What does it mean to survive in Nigeria?

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, is a country where survival is a daily struggle. From the crowded streets of Lagos to the isolated rural villages in the north region, the quest for survival is a constant theme that resonates across all facets of life.

For many Nigerians, survival means waking up every morning without a guarantee of where the next meal will come from. It means braving the chaotic streets, navigating through gridlocked traffic, and facing the harsh realities of an economy in shambles.

As Nigeria’s current President, Bola Tinubu, took office in May 2023, hopes for a revival of the economy and better governance soared among many Nigerians.

Yet, more than a year into his administration, survival for the average Nigerian remains an arduous task. Tinubu’s regime, while embarking on reforms, has inherited deep-rooted economic challenges. For millions, navigating daily life has become a balancing act of overcoming inflation, job scarcity, and rising costs of basic necessities.

Survival under Tinubu’s government is not just about getting by—it’s about weathering a storm of policies, economic downturns, and systemic issues that make daily living a struggle.

A Country in Crisis: The Economic Landscape

Nigeria’s economy, though bolstered by its status as an oil-producing giant, is weighed down by inflation, high costs of living, and unstable markets. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has painted a grim picture of the state of the economy, with inflation reaching 32.15% in August 2024. The cost of food, transportation, and essential goods continues to rise, outpacing the growth in wages. For many families, even basic necessities have become luxuries.

The price of a healthy diet, a measure tracked closely by the NBS, underscores the economic burden faced by ordinary Nigerians. The national average cost of a healthy diet stood at N1,255 per adult per day in August 2024, a staggering 28% increase from March of the same year. In wealthier states like Lagos, the cost climbs even higher, reaching N1,615 per day, compared to N880 in poorer northern states like Katsina. While this disparity highlights regional inequalities, the reality is that across the country, the rising cost of living has left many struggling to afford even a modest meal.

Inflation and Scarcity: The Food Crisis

One of the stark realities under Tinubu’s regime is the struggle to afford food. Nigeria, which once prided itself on its agricultural capacity, has seen food prices spiral out of control. The NBS reports that the cost of a healthy diet increased by 28% between March and August 2024, meaning the average adult needs N1,255 per day just to afford balanced meals. For most families, this is an unattainable amount. In urban centers like Lagos and Rivers, where the cost of living is already high, the price for daily meals goes up to N1,615, making survival even harder. For a country where over 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, this situation is catastrophic.

Staples like yam, maize, and palm oil have become luxuries for many. As food inflation hit 37.52% in August 2024, the poor are finding it difficult to meet even their basic nutritional needs. The hardest hit are the rural and low-income populations who make up a significant portion of Nigeria’s populace. For these individuals, subsistence is no longer guaranteed through farming or informal trade. Instead, survival depends on finding creative ways to stretch limited resources, often going hungry or skipping meals.

Employment Woes and Unstable Incomes

The Nigerian labour market offers no reprieve from the harsh economic environment. While the official unemployment rate for Q1 2024 stands at 5.3%, this number masks deeper problems.

The employment-to-population ratio, which stood at 73.2%, reveals that many of those working are underemployed, toiling in low-paying jobs with insufficient hours. The self-employment rate, traditionally high in Nigeria, fell to 84% in Q1 2024, reflecting the waning opportunities in the informal sector.

In rural areas, where 91.9% of the workforce relies on self-employment, the situation is particularly bleak. As agricultural outputs struggle under the weight of poor infrastructure, climate change, and market volatility, many rural workers are finding it difficult to maintain a sustainable income.

Transportation Costs: An Unaffordable Journey

For many Nigerians, transportation is both a necessity and a financial burden. The price for a bus ride within cities, which many depend on to commute to work, rose from N942.61 in July 2024 to N869.35 in August. Intercity travel also spiked, with fares increasing by 0.59%, pushing it to N7,159 per trip.

Airfares, while generally out of reach for most Nigerians, saw a staggering 56.56% increase, with an average cost of N123,700 per flight. Even motorcycle rides, often the transportation of last resort for many in urban and rural areas alike, saw fares rise to N524.22 in August.

As fuel prices more than doubled, the cost of living increased across every sector, with businesses raising their prices to cope with rising transportation and production costs. This surge in transportation costs not only cuts into household budgets but also restricts the mobility of workers seeking employment or business opportunities, further entrenching the economic divide between regions. The average Nigerian saw their wages remain stagnant, making survival a day-to-day hustle.

The Thin Line Between Progress and Hardship

Tinubu’s administration has introduced several reforms aimed at reviving the economy, including the unification of the exchange rate system and efforts to attract foreign investment. While these moves are necessary for long-term economic stability, the immediate effect on the average Nigerian has been harsh. The removal of fuel subsidies, in particular, has hit the poorest the hardest. It’s a gamble that aims to reduce government debt and improve infrastructure in the long run, but for now, it has increased the cost of everything from food to transportation.

For many Nigerians, the pain of these reforms feels like a punishment. The promises of a better tomorrow are overshadowed by the stark reality of rising living costs today. Tinubu has spoken of the need for sacrifice, but for those already living on the margins, this is a difficult pill to swallow.

Survival in Urban Nigeria: The Lagos Experience

In cities like Lagos, survival is a constant hustle. With over 15 million people jostling for limited resources, the pressure to earn a living is immense. Traffic gridlock, daily power outages, and water shortages are part of everyday life for many. Jobs in the formal sector are scarce, and most residents depend on informal trade or side hustles to get by. Street vendors, artisans, and small business owners make up a significant portion of the workforce, but even they are feeling the pinch.

Rent in Lagos has become unaffordable for most low-income earners, forcing many into overcrowded, substandard housing or even homelessness. For those lucky enough to have jobs, a significant portion of their income goes toward transportation, leaving little left over for food or savings. The removal of the fuel subsidy has hit these individuals the hardest, as their daily costs have risen without any corresponding increase in wages.

Rural Nigeria: A Different Kind of Struggle

In rural areas, the challenges are different but no less severe. Agriculture, the mainstay of the rural economy, is facing a myriad of problems, including poor infrastructure, lack of access to credit, and unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change. Farmers struggle to produce enough food to feed their families, let alone sell at a profit. With transportation costs increasing, it has become harder to move goods to urban markets, further exacerbating rural poverty.

Despite these challenges, rural Nigerians are known for their resilience. Communities often band together to support each other, sharing resources and pulling together in times of crisis. While this spirit of communal support has helped many survive, it is not a substitute for the structural reforms needed to lift rural areas out of poverty.

A Country at a Crossroads

As Tinubu’s government approaches the halfway mark of his term, Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The country has immense potential, but without swift and targeted action, the economic situation may worsen for millions of citizens. While the administration’s policies may pay off in the long run, the short-term sacrifices required are squeezing the average Nigerian’s ability to survive.

Survival in Nigeria is not just an individual struggle; it is a national one. For millions of Nigerians, the hope for a better tomorrow is often overshadowed by the need to make it through today.

Until the economic landscape stabilises and the government takes meaningful steps to curb inflation, provide jobs, and reduce the cost of living, the daily struggle for survival will continue.

In Nigeria, survival is more than a battle against poverty—it is a battle for dignity, for hope, and for the future. The question remains: how long can the Nigerian people continue to survive under such immense pressure?

In the words of a Lagos street vendor: “We are surviving, but we are barely living.”