“I Now Buy Half Foodstuff”: Nigerian Man Earning N300k Monthly Laments Economic Hardship
- A Nigerian accountant who earns 300,000 naira monthly, shares his coping mechanism in the face of the economic realities in the country
- He addressed the increase in the price of food and transportation and how it affected him
- Ajaka said the current economic situation has reduced his purchasing power tremendously
Halidu Ajaka*, a 29-year-old accountant at a private company in Nigeria, earns 300,000 naira monthly.
He lives with his wife and young child in Abuja. In a brief conversation, he spoke to Legit.ng about how the current economic hardship is affecting him and his family.
Source: Getty Images
“The inflation has deflated my purchasing power as a salary earner so drastically. One has no other option than to adjust to the new standard of living."
Ajaka told Legit.ng that even with more money, he still could not buy all the food he used to.
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“I used to buy major food stuff in bulk every two months. Just this month I went to restock. Even after making some slight additional cash available for the increase in price, we ended up buying half each of everything we used to buy in bags and packs. It’s that bad.”
The accountant also disclosed that the fuel subsidy removal has made movement very hard for him and others.
“Right now, we only go out as and when needed. It’s even worst for those of us that do not earn as much every month. The fuel subsidy has made it hard for us to do anything effectively.”
He added that his family is one of the worst hit by the situation.
“Because we could not afford what we used to afford prior to the fuel subsidy removal, which contributed to the hike in the prices of goods and services. The issues on ground are psychologically draining and emotionally stressful for us. It’s disheartening not to be able to meet up with demands when they come by and doing not even half of what you used to do. Leading to shortage of food, inability to move around and lack of residual cash to meet up with eventualities.”
Ajaka is very concerned but he is not alone. Across the nation, there has been a widespread outcry due to the high cost of living.
Severe economic crisis
Nigeria has been facing a severe economic crisis since president Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy on 29 May 2023.
The subsidy, which kept the pump price of petrol artificially low for decades, was scrapped as part of the government’s efforts to ease the pressure on public finances and reduce the country’s debt, which stood at 41.60 trillion naira ($85.6 billion) as of June 2022.
The fuel price hike, coupled with the soaring inflation rate, which reached an over 18-year high of 27.3% in October 2023, has had a devastating impact on the living standards of millions of Nigerians, especially the lower and middle-income groups.
*Name withheld for privacy purposes
Nigerian lady in UK shows foodstuffs she bought in supermarket abroad
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Chidera Stephen, a Nigerian lady living abroad, showed the provisions she was able to get for N30,000 in a UK supermarket..
Filming her shopping, the lady bought things like packs of chicken, drinks, fruits and other delicious groceries.
Many Nigerians said she got a good bargain for her money. Some were amazed a pack of apple sold for a cheap amount.
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Source: Legit.ng
