Every evening in Nigeria, countless breadwinners return home with heavy hearts and empty hands. What was once a routine journey from work with a bag of groceries or a small treat for the kids has transformed into a silent march filled with anxiety.
Since the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 and the floating of the naira, managing a household has become an unending, exhausting challenge.
In the food market, the situation unfolds in real-time. With food inflation rising steadily and wages remaining unchanged, the naira in a working man’s pocket simply cannot cover the evening expenses.
According to data released last Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s headline inflation slightly decreased to 15.43 percent in July 2026, down from 15.91 percent in June.
However, despite the overall inflation easing, food costs have soared. Food inflation rose to 20.31 percent in July from 17.52 percent in June, fueled by significant price hikes in everyday items like rice, garri, tomatoes, peppers, and eggs.
Mothers are now faced with difficult choices, standing in front of stalls making quick calculations, deciding whether to forgo milk to buy tomatoes or skip meat for eggs just to save enough for bus fare home.
From civil servants in government offices to tradespeople in roadside workshops, the situation is the same: savings have vanished, basic food items have become luxuries, and the traditional…