decent lives and not succumb to nefarious activities due to poor remuneration. Loans should be given to indigent people with little or no interest, as this would give them the needed empowerment to break free from the shackles of poverty. The government should encourage local investors to invest in the country so that indigenous products can be produced, which would undoubtedly have a positive effect on the economy. I am optimistic that if these measures are undertaken, the high cost of living would be a thing of the past. Adebiyi Opeyemi SS3F (Social Prefect)