HIKE ON FOOD PRICES IN NIGERIA;Who or What is to blame?

Food as we all know is any substance (liquid or solid) taken by humans or animals to stay alive, healthy and strong. Unfortunately, the process involved in acquiring this food in Nigeria is harder than passing through a needle's eye. Over the years as power is passed from one government to another there seems to be a spirit of increments passed on too because one cannot phantom why there's always a rise in the prices of essential commodities in  Nigerian ranging from water, fuel and food infact recently electricity has been included.

   The cost of living is getting higher everyday in Nigeria and the average citizens,most of whom are salary earners (no salary increase) might soon run out of patience and engage in fraudulent activities to stay alive.
  The question is, who or what do we blame for this?
 Some people argued that the Pandemic should be blamed for everything because of border closures and restrictions within and outside the states where these crops are grown and the hassles of interstate road blocks, others stated that even before the pandemic, it has been a common routine in Nigeria because the government in power lack a body that regulates the prices of goods put out in the local markets and supermarkets.
 Even if there was or is a body or an association that has been created to monitor or regulate these prices,they seem to be ineffective as Nigerians are left to fend and fight for themselves.
Let's take a look at some of the food items that an average citizen should be able to afford and the changes in price as of 2019,2020 to 2021.

Tomatoes; This common commodity is no longer common and will soon become out of reach for the common man as their prices soar higher in each passing day. A basket of tomatoes ranges from 5,000 to 15,000 now as against 2,000 and 3,000 to 8,000 in the previous years. Now, about 4 or 5 pieces are sold for 200 against 100 in the previous years.

Onion; This one seems the strangest increase to me. One bulb of a sizeable onion is sold from 50-100 depending on the location or market visited. Four(4) big onion goes for 200 while 4 small bulbs goes 100 and a basket ranges between 15,000 - 29,000. We got them better and bigger in quantity and size during the previous years.


Pepper;  nothing much to say on this one,it seems to be the only commodity still within reach for everyone and in the same quantity for the same price.Their prices depends heavily on location and in most cases you can get an extra (járá) after purchase. Thank me later!


Yam; infact this one should have been on top of my list. A tuber of yam is somewhere between 400-1,500 depending on the type of yam you go for and location. You can go for the short, skinny and shabby looking yams for lesser price or go for the robust and giant Abuja yams for higher price, either way the choice is yours!


Beans; We have the green,black ,white,brown and kidney beans. Each one has it's own price but the most common in Nigeria is the brown and white beans. A paint bucket of beans goes from 800-1,500 and a cup goes for 300 while a bag (depending on the kg) goes from 25,000-27,000. Again, it's dependent on location and individual market. 


Rice(Oryza sativa). My favorite food. This is one of the most popular grain eaten by mankind all over the world. There are various brands with their prices,the larger the size,the higher the price but the sizes has no influence over the quantity or longevity. A cup of rice in the market goes from 500-600, a bucket goes from 3,500-4000 while bags(depending on the kg) goes from 1,000-30,000.


Garri; This comes in two colors white and yellow (it becomes yellow due to the addition of red oil while frying) and it's still the best poor man food made locally from cassava harvested on farms which is then washed,peeled, grinded,sun dried and fried on a high heat while adding oil for desired color amidst turning for smoothness.It can be eaten with beans or taken alone mixed with groundnuts, milk and sugar. A cup of garri goes from 50-250,a paint bucket goes from 650-800 and bags goes from 6,000-17,000 depending on the colour . 


Palm oil; this is sold in bottles of different sizes and shapes and the price varies from 200-800 now against 100-400 in 2019 while those sold in plastic bottles inside supermarkets and also gallons goes from 1,500-13,000 depending on location. 


Tin tomato; Made from pasteurized tomatoes into paste and placed in cans. This comes last on my list because the hike in price is very outrageous. A sachet of this paste goes from 30-50 naira while the tin goes from 100-600 naira depending on sizes, location and company as of 2019. Now,a sachet is 100-150 and tin is 300-1500 naira.

There are so many other stuffs in the market to talk about their prices such as groundnuts,chicken,beef,maize,soya beans,fruits and so on but that will be in my next article. Please contribute in the comment section and let us know who or what to blame for this change.
Thank you!