We've heard it said here and there that ''the average Nigerian lives on less than a dollar a day''.

Some have their own specific percentage, which can range from ''70%'' to as high as ''99.9%''.

Many quote these figures with the authority and aplomb of sages, from world bank officials to disgruntled nairalanders, completely ignoring the sheer ludicrous nature of the statistic.

According to their claim, the average Nigerian wakes up, washes himself, eats, dresses up, and takes public transport to his work or his daily hustle, with ONE DOLLAR. He returns home at the end of the day, has a meal, maybe a beer. (See: Nigeria world's 2nd biggest consumer of Guinness after Britain... Beer consumption is about 19.5 million hectoliters in 2012 and growing at about 8-9 percent per annum,” : http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/alcohol-sales-surge-in-nigeria-despite-rising-religious-beliefs/#sthash.HKLVM2x0.dpuf)

Finally, still with that ONE DOLLAR, this 'average Nigerian' makes a couple of calls to his friends on his mobile..and surfs the web. (Yes, the average Nigerian surfs the web: See Nigeria Overtakes SA in Internet Usage …Ranks Highest in Africa...Nigeria tops Africa at 45 million Internet users http://www.ittelecomdigest.com/cover-ict10.htm)


Late in the evening he strolls out to buy Suya...maybe with coke or satchet water.

ALL STILL WITH THAT ONE DOLLAR

The question now is, THAT ONE DOLLAR, is it a different value of dollar from the normal ONE DOLLAR in America? Because as far as I know, ONE DOLLAR in America cannot even buy you a PACKET OF SWEET.

If you give a beggar ONE DOLLAR in America, (YES they do have beggars) he would look at you as if you're a mad man. He might even take it the wrong way, that you're trying to insult him. In fact it's better you don't even give him anything than give him ONE DOLLAR.

So please...let's stop this ''$1 a day" nonsense.


It's a complete joke.


Nigeria's Mobile Phone Subscribers Hit 121 Million

http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/nigeria-grows-subscribers-121m/7274/#.UpelidJdWSo

let's leave the 1$ theory abeg, even poor men dey spend atleast 500naira(3 to 4usd) daily, but in a village setting, its possible sha, remember say e get people were dey load 100 to 200 naira card for their phone per week, trek go work, and remember say e get people were the earn 5k to 6k a month for their work place, 1$ for 31days =31dollars, which at the exchange rate of 160 is almost 5k and abeg incase this topic reach frontpage remember say na be first to comment oh

geeez: Nigerians are multi-simmers

There are over thirty million people with more than one GSM line

I've never believed in that $1 story. Six thousand Naira a month is more than 1dollar a day.

geeez: Nigerians are multi-simmers

There are over thirty million people with more than one GSM line

leave the guy!

The guy failed to realise that some of these people online(2go, whatsapp, BBm, eskimi, et al) are just there to request for airtime which is the daily source of credit to their phones.

Even boys self dey form girls posting the picture of their sisters as DP just to request for 100naira airtime or BB subscriptions.

I even have a brother that lives on MTN promoes. Only God understands how he does it. Buy 3 sim packs for 150 naira and discards them after exhausting the bonuses on them. Then he begins another cycle.

ebamma: let's leave the 1$ theory abeg, even poor men dey spend atleast 500naira(3 to 4usd) daily, but in a village settings its possible sha, remember say e get people were dey load 100 to 200 naira card for their phone per week, trek go work, and remember say e get people were the earn 5k to 6k a month for their work place, 1$ for 31days =31dollars, which at the exchange rate of 160 is almost 5k

Bro... for village setting dem dey eat fresh yam with vegetables and paw paw, pineapple plus other fruits. All that pass one dollar biko.

Rednaxelot: leave the guy!

The guy failed to realise that some of these people online(2go, whatsapp, BBm, eskimi, et al) are just there to request for airtime which is the daily source of credit to their phones.

Even boys self dey form girls posting the picture of their sisters as DP just to request for 100naira airtime or BB subscriptions.

I even have a brother that lives on MTN promoes. Only God understands how he does it. Buy 3 sim packs for 150 naira and discards them after exhausting the bonuses on them. Then he begins another cycle.

Guy, u really cracked me up. lwkmd

Is the benchmark of $1 or $1.25 per day the issue or the fact that millions of Nigerians are swimming in poverty?


According to the Statistician General of Nigeria, 93.9% of Nigerians considered themselves to be poor.

According to the same man, poverty rate stood at 69% in 2010. According to this report, about 112million Nigerians lived below poverty level.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/93-9-nigerians-considered-themselves-to-be-poor-nbs/


Clearly, owning a mobile phone or buying a bottle of beer is not the yardstick for measuring poverty.

I subscribe to the op's opinion, one dollar can't afford average plate of food.
For instance, 1$=170, Average plate of food is 200 to 250 so where did they get this 1% dollar myth.
For once, I had never believed that 1$ bullshit

the warrior72: I subscribe to the op's opinion, one dollar can't afford average plate of food.
[s]For instance, 1$=170, Average plate of food is 200 to 250[/s] so where did they get this 1% dollar myth.
For once, I had never believed that 1$ bullshit

fallacy of hasty generalisation!

Pukkah: Is the benchmark of $1 or $1.25 per day the issue or the fact that millions of Nigerians are swimming in poverty?


According to the Statistician General of Nigeria, 93.9% of Nigerians considered themselves to be poor.

According to the same man, poverty rate stood at 69% in 2010. According to this report, about 112million Nigerians lived below poverty level.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/93-9-nigerians-considered-themselves-to-be-poor-nbs/


Clearly, owning a mobile phone or buying a bottle of beer is not the yardstick for measuring poverty.

Considered is different from actually been poor.,Me I considerd myself poor, but I don't live on one 1$ a day!!

You should know that the $1 a day analysis is based of the fact that household income in most African countries are unverifiable and records are not kept. many economist are aware and dont base their projection on the $1 a day theory. so telling us that Nigeria has 100 billion subscribers doesnt change a thing. (Nigeria economic projections are not calculated with the a dollar a day theory. it is used in political and other non- financial terms mostly these days)

Nigeria has a lot of poor people. THAT IS A FACT! we would never know the real numbers if we dont work on our data management and tax calculations thou. its easy to evade taxes in Nigeria. beating up revenue officers is one of those ways

Even with the 121 million subscribers, records still show that is is 69.9 phones per 100 persons so about 30 percent still doenst have one
compare that to Kenya, south Africa and Algeria with 71 ,117 and 94 percent respectively there is nothing to celebrate yet.. we are still getting there

This is ignorant!

It is not your $1 as you change at your BDC but economic prices. The poverty head count line is US$1 for extreme poverty and US$2 for poverty a day in PPP all in 1985 prices. It is not the currency but the basket of goods that amount will buy. The PPP $1 a day standard denotes not what a US dollar can actually buy in Nigeria but what a US dollar will buy in the US in 1985.

Given Nigeria's double digits inflation rate and the less than 4% US rate over these period, it may interest you to know that US$ 1 ppp can even be at about N1300 today.

So please understand the standard and what is being measured before you criticise.

Aigipan: You should know that the $1 a day analysis is based of the fact that household income in most African countries are unverifiable and records are not kept. many economist are aware and dont base their projection on the $1 a day theory. so telling us that Nigeria has 100 billion subscribers doesnt change a thing. (Nigeria economic projections are not calculated with the a dollar a day theory. it is used in political and other non- financial terms mostly these days)

Nigeria has a lot of poor people. THAT IS A FACT! we would never know the real numbers if we dont work on our data management and tax calculations thou. its easy to evade taxes in Nigeria. beating up revenue officers is one of those ways

The world has a lot of poor people. India and China has billiions of poor people. If the reports have said Most Nigerians are poor, we could understand and maybe even swallow it. They said clearly and keep repeating it that 80% of Nigerians live on one dollar a day. So please dont try to spin it. That report is fallacious and designed by people with ulterior motives

ballabriggs: This is ignorant!

It is not your $1 as you change at your BDC but economic prices. The poverty head count line is US$1 for extreme poverty and US$2 for poverty a day in PPP all in 1985 prices. It is not the currency but the basket of goods that amount will buy. The PPP $1 a day standard denotes not what a US dollar can actually buy in Nigeria but what a US dollar will buy in the US in 1985.

Given Nigeria's double digits inflation rate and the less than 4% US rate over these period, it may interest you to know that US$ 1 ppp can even be at about N1300 today.

So please understand the standard and what is being measured before you criticise.

You are a seriously confused person. If the report was in 1985, why would anyone be using it to rate Nigerians today? What was the standard of living in 1985? Is it the same today? Some of you are neither here nor there. You flip flop like an unstable reed

theoctopus:

The world has a lot of poor people. India and China has billiions of poor people. If the reports have said Most Nigerians are poor, we could understand and maybe even swallow it. They said clearly and keep repeating it that 80% of Nigerians live on one dollar a day. So please dont try to spin it. That report is fallacious and designed by people with ulterior motives

There are poor people everywhere. the ratio is the important thing given that fact that a country's population can never be the same. and i am not spinning anything economist don't base projections on $1 a day and i told you why already. and china doesn't have billions of poor people that's exaggeration my friend

theoctopus:

You are a seriously confused person. If the report was in 1985, why would anyone be using it to rate Nigerians today? What was the standard of living in 1985? Is it the same today? Some of you are neither here nor there. You flip flop like an unstable reed

Cure your ignorance first and bother less about the work of those guys. We are talking economic prices and not financial prices. When you understand what is being measured then you can comment.

Till then keep confusing them in your village meeting. Your post is filled with ignorance.

Sophisticated ignorance. My apologies to the ugly man Abati

ballabriggs:

Cure your ignorance first and bother less about the work of those guys. We are talking economic prices and not financial prices. When you understand what is being measured then you can comment.

Till then keep confusing them in your village meeting. Your post is filled with ignorance.

Sophisticated ignorance. My apologies to the ugly man Abati

You are a silly kid who is just excited about posting online. Grow up!

theoctopus:

You are a silly kid who is just excited about posting online. Grow up!

lol full time sychophant with his sophisticated ignorance.

If you had been studying maybe just maybe you would understand what the World bank and UNDP mean. As one can see, your knowledge is limited to how to worship your pay masters.

Like I said, cure your ignorance first. The World bank or the UNDP is not the problem. Your ignorance is the problem.

If you ask the telecommunication companies, of the 121million subscribers, half of the lines may not be active. Personally, I have 4 sim cards that I do not use at all. Secondly, sim packs are now sold for N100 to N200 so it is affordable and thanks to China and used phones, people can afford to buy cheap phones. Some subscribers only recharge N100 or N200 once or twice in a month, so the number of subscribers cannot be judiciously used to measure poverty level in Nigeria.



There are many Nigerians who live on less than $1 a day. The minimum wage is N18000, if a family man with a wife and three children earns N18000 minimum wage a month, if the wife is unemployed it means N18000 divided by 5, that is N3600 for a head in a month, N3600 divided by 30 days is N120 a day which is less than a dollar. There are many Nigerians who earn less than N18000 a month and they also have dependents.

Go up north and see millions of almajiris, who live in abject poverty, not relative poverty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Nigeria

This says 63% are under a dollar a day.

There are 180,000,000 Nigerians.

That means 66,600,000 are NOT under $1 Dollar a day.

121,000,000 is still not even a sim card each, and as we've heard a lot of people have more than one.

41,000,000 Internet Users is not even two-thirds of those who aren't under the $1 per day level.

Ki-Katanga:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Nigeria

This says 63% are under a dollar a day.

There are 180,000,000 Nigerians.

That means 66,600,000 are NOT under $1 Dollar a day.

121,000,000 is still not even a sim card each

Are you for real? You do realise the Nigerian population comprises millions of infants and toddlers and elderly people who cannot own mobiles!! Not to mention the millions of regular adults and teens who CAN own one but simply choose NOT to etc etc... It's ridiculous to expect every single one of the Nigerian population to own a mobile!

Rossike,
The term average Nigerian , means that it includes children infants and elderlyand unemployed adults
So the same way you have stated that infants cannot be expected to own a mobile phone, also acknowledge that the same infants are included in the calculations of what an average Nigerian lives on.

This example my help clarify:

Take Mr Augustine Okonkwo who lives in Enugu.

He lives with his wife Ngozi and 5 children.

Mr Okonkwo earns N50,000 per month as a civil servant .

Mrs Okonkwo earns N10,000 per month from selling eggs at their local main market.

The Okonkwo's total household income is N60,000 per month

which at an exchange rate of N170 = $1 , is equivalent to $350 per month

As there are average 30.4 days per month,

The Okonkwo's income is $11.60 per day

For a family of 7 people (including the children), this means Income per person in the household = $11.60/7= $1.65 per person per day

Therefore based on Mr Okonkwo's household, the average Nigerian survives on $1.65 per day

ROSSIKE:

Are you for real? You do realise the Nigerian population comprises millions of infants and toddlers and elderly people who cannot own mobiles!! Not to mention the millions of regular adults and teens who CAN own one but simply choose NOT to etc etc... It's ridiculous to expect every single one of the Nigerian population to own a mobile!

Pukkah: Is the benchmark of $1 or $1.25 per day the issue or the fact that millions of Nigerians are swimming in poverty?


According to the Statistician General of Nigeria, 93.9% of Nigerians considered themselves to be poor.

According to the same man, poverty rate stood at 69% in 2010. According to this report, about 112million Nigerians lived below poverty level.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/93-9-nigerians-considered-themselves-to-be-poor-nbs/


Clearly, owning a mobile phone or buying a bottle of beer is not the yardstick for measuring poverty.

loool u dey mind the clowns?

Nigerians are angry that the world sees through their lies and the they are truly a poor country ravaged by poverty where nothing works.

the warrior72:
Considered is different from actually been poor.,Me I considerd myself poor, but I don't live on one 1$ a day!!

What's your take on the second part of the post?

ballabriggs: This is ignorant!

It is not your $1 as you change at your BDC but economic prices. The poverty head count line is US$1 for extreme poverty and US$2 for poverty a day in PPP all in 1985 prices. It is not the currency but the basket of goods that amount will buy. The PPP $1 a day standard denotes not what a US dollar can actually buy in Nigeria but what a US dollar will buy in the US in 1985.

Given Nigeria's double digits inflation rate and the less than 4% US rate over these period, it may interest you to know that US$ 1 ppp can even be at about N1300 today.

So please understand the standard and what is being measured before you criticise.

I think it's 2005 prices.

Regardless of the year, many of the people you're addressing will choose not to understand it and get permanently fixated on the simplistic understanding of the issues.

This is why I usually use local figures to tackle them. Can you see how they have been avoiding the ugly fact that 112million Nigerians were below poverty line in 2010? They would rather flex their muscles on the $1 a day which they are not even right about because that's easier to spin.

Poverty is real in Nigeria and I don't know why they are denying it.

Pukkah:

I think it's 2005 prices.

Regardless of the year, many of the people you're addressing will choose not to understand it and get permanently fixated on the simplistic understanding of the issues.

This is why I usually use local figures to tackle them. Can you see how they have been avoiding the ugly fact that 112million Nigerians were below poverty line in 2010? They would rather flex their muscles on the $1 a day which they are not even right about because that's easier to spin.

Poverty is real in Nigeria and I don't know why they are denying it.

Bros this figure of 112m Nigerians been bellow poverty line is outrageous,fictitious& unbelievable.
What are u guys trying to prove?, that 112m nigerians live bellow #200 a day?, Do know how much a derica of rice cost, how much an average plate of food cost even in rural areas like east & south, how much a cup of egusi cost, a cup of ogbono,a derica of garri, a loaf of bread ,a tin of milk, a tin of tomato etc. Let us stop buying into whatever those racist oyinbo propagated about nigeria& and africa @ large

It's not fictitious. Go to Oto-Ilogbo and find a man with a wife and 3 children. Ask him if he makes more than ₦1,000 a day.

[size=18pt]YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE.[/size]

GenBuhari: Rossike,
The term average Nigerian , means that it includes children infants and elderlyand unemployed adults
So the same way you have stated that infants cannot be expected to own a mobile phone, also acknowledge that the same infants are included in the calculations of what an average Nigerian lives on.

This example my help clarify:

Take Mr Augustine Okonkwo who lives in Enugu.

He lives with his wife Ngozi and 5 children.

Mr Okonkwo earns N50,000 per month as a civil servant .

Mrs Okonkwo earns N10,000 per month from selling eggs at their local main market.

The Okonkwo's total household income is N60,000 per month

which at an exchange rate of N170 = $1 , is equivalent to $350 per month

As there are average 30.4 days per month,

The Okonkwo's income is $11.60 per day

For a family of 7 people (including the children), this means Income per person in the household = $11.60/7= $1.65 per person per day

Therefore based on Mr Okonkwo's household, the average Nigerian survives on $1.65 per day

This analogy is fantastic, but still prove that average Nigerian does not live on one dollars,let alone bellow.

.

.