The price of rice, a key ingredient for Nigeria’s beloved jollof rice, has more than doubled this year, exposing the government’s difficulties in managing the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
A market survey by SBM Intelligence on Wednesday revealed that the cost of a 50 kg bag of rice in Lagos rose by 8% in December to 75,000 naira ($48.5), while in Abuja, it hit 99,000 naira.
Other essential ingredients such as vegetable oil, onions, and chicken also saw price hikes, highlighting the growing inflationary pressures in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, where the minimum wage is 70,000 naira per month, soaring food prices have left two out of three households facing hunger, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
This crisis has sparked riots and stampedes as President Bola Tinubu’s government struggles to tackle inflation.
Despite efforts to control prices, including declaring a state of emergency to boost food security and suspending import duties, the measures have failed to deliver results.
“Cost of feeding has been on a steady increase and Nigerians are not finding it easy,” said the head of operations at SBM Intelligence, Stanley Ikechukwu. People are “just living everyday as it comes and hoping that the so-called government policies take a positive turn or there will be trouble in 2025,” he said.
In August, protests erupted across several Nigerian states, with demonstrators chanting “we are hungry.” The unrest led to the deaths of at least 21 people.
Last week, tragedy struck again when stampedes occurred at food distribution events, resulting in the deaths of 48 people, including 35 children, according to a police post on X (formerly Twitter) on December 21.
“We earnestly pray that such misfortunes do not revisit our families and communities and that the lives of innocents are never again cut short,” Tinubu said in his Christmas message on Tuesday, while referring to the stampedes.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate hit a 28-year high of 34.6% in November, with food inflation rising even more sharply at 39.9%, according to NBS.
Despite the Central Bank’s hike of the key interest rate by 875 basis points to a record 27.5% in November, prices continue to climb.
Since taking office in 2023, President Tinubu has removed the currency’s peg to the dollar and ended fuel subsidies, measures that have been praised by investors but have also contributed to rising costs.
On December 23, Tinubu stated that he has no plans to implement price controls, instead announcing the procurement of 2,000 tractors and other initiatives to boost food production.
“Everything is very expensive, take onions for example: people cannot afford to buy onions especially in the quantity they want because of the high price,” Ikechukwu said.
