Workers have continued to groan under the adverse effect of inflation on their income, Deborah Dan-Awoh reports
Economists define inflation as the rise in the general price level over a period of time. In Nigeria, inflation has remained double-digit (over nine per cent) since 2015 when Nigeria’s President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), came to power.
The country has survived two recessions, with the former induced by a foreign exchange crisis and the latter, COVID-19.
In June 2022, Nigeria’s inflation rate recorded a seventh consecutive monthly rise to 18.6 percent, representing a 0.9 percent point rise from the 17.71 percent reported in May 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
With the spiralling inflation, the hardest hit is the worker whose wages have remained the same amid rising prices.
The prices of commodities from petrol to biscuits have risen dramatically. Petrol prices have increased officially from N162-N165 to N175 and above per litre, but the product sells between N200 and N220 in Kogi, Edo, Anambra, Kano, among other states.
“Nigerian workers are challenged because sending our workers to school has become almost impossible,” said Abu Halima, an Abuja-based civil servant.
“Even in those schools, prices of items have risen so fast. We, the parents, are the ones bearing the burden,” she told THE Punch.
Rents in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria are responding to the rising inflation. A two bed-room flat in Kubwa, Zuba, and Gwagwalada – which are classified as the middle- and lower-class areas –cost as high as N600,000 to N800,000 today.
In Lagos, the same size of flat in Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Ilasamaja, among others, also cost as much as N500 to N800,000.
“My landlord has increased our house rent from N500, 000 to N700,000. My husband and I are salary earners and we are already disorganised,” said Lynda Akagba, who lives in Karu, an urban area in Abuja, which is closely knit with Nasarawa State.
Food inflation
Reports say that Nigerians spend 60 per cent of their income on food. Food inflation rose to a terrifying 20.6 per cent in June from the 19.5 per cent recorded in May.
The products responsible for the hike in inflation were bread, yam, rice, beans, oil, and garri, staple food products.
