By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
WORSENING LIVING conditions in Nigeria are driving millions deeper into extreme poverty, the World Bank has warned, placing the country among 39 fragile and conflict-affected states experiencing severe socio-economic decline.
In ITS recent post-pandemic review, the World Bank identified Nigeria as a high-risk economy alongside others such as Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The report cited unrelenting insecurity from insurgency and kidnapping, especially in the Northeast and Northwest, as major drivers of fragility.
Despite nominal GDP growth, Nigeria’s poverty levels have surged sharply, fuelled largely by economic policy shifts.
The report points to the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 and the naira floatation policy the following month as factors that triggered a chain of inflationary shocks, pushing the cost of basic commodities beyond the reach of the average citizen.
As petrol prices climbed from ₦187 per litre in mid-2023 to over ₦1,000 today, and the exchange rate ballooned from ₦450 to ₦1,570 per US dollar, many Nigerians saw their purchasing power collapse.
It says a monthly wage once valued at US$67 now equates to just US$45, despite a nominal increase to ₦70,000. Cement, which cost ₦3,000 per 50kg bag a year ago, now sells for over ₦10,000, further eroding real income.
Fuel expenses alone now consume up to half the income of low-to-middle income earners, reflecting the inflationary burden households face.
This trend of price spikes across all sectors has plunged millions into hardship.
By the Bank’s latest estimates, 421 million people globally live on less than US$3 per day in conflict-affected regions, with Nigeria accounting for nearly 20 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s share.
Figures from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics had already put multidimensional poverty at 133 million as of 2022.
The new World Bank estimates translate to over 113 million Nigerians now living in extreme poverty.
It shows security, education, food access and employment have borne the brunt of these declines.
Adding that over 25 million Nigerians are reportedly food insecure, and more than 20 million children remain out of school, it describes this as the highest number in the world.
Nigeria’s GDP per capita has now slumped to US$824, down from over US$3,100 in 2014, the report also reveals.
As livelihoods vanish, so has security. Crime, banditry, and terrorist recruitment have intensified, capitalising on the rising desperation, the World Bank report signaling a stark alert.
