By Eben Enasco
As Nigerians plead, “Our Father who at in heaven, give us this day our daily bread,” the irony is stark: amidst abundance, the cost of living is crippling.
Verily, God exists and keeps his words but man who is a creator from God breaks the covenant living millions of families in famine who are not able to keep their homes together.
The anguished cries of Nigerians have become a persistent refrain, highlighting the stark disparity in economic opportunities.
While a privileged few reap substantial rewards, the majority struggle to make ends meet, unable to access even the basic necessities that are rightfully theirs.
Nigeria is blessed with abundant cultivable land.
A couple of decades ago Nigeria’s agricultural sector provided the country with the food it needed and even exported the surplus.
Immediately, after the discovery of oil, the attention moves away from the agricultural sector to the oil sector.
As a result, the sector could not feed the citizens of the country less exporting.
In an attempt to remedy the situation Nigerian governments federal, state and local governments invested heavily in procuring and subsidizing fertilizer for farmers.
For decades, hundreds of billions were spent on fertilizer yet the sector could not meet the food needs of the country.
This stark reality contradicts the fundamental promise of abundance and provision inherent in God’s creation, where daily bread should be a universal entitlement, not a distant dream.
The situation is now on the edge and citizens are losing hope.
Everyday, there is news for renewed hopes as professed by the Government but for the living the opportunities to access a costless loaf of bread widens.
The National Bureau of Statistics’ NBS, Food Price Report reveals alarming increases in a standard loaf of bread and other essential food items, deepening the struggle for survival.
The average price of 500g sliced bread increased by 89.48% between February 2023-2024 and doubled by September 2024 according to NBS.
As of today, a loaf of standard bread is sold for N1900 and for the remaining part of the year, it could certainly assume a new price of N2100.
In Nigeria, policies are in place to regulate the prices of commodities but arguably, those who would have implemented them are part of the challenges.
Like the price of a loaf of bread, brown beans’ price surged 281.97% year-on-year between Sept 2023-2024, implying that a crate of egg is sold for over N6000.
Egg prices soared 137.43% within a year Sept 2023-2024
Transportation costs, driven by fuel price hikes, exacerbate food price inflation
The Human Impact is that, families struggle to afford basic necessities
as most breadwinners face dwindling purchasing power
In like terms, consumers bear the brunt of inflationary pressures
Experts have warned that there will be sharp price increases which may worsen without urgent action
They believe that the Underlying factors, particularly transportation driving food costs require immediate attention
Similarly, there are obvious signs that, Traders are Pleading with
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission FCCPC to reconsider planned enforcement on exploitative pricing
They were quoted in multiple news springs to have planned to stage an enforcement against the persistent prices of commodities to force traders to reduce the costs of food items.
The Alarming Trend of Month-on-
month inflation persists as
essential food items see drastic price hikes
The Government at the central needs to pull up an urgent intervention to address transportation costs and fuel price hikes, proactive measures to stabilize food prices and alleviate household burdens.
As Nigerians pray for their daily bread, policymakers must act to alleviate the crippling cost of living as the nation’s economic well-being hangs in the balance where support for agriculture has been abandoned.
The government should Investigate and address the root causes of food price inflation particularly the loaf of bread and other variables,
Implement policies to stabilize transportation costs and Support vulnerable households through targeted subsidies or assistance programs
