Costs Redefine Everyday Survival
For many people, the cost of being Nigerian is no longer measured only by the price of what they buy. It is measured by what they have to give up to afford it. Aminat Hassan reports
B
y the time Christiana Bulus arrives at Gosa Market, the cost of getting there has already taken a bite out of whatever profit she hopes to make that day.
Bulus, a trader who travels from Dikko in Niger State to the market, has watched the cost of her journey rise steadily. What once cost her about N1,500 in transportation now requires roughly N3,500. Carrying her goods to the market has also become more expensive.
For Bulus, the journey to the market is therefore no longer simply about getting her goods to customers. It is a calculation of how much she must spend before she can make anything back. And even after paying the higher transport costs, there is no guarantee that customers will buy enough.
“When the prices of goods were low, we sold more and got enough gain, but now people don’t patronise much because the prices are high. People are hungry but there is no money to buy food,” Bulus said.
Her experience captures a growing contradiction in everyday Nigerian life: people need food, transportation and other basic necessities, but the money available to pay for them is increasingly unable to keep pace with their cost.
The latest inflation figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) illustrate the pressure. The Bureau reported that headline inflation moderated to 15.43 per cent in July 2026, from 15.91 per cent in June. Yet food inflation moved in the opposite direction, rising to 20.31 per cent year-on-year in July from 17.52 per cent in June.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation also increased to 5.56 per cent in July, compared with 3.75 per cent in June.
The numbers may suggest that the overall pace of price increases is slowing, but for households standing in markets, waiting for buses or paying for fuel, the experience is more complicated.
A slower rate of inflation does not necessarily mean that prices have fallen. It can simply mean that prices are rising more slowly than before. For ordinary Nigerians, what matters at the end of the day is how far their income can go.
Aisha Bello, a salaried worker Abuja, said her income has not increased at the same rate as the cost of everyday necessities. Food now consumes more of her money. Transportation takes a larger share. Other household expenses have also become harder to absorb.
According to her, “Things like tomatoes, pepper and even proteins are all taking more money than before.”
The adjustments have been gradual but significant. Bello said she now eats outside less frequently and has stopped buying some things she once purchased without much thought. At times, she has to choose between spending money on food and keeping enough money for fuel.
“I cannot say I’m living the same way I was living a year ago,” she said.
Her comment describes a reality that is difficult to capture in inflation figures alone. When prices rise faster than incomes, households do not always respond with dramatic changes. Instead, they make small sacrifices repeatedly.
Anthony Dorcas said that is what has happened to her. She now buys smaller quantities of food or delays purchases until they become necessary.
A year ago, she said, the amount she spent on food each week was considerably lower. Her salary, however, has not risen at the same pace as the cost of living.
She said, “My salary has not increased at the same rate as the cost of living, so basically, my standard of living has reduced.”
For her, the problem is not necessarily the desire for luxury. It is the struggle to maintain the standard of living she once considered normal.
The pressure is not confined to consumers. Those responsible for moving people and goods across the country are also dealing with rising operating costs.
For commercial drivers, the challenge begins before a passenger enters the vehicle. Chenidu Okafor, who has been driving commercially since 2018, said the economics of driving have changed significantly as fuel, spare parts and vehicle maintenance have become more expensive.
Servicing, tyres, engine oil and other repairs now require more money, while drivers still have to contend with passengers who are themselves struggling financially.
“You cannot just increase the fare anyhow because some people will complain or decide to use another means of transportation,” Okafor said.
The consequence, he said, is that he sometimes has to work longer hours simply to earn what he used to make before.
Ove Akao, a commercial driver who has been in the business since 2013, remembers a very different fuel market. He recalled that petrol sold for roughly N90 to N100 per litre around 2015. Today, he said, some filling stations sell it for more than N1,300.
The difference is not merely a statistic for drivers. It determines how much they spend to put their vehicles on the road and, ultimately, how much passengers pay to move from one place to another.
“If you look at it, the price of fuel affects every aspect of the economy,” Akao said.
His observation points to the connection between the various pressures facing households.
Transportation affects the movement of food and other goods. The cost of moving goods affects their final selling price. Higher prices reduce consumers’ purchasing power, and reduced purchasing power affects the volume of goods businesses can sell.
The cycle moves from the filling station to the transport operator, from the transport operator to the trader, and from the trader to the consumer.
For traders and other business owners, the problem is becoming a question of survival rather than simply profit.
Benedict Ogbonna, who has been in business since 1994, said the rising cost of fuel and transportation has significantly reduced what remains after expenses.
He estimated that fuel alone can sometimes cost about N50,000 a week.
“The money that we used to buy fuel and fuel our vehicle, if you check your gain, you will now find out that we are not doing anything,” he said.
That shrinking margin creates pressure at both ends of the business. Raising prices may help a trader recover costs, but it can also drive away customers who are already struggling to afford basic necessities.
Keeping prices low may attract customers, but the business owner risks making little or no profit.
Customers still need food, but many are buying less because they have less money to spend. The result is a market where the seller is under pressure to reduce prices while the cost of bringing the goods to the market continues to rise.
Survival Through Sacrifice
For many households, the response has been to adjust rather than give up. But these adjustments have limits.
A family can reduce how often it eats outside, but it cannot stop eating. A worker can postpone buying clothes, but cannot indefinitely postpone transportation to work. A trader can try to reduce expenses, but goods still have to be transported. A driver can work longer hours, but fuel and vehicle maintenance remain unavoidable costs. The pressure is therefore cumulative.
A household earning the same income as before may appear financially stable on paper, but if food, transportation, rent, fuel and other necessities consume a greater proportion of that income, the household is effectively poorer.
Bello believes government must consider the economy from the perspective of ordinary earners.
“Let them consider somebody earning maybe N150,000 or N200,000 and paying rent, transportation, feeding, has a family and other bills to settle. The money is not enough when everything keeps increasing”, she said.
Her concern is shared by the traders and drivers interviewed. Their suggestions are practical: support farmers, improve transportation, reduce the pressure created by fuel costs and introduce measures that can make food more affordable.
They are not asking only for cheaper goods. They are asking for an economic environment in which earning a living does not become an increasingly expensive activity.
The stories of Bulus, Bello, Okafor, Akao, Ogbonna and Dorcas are different, but they lead to the same destination. Inflation may moderate, but when food prices continue to rise and transportation costs remain a burden, the relief can feel distant to families whose incomes have not kept pace.
There is no single solution to the pressures facing Nigerians. Tackling them requires attention to food production, transportation, fuel costs, household incomes and the broader cost of doing business.
Until those pressures begin to ease, survival will continue to depend on calculations that were once unnecessary: what to buy, what to postpone, which journey to make and which one to cancel.
For many Nigerians, the cost of being Nigerian is no longer measured only by the price of what they buy. It is measured by what they have to give up to afford it.