Rice, Nigeria’s beloved Christmas delicacy, has become a luxury this year. With soaring food prices, the tradition of jollof rice and chicken at Christmas is fading for many, as families carefully weigh their options for the upcoming celebrations. Vanguard reports.
For context, Nigerians have been grappling with the soaring price of rice since former President Muhammadu Buhari closed the nation’s land borders in 2019 to spur local production of basic food items consumed by Nigerians.
When Buhari’s successor, President Bola Tinubu took over in May 2023, inflation was one of the major challenges his administration was bequeathed.
The situation worsened after Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the Nigerian currency.
Following the policies, the price of 50kg of rice jumped from a little above ₦20,000 to ₦70,000.
One year into Tinubu’s presidency, Nigeria recorded a year-on-year food inflation rate of 40.66%. By October, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS’s Selected Food Prices report showed that the local rice prices of 1kg rice had risen to ₦1,944.64, making it one of the most expensive staples in the country.
Meanwhile, to cushion the impact of high food prices, President Tinubu announced a 150-day duty-free importation of rice and other major food items in July.
Despite this effort, rice prices remain high in the market and, unfortunately, the situation is compounded by the artificial hikes that come with festive seasons in Nigeria.
Bag of rice costs
Currently, the average price of a bag of 50kg of rice is between ₦90,000 and ₦100,000. According to Aisha Giwa, a rice vendor in the Oyingbo market in Lagos, a 50kg bag of foreign rice costs between ₦90,000 and ₦95,000, while the prices of local brands like Mama Gold, Royal Stallion, Big Bull, Mama’s Choice and Pretty Lady range between ₦80,000 and ₦90,000.
In the Aguda market in the Surulere area of Lagos, the prices of foreign rice brands range between ₦95,000 and ₦107,000. A rice vendor in the market simply identified as Tobi said the price of the commodity depends on whether the grain is long or short.
Three Days to Christmas: Anger as food prices, costs of transportation hit the roof
Christmas: Soaring prices mar aspirations of households, businesses
Tobi explained that long grains are more expensive, adding that some short rice grains, depending on their qualities, may be much more costly than the long ones.
He further explained that the impact of food inflation is glaring in the market and on the streets. The vendor said he hasn’t seen anyone come to his shop or nearby shops to buy bags of rice and gallons of groundnut oil that would be shared as Christmas gifts.
“Before now, you would have seen people coming to rice sellers to buy many bags they would share to family and friends. They may buy like 10 bags of 50kg and rebag into five or 10kgs to be shared. A lot of that is not happening this year. It tells you that the economy is really hard on people,” Tobi maintained.
As inflation tightens its grip on Nigerians, many middle-class families have been forced to make compromising decisions ahead of the celebrations.
Ayoola David used to send a bag of rice to his parents ahead of Christmas to celebrate the holiday with extended family members who traditionally join them in the merriment. Unfortunately, he is unable to keep up the practice this year due to the soaring price of the staple.
“Ideally, I’d have loved to send a bag of rice home to my folks, considering that they’d have many people coming around to celebrate with them. But knowing how pricey the commodity has become, I’m now considering just a half bag. And even that, I’m having to look for the most affordable of the lot,” Adetayo said.
For Oluwatobi Oluwatoyin’s family, the inflation has affected his Christmas budget so much that a paint bucket of rice is all he can afford even after cutting down on some essentials.
“It has affected my budget so much that I’m trying to cut down on so many things. Now, I’m thinking of buying a paint bucket of rice and just doing away with some other things entirely. For example, we are not buying the full 12.5 kg of gas. We are now buying what we can afford,” the father of one said.
“It’s (inflation) having a massive effect on my festive season budget,” Alani Shotayo said, adding, “I’ve been very selective with my shopping.”
Like Adetayo, Shotayo has settled for a half bag of rice for the upcoming festivities, fully aware it won’t be enough to go round.
“I normally buy a 50kg bag, which I’d share with my mother and sister. But with this rising price, I may likely settle for a 25kg bag. Although that won’t be enough to go round everyone, this is where my scale of priority will now kick into effect,” he submitted.
While some families cut their Christmas budget, others like Femi Toyin’s have resigned to observing the upcoming holidays without their star dish of jollof rice and tasty chickens.
In his case, there’s no holiday celebration for his family this year because despite cutting costs, he does not have much to commit to Christmas and New Year celebrations.
He said, “I’ve bought a bag from when it was 90k+ and it’s what the family is still on. It’s quite hard really as there has to be a lot of cost-cutting. I don’t think there’ll be any festivities for me this year.”
As the price of food items, especially rice, soar, forcing many households to make difficult compromises, it is clear that the celebration spirit of the season would be defined more by gratitude for little mercies than the elaborate feasting that normally comes with Christmas.
For many Nigerian families, this year’s Christmas will be a stark reminder of how inflation has altered their budgets and stripped away the giving spirit that typically characterises the festive season.
