By Lydia Ngwakwe
As Nigerians thought they were almost getting over the effect of Covid-19 pandemic which left many jobless, increased unemployment level, impacted negatively on incomes of many families, the Russia-Ukraine war surfaced and disrupted the promising recovery.
Sadly, Nigerians have now had to deal with the effect of the war which has caused a significant rise in energy prices, goods and services, spiraling into a global energy crisis and food supply issue, among others.
Nigeria is one of the countries with significant uptick in its cost of living as a result of high inflationary pressure.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that the COVID-19 pandemic-induced inflation pushed about 23 million Nigerians into a food crisis in 2021.
WHO said the rising food prices heightened food insecurity in emerging markets and developing economies, especially due to food import dependence from Ukraine and Russia, and had triggered food insecurity across the world.
Nigeria’s imports from Ukraine include milk preparations, wheat, and maize seed, while whole wheat, mackerel, herrings, blue whitings, other fish products and vaccines are imported from Russia.
On a year-to-date basis, Nigeria’s inflation rate has increased by over 400 basis points from 15.63 per cent recorded in December 2021 to 19.64per cent in the review month.
This suggests that the consumer price index has increased by 12.7 per cent between January and July 2022.
With this, the purchasing power of Nigerians have been eroded keeping income at a fixed level, thereby making Nigerians unable to purchase as much as they have been able to with their monies.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Food inflation rose to its highest level in 14 months, standing at 22.02 per cent in July 2022, representing a 1.42 per cent -point increase compared to 20.6 per cent recorded in the previous month.
The high and rising scourge of food inflation particularly, has put households in the tight corner of having to sustain an ever deteriorating standard of living with an unchanged nominal income, the real value of which has progressively deteriorated with the inflationary situation.
The situation has made families embark on cost cutting measures as well as made them learn and do more of economics, a Greek word which, in itself, means household management.
Invariably, families are now having a greater understanding of the meaning and importance of basic economic concepts such as wants, scarcity, choice, scale of preference, opportunity cost, and so on.
Mr Mark Okono, a retired staff of then Power Holding Company of Nigeria, who sells grains in bags in Ikotun market, expressed dissatisfaction over the level of instability in food prices.
He said, “we have never had it this bad in the history of this country, that food prices would rise this higher; in time past, I could use N100,000 to stock my shop with bags of rice when it was sold for N8,000 per bag, beans, melon, maize, millet and wheat.
“But now, with N100, 000, I can only buy less than three bags. It is crazy. And it does not just end here, there is also an offensive transportation fare to contend with.
“It is discouraging and at the end, you gain little and from the little I use part to feed my family. I must also say that we do not eat well because the little money cannot really buy much.
“Nigerians must stop this madness by voting in the right leader in the next election,’’ he said.
Mrs Philomena Opara, a full-time housewife at Agodo-Egbe, Alimosho, Lagos State, said that she had cut the number of times that her children eat, due to the frequent rise in food prices.
“Before now, my children used to eat three times a day, but I have long reduced the number of times they eat since our feeding money can no longer buy enough from the market.
“I wish the government could have the will to increase workers’ salaries to at least allow families to feed well,’’ Opara said.
As a result, economic experts have proffered different survival strategies for Nigerians to deal with the high and rising scourge of inflation.
Prof. Hassan Oaikhenan of the Department of Economics, University of Benin, Benin-City, urged households to resort to self-help by cultivating agricultural essentials within their premises for survival.
“Given the increasingly tough times, there is need for households to manage, in a very shrewd way, the limited incomes that are available to them, spending in so doing on necessities and tailoring purchases to the very essential needs of the home, prioritising in so doing, with food coming tops on their lists.
“There is need to make resort to cheaper but good quality substitutes for consumption goods, where they are available, in addition to making resort to self-help by cultivating such agricultural essentials as pepper, tomatoes, okra, which can easily be produced within the household premises where the space is available.
“In all, there is need for creative thinking in the deployment of the limited incomes that are available to the households, which will be significantly aided by an understanding of the difficult and challenging nature of the current times, no thanks to the inept and destructive management of the country and its economy especially since 2015, by every member of the household,’’ he said.
Prof. Lai Olurode, a former Dean, Faculty of Social Science, University of Lagos, also urged family heads to complement food purchases with farming in their backyards in view of the rising trend of inflation.
“Household heads could complement food purchases with farming at the backyard; survey villages around the city for food market; buy food during plentiful season and preserve them; post money to trusted extended family members in the village and ask that food be bought for them through commercial drivers; adjust eating regime – 1 – 0 – 1 and eat less,’’ he said.
Uche Uwaleke, Professor of Finance and Capital Market, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, also advised families to minimize out-of-pocket expenses and plant a few crops within their neighbourhood.
“Not all food items may have experienced this quantum of increase. In the light of this, I advise households to find close substitutes that are still available and consumed.
“This is also the time to minimize out-of-pocket expenses by planting a few crops, such as maize, within one’s neighbourhood.
“As much as possible, families should prioritize spending and avoid wastes,’’ he said
Prof. Ndubisi Nwokoma, Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis and Research, University of Lagos, also advised households to embark on cost-cutting measures in view of the rising trend of inflation.
“ Generally, average nominal wages in the economy are not rising, particularly in the public sector and real wages are consequently falling.
“In this regard, prioritisation of household expenditures are very critical for survival. The way out is for the entrenchment of a more conducive macroeconomic environment which will lead to an increase in real wages,’’ he said.
