Nigeria’s cost of living crisis has deepened since President Bola Tinubu introduced bold but
unpopular economic reforms after he assumed office last May. He took office with the weakest mandate of any Nigerian president since the return
to democratic civilian rule in 1999. Tinubu inherited an economy burdened by record debt, high
unemployment, low oil production, subsidies depleting government finances, and power shortages hindering growth.
A GROWING POPULATION In 1982, Nigeria had fewer than 80 million people and was outside the world's 10 most populous countries. Since then Nigeria’s population has nearly tripled to 225 million, moving up to sixth on the list. Tis is not expected to slow down. According to UN estimates, Nigeria's total population will double from 200 million to more than 401 million by 2050. It is predicted to overtake the US to become the world’s third most populated country by 2051. It also has a young population. According to UNICEF, more than 65 million people in Nigeria are between the ages of 10 and 24.
ECONOMIC WOES Nigeria’s cost of living crisis has deepened since President Bola Tinubu introduced bold but unpopular economic reforms after he assumed office last May. He took office with the weakest mandate of any Nigerian president since the return to democratic civilian rule in 1999. Tinubu inherited an economy burdened by record debt, high unemployment, low oil production, subsidies depleting government finances, and power shortages hindering growth. Tinubu's manifesto prioritised job creation, boosting local production of goods, investing in agriculture and public infrastructure, and enhancing national security. During his in- auguration he unveiled a series of austerity measures, including the immediate removal of a costly fuel subsidy programme. Tis subsidy had long been in place to protect citizens from high import prices. From 2005 to 2021, Nigeria spent over N13tr on fuel subsidy payments, with the subsidy alone consuming 40 per cent of the country’s revenue in 2022. Economic recovery has been sluggish, leaving many Nigerians
grappling with inflation and unemployment. According to the IMF in a report published in April 2024: “Per capita income has stagnated. Real GDP growth slowed to 2.9 percent in 2023, with weak agriculture and trade…despite the improvement in oil pro- duction and financial services.” In addition, “Inflation reached 32 per cent year-on-year in February 2024, driven mainly by food price inflation (38 per cent).” Te country’s inflation reached a 24-year high of 31.7 per
cent in February 2024, which, in combination with sluggish growth, has pushed millions of Nigerians into poverty. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, further plummeted reflecting a 230 per cent loss of value in the last year. Food prices have soared by over 35 per cent. At the same time wages remain low. Around 96 million people live on less than $1.90 per day meaning that Nigeria is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme pov- erty.
Tis is a far cry from between 2000 and 2014 when Nigeria’s
economy experienced broad-based and sustained growth of over seven per cent annually on average. Indeed Nigeria’s economy, which ranked as Africa’s largest in 2022, is set to slip
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