By Babs Oyetoro, Olusegun Olanrewaju, David Lawani, and Linus Aleke
Following the rising inflation, Nigerians have urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently crash the prices of food items to ameliorate their sufferings.
Hyperinflation and palpable hunger have continued to ravage the land, and Nigerians are faced with an acute battle for survival.
Prices of basic foodstuffs have gone on the rooftop, transportation is not affordable to the poor masses again.
The reality of the day is that the purchasing power of an average Nigerian is completely eroded due to the effects of inflation.
*Costs of tomatoes, rice, and garri increased by 19.48%, 8.24%, 11.21% respectively in one month
The average price of 1kg tomato increased by 19.48 per cent on a month-on-month basis, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) food price watch for October has revealed.
According to the NBS, the average cost of 1kg of tomato increased from N565.69 to N675.91, indicating an increase of N110.22.
Between October 2022 and October 2023, the price of tomato rose from N454.46 per kg to N675.91 representing a 48.73 per cent.
The tomato was most expensive in Bayelsa selling at N1,344.13 per kg while it was least expensive in Kwara where one kg sold for N341.95.
Likewise, the year-on-year average price of 1kg of locally sold loose rice increased by 68.10 per cent, climbing from N487.47 in October 2022 to N819.42 in October 2023. Additionally, on a month-on-month basis, there was an 8.24 per cent increase.
In the case of loose white garri, the year-on-year average price surge was 63.68 per cent, ascending from N317.90 in October 2022 to N520.35 in October 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item rose by 11.21 per cent, up from N467.89 in September 2023.
Edo State registered the highest average price for 1kg of locally sold loose rice at N1,044.17, with the lowest reported in Zamfara at N660.79.
For 1kg of brown beans sold loose, Imo State had the highest price at N1,095.84, while Taraba reported the lowest at N550.59.
In terms of boneless beef, Anambra had the highest average price at N3,831.48, while Kogi had the lowest at N2,362.50.
Delta State recorded the highest average price for 1kg of loose white garri at N759.29, while Kogi State reported the lowest at N390.81.
Food prices have been increasing consistently in the past few months across Nigeria. The latest inflation report from the NBS puts food inflation at 31.5 per cent. However on a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 1.91 per cent which is lower than the 2.45 per cent recorded in October.
Also, some food sellers in Enugu have lamented the high cost of foodstuffs and other commodities in the state, saying it is making their food business difficult daily.
A cross-section of food sellers, who spoke in Enugu on Saturday, lamented their inability to buy the quantities of foodstuff needed for their businesses.
A food seller at Mayor Market, Mrs Vera Uzochukwu, said she could no longer make reasonable gains due to the high cost of foodstuffs, adding that she was managing to keep her business moving.
“It has not been easy for me since the removal of fuel subsidy, prices of foodstuffs and other commodities go up daily, which has been making it difficult for me to run this food business as I should,” she said.
Another seller, Miss Faith Ani, at Amechi Bus-Stop, explained that following the increase in prices of foodstuff, she was forced to increase the price of her food from N300 to N500 per plate.
Another food seller at Garki Market, Mrs Chidimma Agu, said that she had to reduce the quantity of her food in order not to increase the price as customers were complaining about the price increase by other food vendors.
“For me not to lose my customers, I had to reduce the quantity of the food for them to pay the usual price of N300 per plate without meat, and N400 with a piece of meat,” she said.
Another food seller at Old Park, Mrs Joy Ilodibe, said she used to make about N15,000 daily, but now she hardly makes up to N10,000 due to the high cost of foodstuffs.
Ilodibe called on the government to take deliberate steps to reduce the cost of foodstuff in the country.
However, one of the customers, Collins Umeh, blamed the food price increase on the food sellers, adding that they also increased the prices on their own to maximize profits and not because of subsidy removal on petroleum.
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*Demand aggressive promotion of agricultural produce
With this development, Nigerians have called on the Federal Government to make deliberate efforts to crash the prices of foodstuff, embark on aggressive agriculture to boost food production, and arrest this inflationary trend before it gets beyond this level.
A civil savant based in Abuja, Mr Ephraim Udeh, said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration must prioritise agriculture above every other thing to enable him to tackle poverty and hunger in the land.
“The period when the government rolls out beautiful policies in agriculture and not implement them is far gone. Daily, many Nigerians are going to bed on an empty stomach. That is the reason why there is a resurgence of begging on the streets of major cities in the federation. A sizeable number of households are metamorphosing into Almajiris,” he said.
Another respondent, Mr Bart Ajani, a businessman said, the government should go into mechanised farming, and modern animal husbandry to guarantee food security and at the same time force down the price of foodstuff in the market.
A pharmacist, Musa Adamu said the government needs to support poor households to enable them to cope with post subsidy removal economic reality.
Efforts, he said, should also be geared towards price control to avoid unnecessary hikes in the price of household items.
According to him, “Even a woman selling vegetables in the market, will give plausible reasons for the increase in price due to foreign exchange. How does foreign exchange policy affect vegetables that are locally sourced?
“We have degenerated to the point where every household now depends on what they get from the market. I think the market forces are also contributing to the price hike.
“While growing up, most households in our neighbourhood maintain a healthy garden where they grow vegetables and spices.
Today, those practices have taken flight into the moon. There is a need for re-orientation, the government must not solve all our problems for us. The one we can do let us do while hoping that the government should also live up to its constitutional responsibility”.
*FG should deploy a comprehensive strategy in tackling hunger, the needs of the people
The Councillor representing Ward 1 in Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Whatelse Ojo Ozaveshe Kennedy, Chief Whip, also added his voice to this discussion, said, “The best way to mitigate the suffering facing Nigerians currently is to deploy a comprehensive strategy that can address immediate needs of the people.
He said, “The only way to get out of this hardship is to declare an emergency in food production, embark on massive agricultural production, create job opportunities, social welfare programmes, and many other things to boost the economy.
“It’s crucial to acknowledge that effectively addressing these challenges demands persistent collaboration among the government, civil society, the private sector, and the international community”, he stated.
*Crash the price of food items, transportation through Private-Public-Partnership
Also, a lawyer, who doubles as a pastor, Paul Adoiza Omoluabi has stated that to cushion the effect of hardship and reduce hunger in the land due to stringent policies of the government, FG should cause a reduction in prices of foodstuff and transportation across the country saying it is the only way to go at the moment.
According to him, “I must say begging or soliciting for any form of assistance is not out of place. It is better to seek assistance than to go into stealing, kidnapping, or any form of crime or criminality.
“Besides, Nigerians should look for alternative means of livelihood as people cannot just sit down only on one job under this kind of situation we found ourselves. Engaging in another form of legitimate work to get additional income is not out of place.
“The way forward is for the government to cushion the effect of this hardship, if the government is sincere, the entire transport system can be handled by the government. The government can go into private-public partnership (PPP) and bring down the transport fares and also introduce the same in agriculture. We have commercialized farming, this will bring down the prices of foodstuff.
The Private Sector should also, at this critical period, come up with a viable corporate social responsibility programme. Engage our youths with some temporary jobs and introduce entrepreneurship for those currently undergoing their NYSC programmes and others who are willing to learn.
“All hands must be on the desk to make the country work. We must all learn to pay tax to government and government must be transparent enough to justify the payment of taxes by its citizens,” he said.
