Two weeks ago, I was sitting in a crowded vehicle on my way to school when a woman started lamenting over the sudden spike in groundnut oil prices. She warned us all to stock up before the price went any higher. Her tone was earnest, almost desperate, but I shrugged it off. Little did I know that just days later, I would be as stunned as she was.
Yesterday, I went to buy groundnut oil, and the price jolted me so intensely I felt it in my bones. A small “ragolis” bottle, the shopkeeper said, now costs a staggering 2,700 Naira. A 25-liter container was 92,000 Naira. Ninety-two thousand! I sat there, processing this absurd figure, reflecting on the unimaginable state this government has plunged us into. It felt as if our right to food, our basic human dignity, was being ripped away in broad daylight.
I can’t help but wonder: did President Bola Tinubu quietly remove a subsidy on groundnut oil? Is this government now so detached from the reality of its citizens that even essential items like cooking oil are becoming a luxury? Do they not want Nigerians to enjoy the simple comfort of stew this December? How are families supposed to cope with prices soaring like this?
Since Tinubu took office on May 29 last year, Nigerians have been reeling under a storm of brutal economic policies. Each blow lands harder than the last, leaving no respite. It feels like a modern-day reenactment of the trials of Job: we barely survive one calamity before another smashes down. And as if that wasn’t enough, every institution that should defend the people’s rights—the electoral body, the military, the judiciary, the legislature—seems under Tinubu’s grip. Helpless, Nigerians are left to suffer this government’s heavy hand in silence.
What cuts deepest is Tinubu’s brazen lifestyle, built on taxpayers’ sweat. At a time when millions struggle to afford a single meal, the President treats himself to luxuries on a scale that defies belief. He recently bought a new $100 million aircraft. The cost of the Vice President’s residences alone—21 billion Naira in Abuja and 5 billion in Lagos—is an insult to every Nigerian who has to skip meals just to get by. And now, in the latest supplementary budget, Tinubu is set to spend a jaw-dropping 6.9 billion Naira on vehicles for the State House, with a cool 1.5 billion allocated just for the First Lady’s cars.
It’s staggering to think that this administration, which urges the masses to “be patient,” is living in such obscene comfort while the average Nigerian faces a struggle for survival. How can Tinubu sleep at night, knowing that over 200 million Nigerians are plunged into acute hardship, that ordinary items like food are now luxuries?
Nigerians are enduring relentless hardship under this government, and the consequences are devastating. Small businesses—the backbone of our economy—are collapsing at an alarming rate. The Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) has painted a grim picture. From January 2023 to June 2024, approximately 20% of small businesses were forced to shut down due to unyielding economic policies. For a country with around 40 million small businesses, this translates to 8 million closures. This is not just a statistic; it’s millions of lives left without a means to provide, millions of dreams shattered by the brutality of bad governance.
The healthcare sector is equally ravaged. Last month, Dr. Raymond Kuti, President of the Guild of Medical Directors (GMD), disclosed that around 50% of private hospitals have shut down, while others barely survive due to unbearable operational costs. He explained that, on average, three out of six private hospitals shut down every month, a trend worsening by the day. Hospitals, meant to be sanctuaries of healing, are now shutting their doors, leaving countless Nigerians without access to basic health services.
The situation in the manufacturing sector is just as bleak. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) revealed that 767 manufacturing companies shut down in 2023, with another 335 on the brink of collapse. Their warning about the devastating impact of the new Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) only underscores the dangers of a government deaf to the suffering of its people.
Yet amidst all these crises, Tinubu refuses to retract his draconian policies. How much longer will Nigerians endure? Who will rescue us from this agonizing existence? Every day, every single item in the market becomes an impossible luxury. In Tinubu’s Nigeria, food—a necessity, a human right—is a distant dream for the common man.
Stanley Ugagbe is a Social Commentator. He can be reached via stanleyakomeno@gmail.com