Nigerians have lamented the rising prices of food as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a decline in food inflation for May 2021. The report which covered the consumer price index for May stated that the composite food index reduced to 22.28 per cent in May while in April 2021 it was 22.72 per cent.
This showed that food inflation declined by 0.44 per cent. The NBS collated the report from increase in the prices of bread, cereals, milk, cheese, eggs, fish and others. Meanwhile Nigerians have said that the food prices have gone up reducing purchasing power on social media. Gesare Chife said, “[I] just received our feeding budget for our free school lunch programme. Jesus Christ, what is going on with food prices in Nigeria.” Abdullahi Yusuf said, “Food is becoming less affordable for the poor and middle class in Nigeria.” Santos Akhilele said, “The food inflation in Nigeria is not being subtle, it is happening right in front of our eyes.
The changes are dramatic, and quick. You got to the supermarket upset that bread is now N450 and they tell you it’s now N550. For each of us who can afford the N550, many others now can’t.” Idris Balemoh said, “By all ramifications, Nigeria is regressing geometrically. Food has become extremely unaffordable for the average and poor Nigeria. We are broke and in debt and inflation is at an all time high.” Olusegun Aderigbigbe said, “The sudden surge in the price of food commodities in Nigeria is affecting households. There is famine in the land.” Some have attributed the rising prices of food to insecurity and afraid that it will only get worse.
Aisha Yesufu said, “You think it is insecurity happening in the bushes and does not affect you until you enter the market and food prices have quadrupled. Nigeria is being starved to death. Farmers are in IDP camps.” In 2020, the Global Hunger Index ranked Nigeria 98th out of 107 countries with a 29.2 per cent level of hunger. The NBS also said that the food sub-index increased by 1.05 per cent in May which is 0.06 per cent higher than the 0.99 per cent recorded in April. Kogi State took the brunt of food inflation with a year-on-year increase of 32.82 per cent and a month-on-month increase of 3.11 per cent.