₦airaland Forum

AS Nigerians celebrate the Yuletide, the festive cheers are clouded by unprecedented economic gloom, hunger, and fear of personal safety. The soaring cost of living has destroyed the season’s spirit. President Bola Tinubu and his economic team must take tangible steps to reverse the trauma.

Alarmingly, food prices have increased beyond the reach of the average citizen, leaving many households struggling to afford basic holiday meals. Food inflation is pegged at 39.93 per cent while headline inflation is 34.60 per cent. The implication is the high cost of basic needs amid stagnant purchasing power.

A 50kg bag of rice is selling for N90,000 to N100,000, and chicken, ranging from N15,000 to N35,000. Prices of yam, millet, maize, meat, dairy products, fish, and palm oil have risen astronomically. The government should expedite the implementation of the zero-tariff policy it promised to boost food importation and supply instead of displaying a troubling lack of urgency on widespread hunger in the country.

Despite attempts by the NNPC to reduce the pump price of petrol to ease economic despair, food, transportation, housing, and ancillary costs remain high.

The grim reality is exacerbated by exorbitant transportation costs, making it nearly impossible for students and families to reunite for the Yuletide. Although the government has rolled out palliative measures to reduce transport fares by 50 per cent for 271,704 passengers, it remains a far cry for over 230 million Nigerians. The situation is compounded by electricity shortages, ensuring that even the faintest glimmer of festivity is overshadowed by ravaging economic stress.

Meanwhile, the statutorily approved minimum wage of N70,000 remains insufficient to cushion the economic blows. Worse still, many state governments have yet to implement this increment, leaving millions trapped in poverty.

Unfortunately, recent reports of an increase in highway patrol spots imply that extortion and human rights violations may turn holiday travel into a nightmare for many Nigerians. The despair of being fleeced by law enforcement agencies is deepened by the indignity of enduring dangerous roads and the fear of being attacked or kidnapped.

While Nigeria continues to spiral into turmoil, the government’s economic team projects a façade of economic progress by peddling self-popularised macroeconomic indicators to Bretton Woods institutions. The reality is that the social welfare programmes of the government have failed to make any meaningful impact, leaving citizens to wallow in multidimensional poverty.

Therefore, the government must stop abdicating its core responsibility to the welfare of the people; it must rejig the social welfare programmes. The disparity between government statistics and the harsh reality should be bridged with pragmatic solutions.

Citizens can respond to government laxity at the ballot. Instead of receiving bribes and handouts on election day, they should learn from the recent US presidential elections, where unemployment and the high cost of living made Kamala Harris lose to the opposition Donald Trump.

Although the Tinubu government has stated that the recent stampedes in Ibadan, Anambra, and Abuja should not be linked to it, it cannot completely absolve itself after the twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the naira rates.

The severity of food insecurity has rendered necessities unaffordable. The situation is compounded by the rash of banditry, criminality, kidnapping, and killing of farmers. Tinubu and his security team must curb this.

The Yuletide should be a time of joy, reflection, and recalibration for the New Year, but for many Nigerians, it is a season of gloom. Tinubu has been in office for over a year, and the time for excuses has passed. His administration must demonstrate that it prioritises the welfare of Nigerians above all sentiments.

The festive season offers an opportunity for the government to restore hope and confidence in its leadership.

santaclaws:
Honestly, there's rarely been a time in this country's history where Nigerians were queuing and dying because of rice... The effects of the economic policies are just too much and there are too little measures put in place to help people cope.

Minimum wage = 70k.
Half bag of Rice🌾 = 50k
5 litres of vegetable oil = 25k, salary don finish! No other food item, transport, clothing, rent, bills, protein, gas added ooo...

Meanwhile the president in his last interview was still saying he doesn't believe in price control, so no plan to reduce cost of food, so people still cannot survive on the new minimum wage.

Tinubu must do better and not focus on his own power agenda. Nigeria seems like a lawless country, but I know God has his way of judging those in the political sector. Where your political influence ends is where God's judgment begins...

I hope Bola Tinubu and the APC take note. If Nigerians continue to groan, God will strike.

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.

DeathToRiggers:
FreeStuffsNG, yarimo, WriterNG, helinues, CoronaVirus, other enemies of the state, what do you say?

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.

Atuero:
Very terrible Christmas, we had yesterday

The number of adults who trooped to the village square yesterday made me shed tears
My elder brother killed a big cow for those who couldn't afford meat and the turn up was unimaginably massive because a sizeable chicken ranges from 25k and above

People are undergoing hell in this country because of Tinubu ill thought policy that would have been strategically implemented to avoid this hardship

May God help us as 2025 seems like it is gonna be tougher.

Tallesty1:
Every discussion now revolves around Peter Obi? Nigeria is sinking, and Nigerians are going down with it, yet your focus is on Peter Obi? Many people who claimed to have taught Obi a lesson and vowed to teach him more have passed away, and more will follow before 2027. Meanwhile, Obi is still here and will remain if God wills it.

And yes, your father is as qualified as Obi, but I doubt his name is even recognized among his kinsmen, let alone in his local government, but since you believe you have the power to make or unmake people, why not make your father the president?

Richtaiwo:
So a person earning 70k will go for that type of shopping? He will buy half bag of rice and 1 gallon of vegetable oil shey? Shebi na mad person dey advice am ni? Keep telling lies till 2027 when Peter Obi will be reminded he can't be president of Nigeria.