₦airaland Forum

iz2much:
How much is reasonable to send retired parents monthly for food in Nigeria?

For those of you supporting your parents back home, how much do you normally send them every month specifically for feeding?

My mum and dad are both retired and receive their pensions. They live in their own house in Ilorin, so no rent involved. Thankfully, no sickness or regular medication expenses either.

I’m mainly trying to work out a realistic monthly amount for food for just the two of them — normal groceries, rice, beans, meat, fish, vegetables, cooking ingredients etc.

With the current prices of food in Nigeria, what would you consider reasonable for two retired people per month?

₦100k? ₦150k? ₦200k? More?

I know everyone’s situation is different, but I’d like to hear from people who actually support their parents or know what two people currently spend on feeding in Nigeria.

MCentral:
https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/dangotes-fortune-nears-51-billion-after-refinery-placement-resets-valuation/

bluejay05:
Some of you are so dumb..... celebrating mediocrity, this is what local government chairmen are doing in Lagos.

Tolu school complex which comprises of 36 schools were converted to smart school by a local government chairman and new 21 football pitches built.

Iworo-Ajido, Badagry smart school was build from scratch by a local government chairman in badagry, you people should stop this your mediocre attitude.

What was shown in this post is nothing close to what is known as a smart school.

Some private schools own by ordinary Nigeria is even better than this thing you people call smart school.

Dpharmacist:
A post by a Nigerian nurse recently caught my attention. She shared how her first salary in 2022 was just ₦21,000. After resigning from that job, she attended interviews at a specialist hospital only to be offered ₦23,000 for 12 hour shifts, a heavy patient workload, and demanding working conditions. She declined the offer and eventually accepted another position that paid modestly but treated her with dignity.


Speaking from experience, night nurses only come to work to sleep. Because I don't understand why they will be calling you by 2am and you would be asking unnecessary questions before seeing the patient. Sometimes they will ignore you

Whether every hospital pays this poorly is another discussion. Some government hospitals and well established private facilities pay significantly far more. However, it is no secret that many private hospitals across Nigeria have been accused of paying nurses wages that barely cover transportation while expecting them to work long hours under intense pressure.

The bigger issue is not just the salary.

Many nurses complain about being overworked, verbally abused, assaulted by patients or their relatives, and threatened with dismissal whenever they speak up. Add poor pay, staff shortages, and the rising cost of living, and it becomes easier to understand why so many Nigerian nurses are leaving the country.

The consequences affect all of us.

When experienced nurses leave, the remaining ones have to care for more patients. Burnout increases. Waiting times become longer. Medical errors become more likely. Eventually, patients also suffer.

No healthcare system can thrive if the people keeping it running are exhausted, underpaid, and undervalued.

Supporting nurses does not mean ignoring the challenges hospitals face. Healthcare facilities also deal with rising operating costs. However, expecting highly trained professionals to shoulder enormous responsibilities for wages that cannot sustain a decent standard of living is not a sustainable solution.

Healthcare workers deserve fair pay, safe working conditions, protection from workplace violence, and opportunities for professional growth. Patients also deserve motivated healthcare professionals who can give their best without constantly worrying about survival.

Nigeria cannot build a stronger healthcare system while treating its frontline workers as disposable.

What do you think? Should there be a minimum wage standard specifically for nurses and other healthcare professionals working in private hospitals?

“To start Akara business doesn't take a lot of money. To start roasting corn and kuli-kuli doesn't take much. We didn't give them a loan, we gave them a grant. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could.”

- First Lady Remi Tinubu pic.twitter.com/tnDNJavTH8

— Oyindamola🙄 (@dammiedammie35) June 25, 2026

Peterlove11:
Take it easy my brother..... Everyone has the right to vote and be voted, even some people will happily vote a bandit if placed on the ballot papers, that's democracy. As we canvass for our candidates, let's tame our tongues. There is no pride in we demeaning one another because we want our candidate to enter by force. In the long run, No single individual has the best manual for turning around the fortune of our country for good

CharlesCNG:
The Akara Economy: Why the Elite Often Misunderstand Grassroots Empowerment.

One of the biggest mistakes in Nigerian politics is assuming that everyone lives in the same economic reality.

They don't.

The debate over Senator Oluremi Tinubu's comments about akara and kuli-kuli exposed something deeper than politics. It exposed a disconnect between many middle-class commentators and the daily realities of millions of Nigerians.

To someone earning a salary every month, ₦50,000 may look insignificant.

To a widow selling akara, roasted yam, boiled corn, kuli-kuli or cashew nuts, ₦50,000 can be working capital. It is the difference between buying today's stock with borrowed money and buying it outright. It is the difference between surviving and expanding.

Years ago, I personally experienced this.

I gave five widows ₦30,000 each to buy cashew nuts. They repackaged them into smaller bottles and sachets for resale. Within three months, every one of them had repaid the money. We then revolved the same capital to another five women.

That small intervention did not create software engineers. It created sustainable micro-businesses.

That is the point many critics miss.

Not every Nigerian needs a laptop before they can be economically productive. Nigeria's economy is layered. A graduate may benefit from digital skills and technology. A market woman may benefit more from affordable working capital. A roadside food vendor may simply need enough money to increase inventory.

As food prices have risen, another trend has emerged. Demand for lower-cost prepared foods such as roasted yam, akara, bread-and-akara ("akara burger", boiled maize and similar street foods has increased in many communities because they remain relatively affordable. That, in turn, has created opportunities for thousands of small traders operating with modest capital.

This is not an argument against technology or digital empowerment.

It is an argument against one-size-fits-all thinking.

Successful social policy recognises that poverty is not uniform. The needs of a graduate seeking employment are different from those of a widow selling vegetables, or a hawker financing her daily stock on credit.

Politics is ultimately about understanding people where they are, not where we wish they were.

If the opposition wants to become electorally competitive, it must spend more time listening in markets than arguing on social media.

The grassroots are not asking politicians to solve every problem overnight. Many are asking for something much simpler: enough capital to take the next step.

Sometimes, the journey out of poverty does not begin with millions of naira.

Sometimes, it begins with one basin of akara.

SonofElElyonRet:
I am not a Tinubu supporter but this type of language is totally reprehensible and unacceptable.. have some decorum and criticize with civility

Oasisblue:
Peter Obi cant tell or show me anything as he is intellectually inferior. The same man under whose watch doctors in Anambra downed tools for 13 months. Anambra people that couldnt afford care in the private sector died in droves. The same Obi that brought his Fidelity Bank Director to succced him and we all know how the guy fared. When dem Sowore were fighting for Democracy, Obi was Abacha's Tin Can Port right hand person.

Support your imbecilic candidate in private. Save us precious oxygen. Obi my foot!

ppogba:
But there was no wastage when be bought SUVs for " autonomous communities" traditional rulers?

LikeI always say,thank God he has held a position before. Otherwise, we would have been talking about " the best president Nigeria never had" some years from now.
Most of what people use to antagonize him remain unrefuted and unrefutable. Someone who failed to hold an LG election for seven and half years suddenly talking about true federalism amongst others.

There is no honor amongst thieves, brother.

Oasisblue:
Peter Obi is actually the most clueless among the array of leading candidates.

It is shocking to me that a region of Nigeria that has produced globally acclaimed intellectuals have no netter person than Obi to fly their flag. How anyone can listen to Obi speak and conclude this is the man I want for President baffles me.