Let Price Be Regulated

I rarely go to the market to buy things alone if I don't know the actual price. Reasons being that I have tried it a couple of times only to get home and tell my friends or siblings about the price and they scream, “you have been cheated.”

Gosh, nothing hurts like hearing that phrase. It makes me feel like turning back the hands of time.

Most times we blame the government for inflation and hunger, but if we look closely, it's not just the government, but the people also play a role in making life difficult.

From the government down to the masses, our problem is greed and selfishness. Many times, I had gone to the market to buy things and couldn't due to how the prices of the goods vary from shop to shop.

Every vendor can just wake up overnight and place any price they want on their goods and no one will question them.

Sometimes they can double or triple the price yet people would have no option than to buy for obvious reasons.

And you know one funny thing with these sellers, once they notice that their neighbors sell goods at a certain rate which is high, and people are buying, they will also increase their prices, and cover up, lying on the cost of transportation.

Only a few god-fearing people stay away from things like that, and most times they are hated in the market.

Lack of price control in Nigeria is one of the biggest problems confronting the people. I wonder why it hasn't occurred to the government as a threat yet.

Day by day people are being cheated from buying: clothes, food, cars and so on. Someone will buy something cheap in shop A and another will buy the same thing at shop B at a very high rate.

It is very common in my place, the vendors will deceive you that their goods are original , that is why the price is high but when you compare and contrast, it's the same thing and sometimes it's even fake.

Buyers usually suffer harm in the hands of sellers because of lack of price control, this is why people bargain so much because it's hard to believe that even the actual price is true.

Should Business Owners Be Allowed to Decide Prices?

My answer is “no,” even though I know this is something that looks impossible in Nigeria, but if it is achieved eventually, it will help a lot.

It will reduce the rate at which people are cheated when they buy goods and it will also help people do proper budgeting. You already know how much you will spend in the market as you already know the prices of goods.

But when everyone is deciding price, you will go to the market with your budget and return home surprised about how the money was not enough.

Should Prices Be Strictly Regulated?

Yes, if the government wants us to have the best when it comes to buying goods, they should regulate prices. Let a certain price be fixed for goods considering the cost of transportation and every expense such that the seller will have his/her profit and the buyer won't be cheated.

Also, it should not just be about price, but the quality too, goods should be screened, sold based on grade, no one is saying there is anything wrong with having goods that are not first grade, if your goods are fake or second class, indicate it.

There are people who would still buy it, but lying that it is first class and selling it at a high rate is evil and should be frowned upon.