Nigeria’s embattled Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele wants you to believe that holding the naira artificially at N197/$ and ignoring the parallel market rate at near N400/$ will put a lid on inflation for an economy that imports most of what it consumes.
However recent price checks by Nairametrics shows that prices of goods are increasing fast as businesses adjust their rates higher in response to the Parallel market FX rates.
From the markets on Main Street to the malls on the high streets, checks show that live chicken has moved higher by 92 percent to N2,500 from N1,300 two weeks ago.
The popular bag of pure water has moved up by 87.5 percent to N150 from N80 earlier.
The price of the staple food called Agege bread has increased to N70 from N50.
For the ladies the Mary Kay brand of foundation has increased in price by 133 percent to N3, 500 from N1, 500 while Black Up foundation has increased by 11.7 percent to N9, 500 from N8, 500.
So, Nigerians are increasingly unable to afford a meal with chicken. Or if they do eat rice or eba without meat, they cannot even wash it down with pure water.
Agege bread, which is popular with the masses is getting out of reach, while the ladies are now finding it hard to look pretty for their men with make up foundations being so expensive.
While the economic managers in Abuja continue to live in bubbles and feel all is well while channeling Marie Antoinette ‘let them eat cake’, Nigerians are being squeezed by incompetent policies.
