Beyond the price list: How Nigerians should judge economic pain, policy reform and performance

    Oluyemi Adeosun | Insights | Feb 23, 2026    
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What is circulating in homes, WhatsApp groups and street-corner conversations is not just a political message; it is a household balance sheet written in plain language. On one side of the comparison is a May 29, 2023 memory: the naira around ₦460 to the dollar, petrol at about N197 per litre, cooking gas at roughly ₦570 per kilogram, a crate of eggs at about N2,500, and sachet water at about N150 per bag. On the other side is today’s lived reality, with much higher numbers attached to the same essentials. Using the benchmark figures in that viral comparison, the implied increases are staggering: the naira benchmark moved by about 204 percent, petrol by about 352 percent, cooking gas by about 111 percent, eggs by 140 percent and sachet water by about 167 percent. That is why the message resonates. It translates macroeconomics into kitchen economics. It is also why any government that dismisses this kind of public arithmetic is making a serious political mistake.

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