Inflation is a thief, and the government is cooking the numbers!
Let’s talk about the latest inflation number @ 15.93%.
Yeah, if you believe the lamba; because as Nigerians living in the real world, we know that number is a fantasy.
The NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) calculates inflation using a "basket of goods." But here’s the problem, their basket doesn’t look like your basket. While they average in the price of things you rarely buy, they often downplay the very high costs of the "Big 3"; transport, energy, and staple foods which make up nearly 80% of the average household’s survival budget.
When you factor in the 50% spike in fuel costs, the rampant insecurity on our highways and all the other daily extra road block charges added to transport costs, the real inflation rate for the average Nigerian is closer to 30%.
And let’s also bust the "Rebasing" myth real quick;
rebasing is just a statistical facelift at best. It does not lower prices. Truth is, you cannot rebase your way out of a cost of living crisis. The NBS can gamble with the base year all it wants, the reality remains: the cost of living is crushing everyone.
Oh and the CBN just drained ₦6.88 trillion out of the system in two weeks through OMO auctions, in another attempt to curb inflation. But this is a classic mistake; you cannot solve a supply‑side crisis with monetary‑side punitive measures.
And while we’re at it, you don’t solve rising costs by taxing the fuel and data that we need to work. So ignore the IMF totally!
Now, here’re a few pointers to the govt:
-Stop this tax-obsessed approach already. You will never Tax or VAT your way out of this current crisis.
- Hunker down and do the heavy lifting. Inflation in Nigeria is cost-push; driven by the high cost of production. If you want to lower inflation, secure the trade corridors so food reaches the market without disruptions. It’s simple; If supply goes up, prices go down.
- Put an end to wasteful spending: Stop asking Nigerians to endure or "tighten our belts" while you expands your own waistline. Cut the cost of governance first.
Like H.E
@peterobi says; “you cannot be telling people to fast, while you feast.”
- Our national productivity is being strangled by the state of our primary transport corridors; fix our critical Trunk A roads, not the “new legacy” vanity projects like the coastal road to nowhere.
Practice overall responsible and empathetic governance. Nigerians are in pain, we are being crushed under the weight of so-called reforms; time to end this experiment and get back to real nation building.
- A new Nigeria 🇳🇬 is very much POssible.
#OK2027