Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Drops Further Amid Rising Hunger, Poverty 

In fact, the reality on ground is that most Nigerians have stopped consuming essential foods that contain necessary vitamins for their survival.

For instance a crate of eggs sells now for over N3000, as against over N3000 last month.

Paint rubber of beans and rice have gone beyond the rich of ordinary Nigerians selling for over N3000.

Indeed consumers have gone down from buying tubers of yams now to buying slices for consumption possibly once a day.

Also, the middle class may have been extinguished and becoming non existent as most Nigerians are living below one dollar per day.

However NBS in the report said increases in prices of bread, cereals, yam, and others, drove the food price index.
“The CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living,” the NBS noted in its report.“The construction of the CPI combines economic theory, sampling and other statistical techniques using data from other surveys to produce a weighted measure of average price changes in the Nigerian economy.”

The country’s Headline Index, on a month-on-month basis, moved by 1.06% in June 2021. This figure was  0.05 percentage points higher than what was recorded in May 2021 – pegged at 1.01%.

There was also an increase in the urban inflation rate as it jumped by 18.35 %(year-on-year) in June 2021 from May 2021’s 18.51%. On the other hand, the rural inflation rate moved by 17.16% in June 2021 from 17.36% in May 2021.

The NBS report equally noted that the composite food index increased by 21.83 % in June 2021. This is against the 22.28% reported in May 2021.

Since COVID-19 hit Africa’s most populous nation and biggest economy, prices for some staples such as eggs, onions and palm oil, have risen by 30% or more. Fewer people can afford simple things as  haircut,sowing of vlothes and those who can are demanding discounts so as to get something to buy even if it’s a milktin of gari.
Giving an account of
Shehu Ismaila Gbadebo, Reuters said Gbadebo has worked as a barber for two decades. The money he made at his rented stall in a bustling suburb of Nigeria’s megacity, Lagos, used to be plenty for him to pay bills and set aside some savings. Now, he relies on donated food and sometimes skips meals to feed his family.”The money I have is not enough for what we need,” Gbadebo, 38, told Reuters after tending a customer.

Millions of Nigerians like Gbadebo, who were once on solid financial footing, can no longer reliably feed themselves or their families. According to Reuters, roughly 18% of households in Nigeria have at least one adult who does not eat for an entire day at a time, compared with 6% before the pandemic, according to the World Bank. Inflation is near an all-time high, and food prices account for almost 70% of the rise.
The U.N. food agency has warned that food import costs worldwide are expected to surge to records this year, as price increases for nearly all agricultural commodities and a rally in energy prices boost production and shipping costs.

But in Nigeria, galloping inflation is combining with the impact of a teetering economy, rising unemployment and insecurity in farming regions to pull even the formerly middle class into dire straits.

Some experts warn of worsening malnutrition and the potential for unrest.
“What we are experiencing in Nigeria is different from what is being experienced all over the world,” said Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based think-tank Centre for Democracy and Development, adding that the nation’s limited social safety net left millions with little help.

“Crime is actually skyrocketing on daily basis, because people are trying to make ends meet.”