Is food really cheap in Nigeria?
Last Monday, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, said Nigeria was producing enough food to feed itself, insisting that there was no hunger in Nigeria and that with N30 one can buy a meal in Kano. He said food is very cheap in Nigeria compared to other countries. Daily Trust Saturday asked […]
Last Monday, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, said Nigeria was producing enough food to feed itself, insisting that there was no hunger in Nigeria and that with N30 one can buy a meal in Kano. He said food is very cheap in Nigeria compared to other countries. Daily Trust Saturday asked some Nigerians if the minister’s assertion was true.
Josephine Kolawole, 23, student, Oyo State
Cost implications of purchasing foodstuffs can be relative depending on the part of the country one resides. In areas where there are subsistence farmers like Ibadan, Jos, and Kano, to mention a few, food is somewhat cheap. The perspective chosen matters; that of someone who cooks or someone who prefers to buy cooked food. An individual who cooks can tailor what is to be consumed to his/her pocket and still eat quality food. This isn’t the same for someone who decides to buy it. In all, ‘cheap’ or expensive is relative since there is no benchmark for what constitutes either. But, one can arguably say food isn’t cheap in Nigeria and the rate at which inflation affects consumables should be checked.
Sani Abdullahi Ruba, 30, Teacher/Activist, Jos
It depends on the kind of food you want to take. For example, if you want to eat sweet potatoes and cocoyam, they’re very cheap here. Two-hundred-naira worth of sweet potatoes can sustain you for two good days. Also, with N70 to N100 here I Jos, you can eat rice and beans with oil and pepper to your satisfaction. Tea with bread is sold for 70 naira here. But if you are the type who eats at VIP restaurants, then you can’t say food is cheap. However, for the minister of agriculture to say there is no hunger in the country is quite laughable. This is laughable because some people find it difficult to put food in their stomachs, especially those in the rural areas. Things are honestly not as easy as the man thinks.
Cornelius Anyaechi, 31, Journalist, Abakaliki
Asking the question, ‘Is food really cheap in Nigeria’ seems like asking if our currency will ever equal the US dollar. Over the years, we have seen the hike in the price of food items. Food being cheap varies from one state to another. For example, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, one can get a plate of food for N300 while in Owerri, Imo State, you can see that same plate of food at N350 or N400 depending on where you are in the state. This is an interstate variation not to talk of intrastate variation. The truth is that the cost of cooking items is high in the market. For me, the question of if food is cheap in Nigeria depends on where you are in Nigeria. It also depends on some food items that are relatively cheap compared to others. But if the government can bring in a regulatory system, that will go a long way in checking the cost of foodstuff in the country.
Ayeesha Sadeeq, 28, Entrepreneur, Gusau
Food is not cheap in Nigeria because there are many people out there who can’t have a standard three-square meal. Since Nigeria’s inflation rate doubled, the country has experienced a recession. This explains why the cost of foodstuff has skyrocketed. Even the local foods are not cheap. A plate of rice sold for N100 is not enough for an adult to eat for the whole day. And we all know that food is very important, and the basic need of an average man is to satisfy his stomach first before any other thing is considered.
Richard Okonkwo, 60, rtd civil servant, Delta State
Food is not cheap in Nigeria compared to the olden days when you could buy things with denominations that don’t exist today. Back then, schools had meal tickets, life was good. The recent breakdown in the economy and fewer infrastructures that haven’t been put in place have resulted in the option of exploring the international markets. For instance, in the olden days, we were known to be among the top nations producing cocoa, groundnut, and palm kernel. These days, we barely have good structures in place for products like these to be in abundance. It is very sad.