As the cost of living surges and naira scarcity bites harder in Africa’s biggest economy, households across the country are struggling to survive the difficult moment.
With inflation running at the highest rate in 17 years, hitting 21.82 percent in January and food inflation at 24.32 percent, Nigerians are seeking support from family members to overcome their cost of living and naira scarcity frustration.
“It has been tough for us. My brother has been the one supporting my family with the little he can for us to survive amid surging prices,” said Ronke Ademola, a trader at Mile 12 Market.
“With his support and that of my sister-in-law in the US, my family is still able to meet its essential needs despite our dwindling income,” she said.
Real wages, which reflect the power of employee pay after accounting for inflation, have fallen in Nigeria by 100 percent, thus making Nigerians face increasing pressures daily and forcing them to make hard choices as prices of all products continue to rise.
For lower-income households with little or no cash cushion, they are making harder choices such as what to buy or not, experts say.
“We have to move into my husband’s family house as our income can no longer sustain our daily expenses as prices of everything continue to surge,” said Adeyinka Abimbola, a 37-year-old teacher.
“We no longer worry about house rent and feeding as my in-laws are retired civil servants and they have been supportive of us since we moved in,” she said.
Households and businesses have been treading water for decades – weighed down by dwindling income and rising prices – but the spike in inflation is sending more than a ripple of frustrations among Nigerians.
In Nigeria, worsening insecurity and climate change have reduced food production, adding to upward price pressure and compounding the problem for families.
“We can’t even feed properly. If not for my siblings that have been supportive of me and my family I wonder what would have fallen us. They are supporting us with school fees that have doubled in the last year,” Michael Odundo, a painter said.
“My business has been struggling as people no longer want to paint their houses because they are prioritizing their spending,” he said, noting that he is planning to change his business but lack of finance has made it difficult.
About 90.4 million people of Nigeria’s population are food insecure and malnutrition rates in most northern states have more than doubled, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
Over 105 million Nigerians still live in extreme poverty, according to data from the World Poverty Clock of the Brookings Institute. The World Bank recently projected that Nigeria’s accelerating inflation will push an additional seven million into poverty in 2022 in its report ‘The Continuing Urgency of Business Unusual.
Nigeria’s economy grew at a slower pace in 2021 as poor performance of the agriculture and industry sectors, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Amaka Chigoke, a receptionist at a shipping company, told BusinessDay of the good samaritan saved from being stranded due to the cash crunch.
“Last week, I did not have any cash on me to transport myself to Ajah from Lekki, I was able to pay for my boat ride to CMS using a transfer.
Bus drivers kept rejecting transfers, and PoS merchants were asking for N500 for N1000, and I was on the brink of crying when a kind Nigerian offered to pay for my trip to Ajah and also paid my fare from Ajah to Badore, my bus stop again,” she said.
Read also: Cooking gas price rises 39% as naira scarcity bites
While the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues the push for the cashless policy, alternatives like the point of sale (POS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), and bank app platforms are failing, leaving many Nigerians stranded.
Blessing Moe a trader at Ikota complex “I was shocked when a bus conductor carried a passenger for free because the passenger did not have cash and was pleading to make the transfer, this propelled me to pay the same guys fee on our next trip also because I’ve received the same favor in a similar circumstance,” she said.
Ibrahim Olatilewa, a Tiler in Ikorodu said that in his neighborhood a particular trader allows her customers to buy provisions on credit and then do bulk transfers.
“When I buy things less than N1000, she writes it down and waits till the amount is significant before I transfer, but I guess she does that for her regular customers,” he said.
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