The current high cost of food stuffs and commodities across Nigeria has left Christian families to celebrate this year’s Easter in a low key, Africa Health Report has gathered.
For most Nigerian families, the 2024 Easter is looking bleak, because they cannot afford to celebrate the way they desired due to high cost of living being caused by food inflation. The purchasing power of most families has been drastically reduced consequent to the inflation.
The hike in the prices of goods and services has also been attributed to the naira to dollar exchange rate.
Africa Health Report recalls that recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria released $10,000 to each Bureau De Change to be sold at N1,251/$1, with a view to strengthen the naira.
The CBN in a circular directed each BDC to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, implying that each BDC was not expected to sell above N1,269/$1.
However, despite these interventions by the apex bank, the prices of goods and services have remained high.
Food prices in Abuja
In a market in Pyakasa, Lugbe in AMAC, Abuja, traders were seen lamenting low patronage. At the market, a medium size chicken sold for ten thousand (N10.000) naira. A meat seller at the market said he would not have stayed in the market till night if sales went as expected.
According to our findings, the meat seller was seen calling out buyers at 8pm.
Also, in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, a pack of spaghetti that sold for N850 two weeks ago now sells for N900 as of Friday.
A bag of 50kg Nigerian rice sold at N65,000 two weeks ago now sells at N70,000.
A bag of sachet water is still selling at N500, and a sachet of water sells at N50.
A yam seller in the Market, Abuja, said the high cost of transportation and scarcity of yam in the market had contributed to the increased cost of the produce.
In Lagos
In Lagos, a businesswoman in Olufowobi, Ikosi, who reportedly sells rice and frozen foods, believes that food prices will remain high until after Ramadan.
She noted that while the value of the naira had weakened, it had not translated to lower market prices.
“A bag of local rice, which was priced at N75,000 just two weeks ago, has now surged to N90,000.
“Similarly, the cost of ‘Shawa’ fish, previously priced at N150 or N300, has skyrocketed to N700 or N800. Chicken now sells at N4,500 per kilo, up from N4,300 which it sold last week.”
Easter, mostly celebrated by Christians, is seen as a season of sharing and caring for families.
Families celebrate with a lot of joy, eating, drinking and outing, but many families do not see themselves enjoying the season because of the hike in the prices of goods and services, which the weakened naira can no longer purchase. The tough times have left more Nigerians lamenting not only over high cost of food, but also collapse of infrastructure. In the FCT, nation’s capital electricity has collapsed for three weeks. The TCN initially blamed it on vandalisation of its facility, but later claimed it has successfully fixed the problem. As at weekend and Easter morning, residents of the nation’s capital Abuja are being thrown into darkness.
