Even if the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) say that what it takes to feed an adult per day has slightly improved, the cost is still not a friendly figure based on the experiences of Nigerians going back to the last 365 days and that means there is still a problem.

It implies that as of August 2024 in Nigeria, the average value of money needed to afford a healthy diet was ₦1,255. According to the data-gathering agency on Thursday, this represents a decline of 0.8 percent if a comparison was being made with the previous month of July.

Going back to the seventh month would have demanded the concerned adult to have nothing less than ₦1,265, if not, they wouldn’t be able to secure that healthy meal that they so much need. Federal officials, particularly the president, Bola Tinubu say they are not oblivious of the challenges, but that help is on the way.

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To Nigerians struggling so much to eat, the assistance and the easing of burden cannot come early enough. For the Southwest grown-ups, hunger problems will be a lot more severe if they cannot fashion out up to the ₦1,554 daily feeding bill. With this, it would be seen that those northwards are having it such much better.

No matter what burdensome increases may have affected food prices, in the northwest, an adult can get a healthy diet with just ₦1.014 but inflation easing isn’t reflecting enough in their spending, many Nigerians still think.

Based on the NBS’s summary of the past two months, the rate further eased to 32.15% relative to the July 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.40% but it is the year-on-year difference that would have communicated clearly if starving citizens should rejoice.

Unlike last year’s August when the readings showed overwhelming numbers placed at 25.80 percent, this year’s inflation grew much worse. The rate this time out was projected as 6.35 percentage points higher than the previous gauge.

Maybe the bumper harvest promised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will be enough to drive away the challenges but November although only a month away is still not close enough for the Nigerians needing a filled meal since the year started.

There hasn’t been any let-up with regards to the difficulty people face because of the cost-of-living crisis even if President Tinubu says the problem is across the globe. When food minister Senator Abubakar Kyari appeared live on television to discuss ongoing moves to tackle food scarcity, he assured that about October-November this year; that is when we are going to have the harvest.

We are expecting a bumper harvest hopefully, barring any other natural issues. God forbid!

For now, both adults and the younger ones must wait. It is a play of patience and nerves are waning and hoping the president will finally come with the goods.

In the National Bureau of Statistics’ healthy diet list, there are starchy staples, oil and fats, fruits, vegetables, legumes and foods that are animal-sourced all making the list in limited proportion. Right now, all these are limited and remain quite steep with or without inflation cooling down its heat.

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What is possibly the contributing factor is that these areas are not core food production states compared to northerners Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto. All three, says the NBS, account for the lowest costs – ₦880, ₦951 and ₦980 respectively.

Meiza Nigeria