Like millions of Nigerians, Rotimi Bankole said he wants to use Saturday’s presidential election to push for a better life in the oil-rich but crisis-ridden country.
Double inflation, weak economic growth and insecurity are the main issues for voters on February 25 when they elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, as he steps down after two terms allowed by law.
“Nigeria has been very difficult to cope with and live in,” Bankole said. “Survival is difficult.”
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For years, the 54-year-old struggled to take care of his family of five while working two jobs.
Recently, he took on a third job – driving a taxi – but could only make an extra 5,000 naira ($11) – hardly enough in a country where the cost of living has risen to record levels.
Nigeria’s resources and wealth
Africa’s largest economy and the continent’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has resources and wealth, but the global pandemic and the economic fallout from the Ukraine war hit the country hard at Buhari’s end.
Inflation is at 21.8 percent, the naira currency has weakened and the World Bank says more Nigerians are now living below the poverty line.
Adding to the economic woes, the country is facing fuel shortages as well as cash shortages after the central bank began replacing old naira notes with new bills.
Chronic cash shortages have drawn lines outside banks and sparked protests in some cities, although the central bank said the policy was needed to prevent large amounts of cash outside the banking system.
Bankole started driving taxis two months ago, but the latest fuel and cash shortages have added to his woes.
They spent long hours queuing at gas stations, paying up to 330 naira per liter instead of 165 before.
Even going to school has been difficult as his parents struggle to pay the fees while his printing business is struggling.
“We cannot continue like this as a people,” he said.
– Business Acumen –
Saturday’s election has turned into a tight three-way race for president, with the frontrunners all citing past government experience and business acumen for the nation’s top job.
Ex-Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress or APC faced former vice president Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi from the Labor Party, a surprise third candidate with high youth appeal.
Although Nigeria’s economy rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic, growing by three percent in 2022, critics say the recovery is not down to improving conditions for most Nigerians.
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Falling oil revenues, increased insecurity from criminal gangs, heavy floods that hit farmland and the impact of the war in Ukraine have combined to make the situation worse.
Nigeria’s unemployment rate is about 33 percent, while the number of Nigerians living in poverty will rise to 133 million or 63 percent of the population by 2022, according to the World Bank.
Youth unemployment is now at 43 percent, compared to 10 percent before Buhari’s first administration in 2015.
The naira currency has depreciated from an average of 200 naira to the dollar in 2015, to around 750 in the parallel market.
According to Sola Oni of Sofunix Investment, “Nigeria’s poor operating environment, characterized by inflationary pressures, low purchasing power, etc., will continue to increase poverty levels.”
Recently, Nigerian manufacturers warned that they face a 25 percent production shortfall if fuel and cash shortages are not resolved soon.
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“This situation is not good for anyone, the industry, the government and ordinary citizens,” said Segun Ajayi-Kabir, the head of the country’s manufacturers’ association.
“You will have a compounded lack of crippling patronage for domestic manufacturers; the denial of government revenue that will be received from consumption tax and disruption of the daily life and needs of the average Nigerian.