The current inflationary trend in Nigeria may soon get out of hand if not properly addressed but it is a trend that has gone on for 9 Months and Counting.
Economist Kelechi Deca sounded this note of caution while speaking to TVC News Breakfast crew on Tuesday Morning.
Mr Deca said the Trend though not peculiar to Nigeria has been compounded by a number of factors making it at 21.47% the highest Nigeria has ever faced since 2005.
He said the flooding across the Country is a major issue that has helped in compounding the problem with the lingering Fuel Scarcity also a major problem.
He disclosed that in parts of Nigeria like the North, Abia State and some Others, fuel currently goes for as much as 300 Naira and above.
According to him, this situation will not go without adding to the Consumer Price Index making it a little bit more difficult for Nigerians to pull through this period.
He said the absence of Charity organisations giving out food, food stamps and relief materials has further compounded the problem in Nigeria with even the few ones who tried it realising how difficult it is to do so.
He also urged Nigerians to do whatever it takes to reduce their expenses during the period asking whether it is prudent to actually buy a whole 50kg bag of rice for a family at Christmas.
Going Further, He said the Christmas period is not unusual to any Other during the course of the whole year but said the whole thing is nothing but human activities.
He added that unlike Other parts of the World where discounts and rebates happen around the Christmas and New Year period, what basically happens yearly in Nigeria is exploitation which he termed “Grabism.
He said this spirit has ensured that most Nigerians start off January as debtors and struggle in the first few months of the year to attend to basic needs including the payment of School Fees.
He disclosed that the trend will continue until people start cutting back on the seeming insatiable urge to shop until the drop dead in December.
According to Mr Deca, the combination of High Inflation, Insecurity and food price inflation and the level of poverty has ensured that the government cannot really do much for the people unless people also reign in the appetite to spend beyond their limits.
For him, absence of a Social Security Net has also ensured that the Trend will continue as it is.
