There is no doubt that the hike in food prices since the beginning of 2024 has taken another dimension, with goods generating different price tags daily.

This is a result of soaring inflation, which has eaten deep into the purchasing power of many Nigerians, taking away staple foods from the table of many and increasing the poverty level in the country.

Speaking with Vanguard, market leaders from Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Ogun states decried the consistent surge in the prices of foodstuffs, which has exacerbated hunger among the citizens.

It’s been hard for traders —Ado-Ekiti market leaders

The leader of the market women association, Oja-Oba in Ado-Ekiti, Medinah Ibrahim, noted that the past few weeks in 2024 have been hard for traders compared to 2023.

Ibrahim warned that if the excruciatingly painful economic hardship continues unabated, more people will be pushed below the poverty line before the end of the year.

She said almost all products and foodstuffs in the market have increased in price by more than 30%.
She said: “Look at that plastic Bournvita, last year it was around N5,000 but has now surged to N7,800.

“Yes, we sell them but we can’t afford to eat them as usual else, we will be stranded and we will have nothing to fall back on.

“A packet of spaghetti was N7,000 but has skyrocketed to almost N13,000.

“Things are terrible, we are losing customers, we are hungry. Increase in food prices has made life almost unbearable for all, even we as traders.”

By Dayo Johnson, Rotimi Ojomoyela & Shina Abubakar

There is no doubt that the hike in food prices since the beginning of 2024 has taken another dimension, with goods generating different price tags daily.

This is a result of soaring inflation, which has eaten deep into the purchasing power of many Nigerians, taking away staple foods from the table of many and increasing the poverty level in the country.

Speaking with Vanguard, market leaders from Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Ogun states decried the consistent surge in the prices of foodstuffs, which has exacerbated hunger among the citizens.

It’s been hard for traders —Ado-Ekiti market leaders

The leader of the market women association, Oja-Oba in Ado-Ekiti, Medinah Ibrahim, noted that the past few weeks in 2024 have been hard for traders compared to 2023.

Ibrahim warned that if the excruciatingly painful economic hardship continues unabated, more people will be pushed below the poverty line before the end of the year.

She said almost all products and foodstuffs in the market have increased in price by more than 30%.
She said: “Look at that plastic Bournvita, last year it was around N5,000 but has now surged to N7,800.

“Yes, we sell them but we can’t afford to eat them as usual else, we will be stranded and we will have nothing to fall back on.

“A packet of spaghetti was N7,000 but has skyrocketed to almost N13,000.

“Things are terrible, we are losing customers, we are hungry. Increase in food prices has made life almost unbearable for all, even we as traders.”

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Aside from the issue of poverty, food inflation and other cost of living, the market leader decried that sending her children to school in the country has also become a difficult task.

On her part, the Iyalaje of Provision Goods traders, Mopelola Olaoluwa, expressed her displeasure over the difficulties faced in sustaining customers as a result of the hike in food prices.

She asserted that prices of goods were still manageable in late 2023, but suddenly skyrocketed which has further led to depreciation in customer patronage.

Olaoluwa expressed her frustration that business is not only slow but also very difficult to break even due to the economic situation in the country.

She said: “If you buy an item of N1,000 today, it will be N1,200 tomorrow. If you are buying one carton today, tomorrow is half for the same price because everything is going higher every day.
“I agree there is no money in the town, if there’s money, it wouldn’t be like this. Let me tell you that Kings’ oil, formerly N17,000 per carton, now goes for N23,500, some are selling at N25,000. Chicken flavour Maggi was N20,000 last week, but rose to N25,000 this week.”

Also, Monisola Salawu, who is the Vice-President of the Raw Goods Traders, registered her frustration.

She said: “It wasn’t this bad before. A bag of rice was around N65,000 but last week, it increased to more than N80,000.

“Look at a bag of beans, I bought it for N88,000 last week but when I got to the market lately, it has skyrocketed to more than N100,000.

“Things in the market are now costly; we are losing customers because negotiations from them are not favourable to us.”

She also stated that the hardship has become unbearable, as families cannot pay house rent anymore. Prices of other staple foods are also unaffordable such that in most cases, the masses end up eating only once a day.

“The government should help us, we are hungry and everybody must eat. How do we eat when things are expensive and people don’t have money to buy them? This hunger is too much, it’s suffocating us the traders too.”

Nigeria’s situation is terrible, unprecedented —Erelu Iyaloja of Akureland

Expressing her frustration over the soaring prices of foodstuffs, the Erelu Iyaloja General of Akureland, Mrs Adefunmilayo Adekanye, described the development as unprecedented.

Adekanye said: “The development in Nigeria is terrible and unprecedented. The country is not smiling at all. Prices of food items have gone off the roof. Things are getting out of hand. It’s now tough to survive in Nigeria. There’s no amount of money you hold in your hands now that can purchase half of your needs. Prices are just jumping up daily.

“It’s absurd that what you bought today, you can’t meet it at that same price the next day. Where are we heading to in Nigeria?

“The soaring prices of food items in the market should be addressed quickly before something untoward happens.

“Things are hard for everybody. Our President should act fast and do the needful to bring succour to the suffering Nigerians. The soaring prices of food items are killing.”

Our members running out of business —Sasa pepper market leader

Similarly, pepper and tomato sellers in Osun State are worried that their members are at risk of running out of business if the situation continues.

Leader of the pepper and tomato sellers in the market, Popoola Gomna, said the rate at which cost is rising is unprecedented saying some major dealers cannot afford to bring goods anymore due to shocking price changes.

Gomna said: “We cannot imagine that a basket of tomato lands in Osun at N28,000 for major dealers, while a sack of pepper lands at the market for N80,000, what then do you expect of retailers?

“All of these are the result of insecurity in the northern part of the country, demand has outweighed supply because farmers cannot access their farms as a result of various security issues.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/03/soaring-prices-of-food-items-killing-us-ekiti-ondo-osun-market-leaders/

Ebi n pawa chant all over Nigeria

What is Tinubu doing self,is this how to govern,or does he think governance is just about embezzlement, cronyism and nepotism
If he cannot deliver ,he should step down and stop wasting everybody's time

I think they should stop selling snipper and strong ropes in the sw

A situation where 5 states from there are always doing desperate things for hunger is not looking good. This is just 9 months into an 8 year tenure and they are already feeling suicidal.

We don't want to see our brethren dangling from ropes attached to ceiling fans like that 80 year old man in Lagos on front-page,

Many people travel all the way fro ekiti to Lagos just to have a golden opportunity of jumping into the lagoon!

We love our brethren from there, let's donate money and save their lives.

Especially we students

chopnaira:
Ebi n pawa chant all over Nigeria

Stop posting this nonsense before shameless tribalistic hatefilled fellows like You begin to post crime committed by criminals from your own Tribe too.

You shameless tribalistic hatefilled dunderheads are nothing but a Maximum NUISANCE to Humanity,them supposed dey pack una throwaway for sambisa forest

successmatters:
I think they should stop selling snipper and strong ropes in the sw

We love our brethren from there

More people have made used of this in the SE than any other part of the country

They are underreported, cause news about them wouldn't trend on the media as people care less about them



Only the life of those at a particular region matters, and that's what we're discussing here

successmatters:
I think they should stop selling snipper and strong ropes in the sw

We love our brethren from there

In SW?

Na for SW people dey commit suicide pass? No SE na! No be for SE we report 2 cases of women selling their children? No be for SE man carry gun shoot son because the boy chop the remaining food inside pot? The worst occurrences are coming out of SE yet your focus is on SW. Your case is quite pathetic. You can't afford to say the truth just because you want to prove points that do not have evidence. Pele o.

I will relocate to the SW soon

Be like na only dem the world care about

Elsewhere, people no even send if una die finis


What a region!
I guess that's what happens when u hold the highest value of economic importance in a country

We thank God, it is not like the ones in the SE where they are selling five children for #50,000 even goat is not #10,000, they have not started smashing their sons with pestle like fathers are doing to their children somewhere in Nzobu Nzobu land, and they' are not committing suicide by running towards trailers naked.

successmatters:
I think they should stop selling snipper and strong ropes in the sw

We love our brethren from there

Only in SE people have been killed and committed suicide because of hunger, the most terrible one is the woman that left her three children in the police station in enugu and ran naked into trailers.

Tochi360:


Stop posting this nonsense before shameless tribalistic hatefilled fellows like You begin to post crime committed by criminals from your own Tribe too.

You shameless tribalistic hatefilled dunderheads are nothing but a Maximum NUISANCE to Humanity,them supposed dey pack una throwaway for sambisa forest

You cannot cover pregnancy with ordinary hands, allow them to report the obvious.

Small stability period to curb inflation,over 19 parents have sold their children in the east from records,why are you people heartless. Na only una they experience inflation??

chopnaira:
Ebi n pawa chant all over Nigeria

Fake story.

Yoruba are the hardest hit.

Armaggedon:
Fake story.

Oya do the same for this 👇

chopnaira:

Oya do the same for this 👇

Rubbish propaganda balancing story, even you know its a fake news

chopnaira:

Oya do the same for this 👇

*allegedly*

Currently in the South East, they are digging up dead bodies of their relatives and selling it as nkwobi etc just like in Biafra, to survive the hardship.

Entprys:
Yoruba are the hardest hit.

They have not started cooking up their children as we already have in the East

Anything to make the wailing wailers masturbate is ok by me

FuglyGurl:


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/03/soaring-prices-of-food-items-killing-us-ekiti-ondo-osun-market-leaders/

it's even worst in Abia state

People in the SW are shouting “Ebi npa wa” but they still have energy to protest and at least feed but it’s in the SE that people are killing and selling their for food and even taking their own lives

chopnaira:
Ebi n pawa chant all over Nigeria

And u are proud of it...

You are proud that your emilocorn clueless bandit is squeezing the life out of Nigerians?

"ISE AGBE NISE ILEWA ENI KO SISE AMA JALE. IWE KIKO LAISI OKO ATI ADA KOIPE O".

mightyhazel:
And u are proud of it...

You are proud that your emilocorn clueless bandit is squeezing the life out of Nigerians?

Please please 🙏 I take offence at the above bolded statement