Grace, a commuter on a Danfo bus was seen on Sunday, March 10 eating fufu and moin moin, a popular Nigerian bean pudding.
Upon alighting, Nairametrics enquired why the combination, given the fact that it’s an odd mixture in Nigerian cuisine.
According to Grace, the moin moin is the cheapest source of protein she could afford; she could not afford to buy or make soup.
Mama Bayo, a widow with four, who confided in Nairametrics that she earns N150,000 monthly, said before now, she and her family ate a fairly balanced diet.
According to her, over the past six months, she has reduced her family’s protein diet from meat and fish to eggs, cowhide (pomo), and now, ground crayfish, just to keep the family healthy because with her salary she cannot afford such luxury as fish and meat anymore.
As if to confirm Mama Bayo’s claim, a meat seller in Ojo Local Government Area told Nairametrics that the demand for meat has fallen over the past several months. The same was said by a cold storage operator along the LASU/Isheri Road.
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He told Nairametrics that the demand for fish keeps falling. He alleged that most of his customers say they don’t buy enough fish nowadays because the prices of the commodity are too high – they can’t afford it.
Josephine, a vegetable seller, sleeps under the bridge near the FESTAC area with her seven-month-old baby. She told Nairametrics that she was sent packing away from her home because she could not afford to renew her house rent.
Across the length and breadth of the country, stories like the above are increasing. Nigerians, who pride themselves on being prudent managers of their resources are saying as if in a stentorian unison that there is hardly anything to manage. Indeed, when you have nothing, you have nothing to manage.
In the face of this, the prices of goods change almost on a per-purchase basis. It has become a common scene across Nigeria where people go to the market to purchase goods and the trader refuses to sell that commodity until he can confirm the new price of that commodity. Prices seem to change on an hourly basis.
As of the time of writing this piece, news filtered out of Enugu that a woman abandoned her three children at an Enugu Police station and committed suicide over hardship.
This new national economic reality makes it difficult for individuals to adjust to their new circumstances. A cross-section of Nigerians interviewed by this medium has expressed doubt that the current reality will abate shortly.
Phillip Nwabuzor, a civil servant with Lagos State Government, told Nairametrics that he has stayed afloat so far but at the edge of not being able to afford basic necessities.
He said before now he could afford all his family’s needs, but fears that he may not be able to foot his bills if the rate of inflation in the country does not slow down.
He added that he doubts the prices will ever fall back to where they were before the removal of subsidies.
Dr. Nathan Ugbechie, an economist, and economic affairs analyst, said the biggest culprit of the high inflation in the country is the falling value of the naira.
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He said while the removal of fuel subsidies was inevitable, the government should not have left the local currency to float against strong international currencies such as the dollar and pound. He added that if the government does not reconsider its policy of floating the naira we are headed for bigger problems.
- “We import a large percentage of the food we consume in Nigeria. Every time the naira loses value, it means further inflation for us. That is why the traders in Nigerian markets confirm the day’s exchange rates before selling each imported item. And it happens virtually on an hourly basis,” he said.
Moses Jakpor, a development economist, on his part, said the government should have built capacity, including the production, storage, and transportation of agriculture products, before removing subsidies on fuel and the currency.
He argued that in times like this the government should be humble enough to admit that there is a shortage of food in the land and open the borders for Nigerians to have access to cheaper foods. He said keeping the borders closed benefits only a tiny percentage of Nigerians but makes life difficult for most Nigerians.
Commenting on the arrest of alleged smugglers of food to neighboring countries, Jakpor said it is the forces of supply and demand at play.
- He cited that for decades there has been thriving trade between Nigeria and neighboring countries. “It may shock you to know that more than 90% of the food we consume in Nigeria comes from Niger. They buy from us, we buy from them. What is going on now has been going on for decades. We are only feeling the pinch now because we are no longer producing enough due to insecurity and other logistical problems,” he said.
Prognosticating, an agronomist, Dr. Gbenga Omotosho, in an interview with Nairametrics, said in the best-case scenario, if the government takes decisive and strategic action now, the shortage of food could begin to see a reverse in six to eight months; otherwise, Nigerians are in this for the long haul. He added that denial of the true situation will plunge Nigerians into further poverty, especially hunger.
Meanwhile, the cries of hunger continue to grow louder. An octogenarian, Pa Peter Agbaso, said over the more than 80 years he has been alive, it has never been this tough.