Food Prices Soar, Nigerians Engage in Panic Buying as Hunger Protest Begins Today

Prices of foodstuff have again gone up in major markets across the country as Nigerians engaged in panic buying in a bid to stock their homes before the planned nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest begin today.

This comes as last-ditch moves by the Federal Government to stop the protest failed to arrest the momentum generated by the organisers, who insisted the protest would go on as planned.

The protest organisers want an improvement in the soaring cost of living and a reversal of some harsh government policies, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy.

The subsidy removal, along with ongoing security issues in farming regions, has led to increased transportation costs and subsequent food inflation.

In a late rally to stop the demonstration, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, Wednesday, addressed an emergency press conference where he again admonished Nigerians to shun the proposed protest.

Other top officials also pleaded for the suspension of the protest, including the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, Atiku Bagudu (Budget and Planning), Wale Edun (Economy) and presidential media aide, Bayo Onanuga, among others.

They reeled out all the people-oriented policies and programmes implemented by the Tinubu government and sought the understanding of Nigerians.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, also invited journalists for an urgent press conference at the force headquarters.

Also, the National Assembly held a plenary on Wednesday after cutting its recess short.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, addressed youths at a hastily convened town hall meeting at the National Assembly Complex, where he reiterated his appeal to the protest organisers to embrace dialogue with the Federal Government to find solutions to the hardship in the country.

The SGF in his remarks said the government recognised the right to protest but was wary of the planned protests being hijacked “by bandits, insurgents and other criminals.”

He added, “We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians of whatever persuasion, belief, demography, gender and status to shun calls for protests against hunger by prioritising peace and progress.

“For avoidance of doubt, the government of President Tinubu recognises the right to peaceful protest but circumspection and vigilance should be our watchword.

“The government is wary of the dangers associated with protests that are vulnerable to being hijacked by bandits, insurgents and other criminals. Rather, we request that dialogue should be advanced and we remain open to such.

“Our appeal is that Nigerians should please pursue the path of peace, dialogue and collaboration in addressing the challenges that collectively confront us.”

Akume outlined some interventions of the Tinubu-led administration in the 14 months since its inauguration on May 29, 2024, stating that the country was undergoing refining and recalibration and that economic growth remained a goal of the Federal Government.

“Within a space of 14 months of purposeful leadership, the administration has recorded tremendous accomplishments that laid the foundation for immediate, medium and long-term prosperity of Nigerians, in an inclusive manner.

‘’Mr. President approved a Wage Award of N35,000 for a period of six months to cushion the effect on workers. This award was higher than the minimum wage.

“Mr President has just signed into law a new National Minimum Wage Act which prescribed N70,000. This represents more than 100 per cent increase from the last minimum wage (N30,000) and takes retroactive effect from April.”

He added, “As part of the efforts of the FG to take development to the grassroots, the government approached the Supreme Court for a decision on the funding of LGAs in Nigeria. The favourable judgement has now set the LGA on the path to its financial and development autonomy.

“For the first time in our nation, the President created a stand-alone Ministry for the Youth that accounts for a large percentage of our population. Under the N35 billion Nigerian Education Loan Fund,  approved beneficiaries have exceeded the 40,000 mark of the expected 70,000 beneficiaries.”

Food prices soar

Afraid the protest might turn violent and restrict movement, following government’s failed move to stop it, panicky Nigerians stormed markets on Wednesday for last minute grocery shopping, to the delight of traders, who hiked prices of their food items.

“From the news, it appears this protest may not just be another rally. So, I came here to buy food and stock my home for, at least, two weeks. In case the protest goes beyond the stipulated time, my family and I would have something to eat,” Mrs Adeyinka Fakunle told one of our correspondents at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, on Wednesday.

Checks by our correspondents in the last two days showed that food items like rice, beans, yams, garri and noodles had again gone up about the fourth time in 2024 alone.

“Apples Bite” reports that the impending protest had dominated discussions in the past couple of weeks, with officials in government, urging youths to rather dialogue than stage the protest, noting the possibility of the protests being hijacked by hoodlums and miscreants.

Abuja

At the Garki International Market in Abuja, a 50kg bag of foreign rice, which previously sold for about N79,000 now sold for between N86,000 and N90,000. Yams which only a few weeks ago sold for N5,000 per tuber, sold for N7,000 per tuber and N28,000 for a set of 5.

A mudu (local measure of eight cups) of beans, previously sold for between N2,000 and N2,500, now sells for N3,500 while a mudu of garri, previously N1,300, sold between N1,400 and N1,500. A carton of Indomie noodles previously sold at N7,500 has gone up to N7,700 while a basket of Irish potatoes, sold previously at between N5,000 and N5,500, now sells for N6,000 per basket.

While some traders say they had to increase the prices of food products due to the cost price at depots and places where they purchased the items, others highlighted the difficulty in transporting the products to the market and the scarcity of some of the food items.

A trader, Cynthia Ogu, who sells food items, said, “For instance, I don’t sell eggs in bits anymore. I sell an entire crate, at N4,600. If I sell single, I may sell short. The Indomie (noodles) used to be N7,500. I buy at that amount but I have to make gains somehow, that’s why there is an extra N200. The Super Pack is N17,000 now. And I don’t give a discount; it used to be about N15,000. So, this is why the price is high.”

A visit to the Bwari market on Tuesday equally revealed significant price hikes; with a mudu of white beans selling for N2,600, up from the previous N2,500. Other varieties of beans were however sold for N2,800 and N3,000.

Musa Auwal, an onion seller, sold three onion bulbs for N500, a price that has left customers like Ojoniko Sunday concerned.

Meanwhile, a small bowl of Irish potatoes sold for N7,000, while new yams sold for N4,000 each. The cost of pepper had also risen, with a small basket of red pepper selling for N1,300.

Meanwhile, the Abuja Market Management Limited had over the weekend urged traders and market users to protect the markets from infiltrators who may want to cause mayhem while urging them not to participate in the protests.

In a statement on Sunday, the Acting Managing Director, AMML, Abbas Yakubu, stated, “Abuja Markets Management Limited has urged traders and other Market users in the Federal Capital Territory to support its effort and that of the Security Agencies in ensuring that the market is not infiltrated by people of ignoble intentions in the guise of peaceful protest.

“We have a history of protests and other incidents cascading into wanton destruction of properties in our markets; no responsible Management or trader will fold its hand and wait for it to repeat. That is why we are urging you all to mobilize your fellow traders, the wheelbarrow pushers, your apprentices, and everyone who has legitimate business in the markets, to resist any attempt at infiltrating the market by hoodlums in the guise of protest.”

Funds for food

Some residents of Ogun and Kwara states, who spoke to our correspondents, complained of insufficient funds to stock their homes following the spike in prices.

A market research conducted by one of our correspondents in Ilorin, the state capital, showed that residents had the intention stocking their homes with foodstuff but lacked the financial capacity.

“I was given N13,000 by my husband to buy guinea corn and yam for our family, but what I met in the market is shocking, six tubers of small yam were sold for N10,000 while a tin of guinea corn costs N3,500. The amount of food I bought for our family of 11 with the money I had cannot last more than three days”, a housewife, Musilimatu Onikoko, lamented.

Residents of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, also rued the hike in food prices, saying it skyrocketed by 50 per cent, leaving them in a state of  economic disarray in the face of the imminent protest.

A resident, Mrs Ukamaka Oleh, said, “As we prepare for the hunger protest, the cost of food items have increased in the markets. This is because what we used to buy with N5000 or N10,000 is now what we spend over N15,000 to buy today.”

In Asaba, the Delta State capital, residents also decried their inability to stock their homes for the upcoming protest following the soaring prices of food item.

An artisan, Uche Ijeh, said, “Most of us depend on our daily incomes and we find it difficult to buy foodstuff, where are we going to get money to stock our houses with food?

Ahead of the #EndBadGovernance protest, many Lagos residents, on Wednesday, stormed food markets in their areas to stock their homes.

In Lagos, markets were unusually crowded with buyers, who were afraid the protest might linger and hinder them from buying fresh supplies.

Some traders at the popular Iyana-Iba market on Wednesday said a large number of their customers had been buying foodstuffs in preparation for today’s protest.

A trader, who sells spaghetti, seasonings and other packed foodstuffs, Mrs Ngozi Okezie, said, “I have had customers from morning and they told me they wanted to have food at home before the protest began.”

During a visit to Kpeti market in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State by one of our correspondents, residents bought food items in large quantities amid security presence, which a seller at the market, who identified herself simply as Madam Beauty, described as “unusual.”

“We used to have just few policemen at the entrance to the market but today (Wednesday) there were lots of soldiers, so many of them,” she added.

Although, major markets in the state did not open for transactions on Monday, due to the sit-at-home order, smaller markets in Anambra State, which opened, witnessed a large number of buyers and sellers.

At the Relief Market in Onitsha, a buyer, Chidi Okonkwo, said, “I would have bought more foodstuff and medical supplies for the home. It’s unfortunate that the prices of foodstuff have skyrocketed in the past few days. I urge other families to stockpile food and drugs in their homes to take care of any emergencies during the protest.”

 Meanwhile, as plans for the rally reached a climax, the police allegedly confiscated banners and printed materials produced by the Take It Back Movement, one of the organisers of the rally.

The National Coordinator of the group, Tunde Mohammed, said policemen from Abuja command also arrested the printer, Possible Odeh, and a member of the movement on Tuesday.

Mohammed said the two men were still in police custody.