Nigerians decry rising cost of living

Citizens across Nigeria have expressed concern over the rising prices of essential commodities such as rice, flour, sugar and cement. This is just as the naira continues to suffer depreciation, thereby reducing the purchasing power of the people.  Investigations by our correspondents in Kano, Kwara, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Lagos states as well as Abuja revealed […]

Citizens across Nigeria have expressed concern over the rising prices of essential commodities such as rice, flour, sugar and cement. This is just as the naira continues to suffer depreciation, thereby reducing the purchasing power of the people. 

Investigations by our correspondents in Kano, Kwara, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Lagos states as well as Abuja revealed challenging situations for various groups of people, with some residents resorting to prayers while others calling on the government to take decisive control measures.

Kano 

In Kano, it was gathered that a 50kg bag of locally milled rice, which sold at N47,700 early January, is now selling at between N58,500 and N60,000 depending on the brand, while a 50kg bag of flour, which was sold at N35,500 early January is now N40,000. 

Similarly, a 50kg bag of sugar at Singer Market is now selling at N73, 000 as against N62, 000 sold in early January. 

A bag of cement, which was N5, 500 in the beginning of January 2024, rose to N7, 300 as of Thursday.

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According to a civil servant and a father of five, Malam Shehu Usman, the current situation is beyond explanation. He described the price hikes as something that needed divine intervention. 

“We have to turn to God and seek his forgiveness, because what is happening goes beyond human explanation. Imagine an increase of N10, 300 within 30 days on a 50kg bag of rice and no one is saying anything? 

“To many of us, life has never been so difficult than what we are going through presently. Many households cannot afford three meals in a day,” he said. 

Another resident, Isah Bello, said his major concern is on how people will cope with the situation during Ramadan when Muslims observe fast. He stressed the need for the authorities to do the needful before things get out of control.

 

Abuja 

A bag of flour has hit N44, 000 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Daily Trust investigation revealed. 

Lamenting the situation, a caterer at Wuse Market, Abuja, Mrs Kafayat Musa said her profit had reduced drastically. 

“Just last week, it (flour) was sold for N41, 000. I no longer make much profit, despite increasing the cost of egg rolls, doughnuts, among others. The government should please do something,” she said. 

Investigations by our correspondent yesterday across major markets in the nation’s capital also revealed that a bag of sugar now costs between N72,000 and N75,000, as against about N60,000 and N62,000 early this year. 

Rice now sells for between N55, 000 and N61, 000 for a 50kg bag, depending on the area of purchase. The same quantity sold at between N45, 000 and N55, 000 earlier this year. 

Similarly, a bag of cement has hit N6, 500 in Abuja.  Last week, it was sold for between N5, 200 and N5, 400.

 

Kwara 

Many distributors and retailers who spoke to our correspondent in Kwara, where cement is sold at N6, 200 lamented scarcity of the commodity. 

According to Hajia Lateefat Abdullahi, owner of Orire Cement Trading Company: “It has been difficult getting supply from distributors to satisfy customers in Ilọrin.” 

Speaking on the issue, a major distributor, Mr Olatunji Ayantola, attributed the sharp increase in the price of cement to several factors. 

“What happened before were speculations, market fluctuation and inflation. Initially, there was scarcity due to poor loading from the companies over the issue of gas, which reduced delivery and created the surge we were battling with before the increments,” he said.

 

Lagos 

In Lagos, Daily Trust observed that a 50kg bag of foreign rice was sold for between N65, 000 and N70, 000 while the local rice goes for N65, 000. 10kg of Semovita was sold for N11, 500 at Iponri Market, while a paint bucket of beans goes for N13, 500. 

It was also gathered that a bag of sugar is now sold for N63, 000.

Further investigations revealed that the prices were almost the same in Port Harcourt, River State; Ibadan, Oyo State and Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, among others. 

Mrs Peace Saviour, who owns a restaurant in Lagos, lamented low patronage by customers as a result of the hike in price of commodities and the low purchasing power of citizens across the country.

 

‘Everything has gone high,” she said. 

 “Maggi moved from N700 to N1, 200 per pack and Spaghetti is N750. We are not making any gain; we are just struggling to feed the family. The money will go towards buying things (family’s essentials),” she said. 

She revealed that she has reduced the quantity of food she sells to her customers, calling on the government to salvage the plight of the people. 

“Instead of increasing the price again, we reduce the quantity. People are not eating to get satisfied. I don’t have many customers like before. A plate of food I was selling for N300 is now N800. 

“The government should bring down the price of things. They should open borders. What we are producing in Nigeria is not enough; when things were brought from across the borders, things were affordable,” she said. 

An apprentice, Ajayi Oluwafemi, said it has become unbearable to survive in Nigeria as the cost of living keeps going high while workers are poorly paid by both government and private organisations. 

“Nigeria has become something else. If I have my way to get out of this country, I will not come back again. The country is full of stress. The government has failed the people,” he said. 

In Ebonyi, some residents in Abakaliki, the state capital, said the rising cost of food items in the market is because of the hike in the price of petrol by the federal government. 

A resident, Mr David Eze blamed the government for increasing the cost of a litre of petrol from N270 to N650, thereby affecting the cost of transportation of the goods. 

Another trader, Mrs Chogozie Agu, who deals in provisions and other food items, urged the government to eradicate task forces on food items. 

He said they extort money from the trucks and the drivers on highways, thus leading to the increases in the cost of goods.

 

Tame inflation, tackle insecurity — LCCI 

The President/Chairman of Council, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, urged the government to adopt prudent fiscal policy measures and investment-friendly tax policies that work in tandem with the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tame inflation. 

Idahosa, who disclosed this in an address on the state of the economy, said there is also a need to improve security on the farmlands to boost food security.

“On agriculture sector growth, we urge the federal government to improve security and intensify the implementation of the national agricultural extension policy with focus on improved and relevant agricultural technologies. The LCCI recommends that the government consider fast-tracking the movement of policing from the exclusive list to the concurrent list. This will ensure effective policing of the nooks and crannies of our communities including the farmlands,” he said.

 

We’ll lay all our cards before FG – Labour 

Reacting to the development, the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said it would lay all its cards before the federal government during the collective bargaining meeting it is about to enter after the formal inauguration of a 37-man committee. 

The national treasurer of the NLC, Comrade Ambali Olatunji, said that the organised labour might not accept N200, 000 minimum wage it earlier negotiated for because of high prices of goods in the market. 

He said, “Our own is that when we go to the negotiation table, we will lay all the cards on the table. When we were demanding N200, 000 minimum wage, dollar was at the rate of between N600 and N750. Today, the dollar has increased to between N1, 400 and N1, 500. 

“So, we have to go back to our own round table through the technical session and arrive at an acceptable commensurate living wage for Nigerians using a comparative analysis for economic indices of Nigeria and others.”

Official statistics have shown that inflation has been rising in Nigeria for several months. The rate increased to 28.92% in December, from 28.20% in November, 2023.

The December rate is a near 30-year high.