The surge in prices of goods/commodities and its effect on the cost of living.

The prices of good and services has always been one of the major concern in my country has we move from one phase of hyperinflation to another. It is really hard to tell when it all started because I wouldn't want to get involved in the blaming act that seem to be the only way citizens of my country cope with our new reality. I would not blame them there is a limit to the pain a human mind can endure. We are all aware of the role each regime plays in ensuring that the welfarism of the citizens of a country is well catered for but when it comes to performing and discharging of this duties it becomes a different story entirely.

Before the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 there was a gradual increase in the price of commodities in Nigeria but it was not really above what we could bare. You wouldn't expect the prices of goods to remain the same forever but as long as it is not beyond what an average earner in my country can afford, we are good to go. The whole COVID 19 pandemic occurred which is kind of sad reality any of us that lived through it will never be able to forget. Like every other Virus that comes and goes, this was no different but the effect it had on our economy was devastating. It wasn't just my country, every nation felt the heat, as devastating as it was we are just glad we survived.

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Every country came up with ways to ease the pain caused by the aftermath of the pandemic, There were funds allocated for palliatives that were meant to be distributed to people, I mean we heard stories of how these packages were distributed and delivered to everyone door step in other countries but in my country we waited, we heard of news of the palliatives being bought and packaged so we kept waiting but it never arrived. We heard stories but that is all we got just stories and from that moment everything else just went out of control, Nothing else remained the same ever since but we kept hoping. Probably someday this phase of economic hardship will pass or we just kind of just adapt to it but the harder we try the more difficult it gets.

The surge in the prices of goods and services persisted and gradually hope diminishes. I mean what hope could be left when the prices of petroleum was still within the range of ₦150-300 and we were still complaining of how expensive that was but then it rises to ₦600 and above. The funny thing about the rise in fuel price is that whenever it happens every other commodity price skyrockets. You might wonder why but the reason is simple, when there is rise in the price of fuel which is the primarily used for transportation. Increase in cost of transporting goods leads to increase in its
cost.

_{A picture of Sabo market.}

Whenever I escort by parents to purchase things from the Market, we write a list of items we want to buy but when it comes to calculating the cost, we ensure we add up to 50% to the amount we previously bought each item on the list. Which kind of seem like an effective way to cope with the drastic increase in the prices of goods but it is never enough, there are times we come back home without being able to purchase every item on the list or we find a way to buy everything but it wasn't the quantity we set out to buy that we end up purchasing.

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I kept on wondering, which country would I compare the cost of living in my country to, I mean the value of Naira has never been more ridiculous, so comparing my country economy with the economy of a country whose currency value is more than 1000% higher than mine is completely unreasonable. It is better to pick on countries whose currency value is within the range of ours. My mom travelled to Cotonou last year to attend one of her family members wedding, I would have followed her but traveling is not really my thing.

She bought some things on her way back, though she had to convert the Naira she had with her to CFA. Comparing what she bought with the amount of Naira she converted to CFA, if she wanted to get those things here it would have been more expensive. Moreover 1 CFA is equal to ₦2.60 naira as at then, though Benin Republic also have their share of financial issues but a country where the goods, most especially food stuff are affordable, it makes the cost of living more bearable compared to what we have here.

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Despite the fact that the cost of living in Benin Republic is more bearable than that of Nigeria I would never relocate there. There are few reasons but the one that seems more personal to me is the language barrier. I mean there are some English speaking residents there but their primary language is french and if there is one thing known to be my kryptonite it is my inability to quickly assimilate or learn a language. Well we are still hoping probably someday the miracle that occurs in cell 7 will occur in Nigeria.

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_{This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "What's your cost of living" in hive learners community.}

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_{Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺}

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