Sir: Over ninety-five per cent of Nigerians live in extreme poverty, and the country’s citizens have been struggling for eight years and counting in a nation that is currently the seventh-highest oil producer in the world and fourth in Africa. Nigeria is the continent’s fourth-largest oil producer, only behind Libya, Angola, and Algeria.

Prices of food, transportation, unemployment, inflation, and tuition at federal universities have all soared since President Bola Tinubu’s new administration took office.

As of August 2023, the price of a bag of rice in Nigeria, which is one of the country’s basic foods, ranges from N32,000 to N45,000, depending on the brand of rice being purchased. Depending on the region or location in the country, a spoonful of cooked rice can cost N200 or more. Additionally, basic items that the average person would typically be able to afford, including beans, garri, yams, and other commodities, are now out of reach due to price rises and extreme poverty in Nigeria.

People are suffering from severe hunger, and the majority now find it challenging to eat even one meal every day. You will see signs of hunger on peoples’ faces wherever you go. Because of unemployment, poverty, and inflation, there are a lot more beggars on the streets of Nigeria—in the east, north, south, and west—pleading for money so they can eat and provide for their families.

According to KPMG, Nigeria’s unemployment rate would reach 41 per cent this year, up from 37.7 per cent in 2022, while the National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria’s inflation rate has increased to 25.8 per cent in August 2023 from 24.08 per cent in July, which is the highest rate since September 2005.

While most citizens in the country cannot afford to feed their families due to poverty, the government is happy to appoint a multitude of advisers and assistants who will be receiving enormous allowances and salaries, wasting our common resources for political patronage. The appointment of over 60 advisers, special advisers, assistants, and personal assistants in the Presidency by President Bola Tinubu is also alarming.

In addition, Nigerian citizens are being abducted by terrorists and bandits in the Northwest geopolitical region and other parts of the country, which is a sign that the government agencies tasked with the responsibility of defending the populace are failing miserably. The Army, Navy, and Air Force of Nigeria are confused and lack practical ways to put an end to the threat posed by militants and the kidnapping of innocent citizens in Nigeria.

There have been numerous recorded occurrences of kidnapping in Nigeria, including the kidnapping of students in Katsina, potential members of the National Youth Service Corps in Zamfara State, and students abducted from the Federal University of Gusau.

It is evident that Nigeria’s poverty, hunger, and unemployment crisis are caused by the mismanaged administration, and this has resulted in terrorism and banditry we are witnessing today.

We are in a country where the political class would call for national sacrifice and tell the people to be patient and endure, but on the contrary, they are living in opulence. Who is fooling who? This suffering must end.

Agunloye Adewunmi Bashiru, public affairs analyst, [email protected]