Nigeria's Inflation Hits 17-Year High as Food Prices Soar

Nigerian authorities say the country's inflation rate jumped to nearly 20% in July, compared to last year, the highest in nearly two decades. Consumers in Africa's biggest economy are struggling to keep up with rising prices for basic foods.

Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday the country’s inflation rate in July was 19.64% - the highest rate since September 2005.

A NBS report found the highest increases were for necessities like food, fuel, transportation and clothing.

Food prices have risen steadily in Nigeria for years, due to the effects of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread insecurity.

But in February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, commodity prices soared, affecting the ability of millions of citizens to meet their basic needs.

Abuja resident James Orshio earns the equivalent of about $50 a month from his sales job but said his salary can no longer cushion economic pressures.

"There's a lot of challenges now due to the increment [increases] of prices; I cannot even talk of going to the market now to buy something to feed myself because the prices are not encouraging at all,” he said. “A loaf of bread that used to be 300 naira is now 1,000 naira. Even some of the bakers in Abuja are not working because of the high price."

In a bid to address inflation, Nigeria's Central Bank (CBN) has been tightening monetary policy by increasing interest rates from 11% in January to 14% in July.

Akintunde Ogunsola, founder of Abuja-based financial consulting firm Karma Professional Service, explained the reason for the CBN’s policy.

"What is happening is that we have too much money in circulation chasing a few goods, and that's what causes inflation,” he said. “There is scarcity in supply and that's why CBN is using the open market operation to reduce the money in circulation by increasing [the] interest rate so that people will be saving money back into the bank, like mopping up money from the economy."

Nigeria's import-dependent economy has been further hit by currency devaluation. The naira has lost more than 30% of its value in seven months.

But Ogunsola said inflation nowadays is a global problem.

"It's not only in Nigeria alone that we're experiencing this,” he said. “The United States’ inflation is also going up. Even our neighbors, Ghana, their inflation rate is already over 30%.”

In March, the World Bank estimated that about 4 out of 10 Nigerians live below the national poverty line.

Experts predict the inflation rate will increase further in coming months and may put many more Nigerians on the brink of poverty.

By Timothy Obiezu

VOA

Video - Nigerian athletes conquer Birmingham despite challenges

The recently concluded Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has been described as one of Nigeria's best outings at an international multi-sporting event. The West African nation topped the African medal charts at the games with 35 medals, 12 of them gold. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam filed this report on the athletes' performances amid poor financing and training infrastructure.

Nigerian Authorities Launch App to Monitor Crude Oil Theft

Africa's largest oil producer, Nigeria, says thieves and vandals cost the country up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day - that's billions of dollars in lost revenue. To combat the problem, Nigerian oil authorities have launched a mobile app for reporting the incidents and rewarding those who do.

The launch of the crude oil theft monitoring app took place last Friday in Abuja, during the signing of renewed production contracts between the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission and its oil drilling partners.

Authorities said the mobile platform was created for members of host communities in oil-rich regions to enable early reporting of incidents and spur immediate action from relevant security and government authorities.

Whistleblowers will also be rewarded.

During the launch, the NNPC group head Mele Kyari admitted that pipeline vandalism has become difficult to control.

In July, Nigeria changed its oil firm from a solely state-run entity to a commercial oil company.

Emmanuel Afimia, the founder of Abuja-based energy consulting firm, said addressing oil theft is an important issue the new company must deal with to improve its earnings.

"At this point, NNPC would be able to at least find solutions to the issue of subsidies, to the issue of inefficiencies, to the issue of loss every year,” he said. “Because the effect would actually be felt by them, so I'm not sure they would want to continue with the way they've actually been operating the corporation. So this is definitely the right step in the right direction."

According to the NNPC, with losses at 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day Nigeria loses about $4 billion in revenue every year.

Kyari said so far this year, the country has already lost $1.5 billion due to escalation of pipeline vandalism and oil theft at the Bonny Terminal in Rivers State.

But Toyin Akinosho, publisher of the Africa Oil+Gas Report, said beyond launching an app, political will is needed to address the problem.

"It's very important that the state hydrocarbon company itself is announcing this [but] it's not just a question about tracking, it's actually how you deliver on ensuring that those incidents don't happen again,” he said. “There has to be the will power to deliver. That's what I'm interested in.”

Nigeria has been seeking to cash in on rising energy prices as Europe tries to wean itself off Russia's energy supply following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Authorities have revived decades-old “Trans Saharan” pipeline projects from Nigeria to Algeria and also from Nigeria to Morocco. Both projects are targeting European energy markets.

But Akinosho said the projects may not be completed until a few years from now.

"Whatever it is that we're even building will take a bit of time,” he said. “You can't construct these pipelines that the government is talking about, you can't deliver them in less than three, four years.”

In January of this year authorities in Nigeria's oil rich Rivers State began cracking down on illegal refineries locally known as “Kpo-fire.” Many operators were arrested.

Authorities say the government's oil and gas revenue target this year is now threatened by a production shortfall of 28 million barrels caused by oil theft between January and July.

By Timothy Obiezu

VOA 

Related story: Nigeria loses 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to theft, says FG

50 killed and many displaced in northern Nigeria flooding

At least 50 people have died and "many" displaced after recent torrential rains caused flooding in northern Nigeria, Sani Yusuf, executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for Jigawa State said.

"When you go around [Jigawa State], we lost about 50 people to the flood," Yusuf told reporters on camera Sunday from the city of Dutse, which was broadcast by local media

Yusuf said at least 237 homes had been damaged in the area of Balangu alone, forcing people into temporary camps. Eleven temporary camps have been set up for those displaced, he said.
Nigeria's Federal Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Farouq also visited Jigawa State recently to distribute relief materials, the federal ministry tweeted.

"This incident is particularly sad because it has become perennial. This is causing serious damage to schools, houses, and the livelihood of the people," Farouq told reporters on camera.

Farouq said Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to activate National Emergency Management Agency to provide the necessary support to those affected by the floods.

The floods come after days of severe thunderstorms which have prompted flash flooding warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.

Many parts of Jigawa are vulnerable to flooding after rainstorms. Earlier in August, around seven people died and dozens of buildings were destroyed following flooding from heavy rains in seven districts in the northeastern Nigerian state.

Last year, more than 120 families were displaced in the state's Guri district when their homes were submerged by floods after a heavy downpour.

'No quick solution'

Water resources minister, Suleiman Adamu, who is also from Jigawa told local media two years ago there were no quick solutions to the state's flooding problem, and not even funding could curb it.

"Desilting a river is not a solution to flooding, it's a temporary solution, it takes a lot of money. If all the budgets of the federal government and Jigawa State are combined to desilt River Hadejia, we cannot achieve it," Adamu said, adding that: "There are no short-term measures to stop flooding but we can mitigate and do early warning." 

CNN

Nigerian Authorities Say Airstrikes Kill 55 Members of Kidnapping Gangs

Nigeria's air force said airstrikes this week killed 55 members of criminal gangs who were involved in abduction-for-ransom operations. An air force spokesman said after the airstrikes, the militants released people they were holding hostage.

Nigeria's government has come under heavy criticism for failing to stop mass abductions and Islamist militant attacks.

The Nigerian Air Force said airstrikes in north central Kaduna state on Tuesday killed 28 members of a kidnapping-for-ransom gang, including a gang leader. It said many others were injured.

Air Force Public Relations Director Gabriel Gabkwet told reporters that authorities had received intelligence that the bandits were gathering in the area. He said the success of the raid led to the release of captives they held.

Gabkwet said other airstrikes in northwestern Katsina state this week killed 27 bandits.

He did not take calls from VOA for further comment.

The airstrikes come a week after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presided over a national security meeting and said he had given security forces the full freedom to deal with terrorists.

Darlington Abdullahi, president of the alumni association of Nigeria’s National Defense College, said Buhari's words were a morale booster for troops.

"This kind of thing should not come as a surprise, all you need is political will to guide the action of the forces,” Abdullahi said. “I think they're getting probably that support that is required to deal with the situation from the utterances of Mr. President."

But Gabkwet said the military has also been conducting air operations targeting insurgents in northeastern Borno state. He said that included an August 6 raid in the village of Gazuwa that followed intelligence that terrorists from Boko Haram and splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were fighting each other.

Nigeria has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northeast for more than 12 years.

Authorities have been heavily criticized for failing to address general insecurity that stems from the insurgency and rampant kidnapping.

Abduallahi said the military must stay on the offensive.

"As long as this continues, I think the military still has the upper hand to take on them before they organize themselves properly,” he said. “I think the security agencies really have to continue with the efforts to deal with the situation decisively."

Earlier this week, police said they had arrested four suspects connected to a church attack in the southwest state of Ondo that killed 40 worshippers.

But security analyst Senator Iroegbu said authorities have shown a lack of political will to address the problem.

"The challenge we're having is that the political will is not there, especially from the presidency,” Iroegbu said. “There's no clear-cut directive on what to do. Any time you hear ... he's sounding frustrated. They keep on pushing the blame to others not taking responsibility."

In July, Islamic State West Africa Province claimed responsibility for a jailbreak in Buja that freed over 400 inmates, including high-profile terrorism detainees. Only a few of the prisoners have since been recaptured.

By Timothy Obiezu

VOA