Nigeria's inflation crisis is weighing heavily on its citizens, especially students who are struggling with the skyrocketing costs of living. From higher transport fares to the rising prices of everyday necessities, many students are finding it harder to manage their education and financial pressures. TheRadar examines the challenges they face, the impact of student loans, and expert opinions on how to ease the burden.
When Esther Isiaka resumed as a 100-level student in Ekiti State in 2023, spending N1,000 to transport herself to classes felt exorbitant, among other costs. Little did she know that what was exorbitant in 2023 would become ridiculously cheap in 2024. Such is the choking inflation that plagues Nigeria right now, sparing neither the young nor the old.
“When I got to this school in 2023, I used to spend N1,000 per week on transportation fares, but now, I spend more than 3,000 naira per week. The prices of food are not the same; they have doubled their former prices,” she lamented, adding that she used to get by on a meagre N20,000 pocket money, but now N50,000 is barely enough to survive.
To situate the context of the extreme inflation Nigeria is facing, it ranks fifth amongst African countries hardest hit by these issues. Nigeria's Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged to 22.79% in June, driven by a rise in premium motor spirit (PMS) and food prices.
The average petrol price increased by 211 per cent between May 2023 and May 2024, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. Given the indispensability of fuel to transportation and electrification in the country, any hike in petrol affects virtually every other commodity.
This means that the skyrocketing of prices of goods and services are unavoidable, making it difficult for the average Nigerian to survive. Particularly, Nigerian students who are still in the corridors of learning, with the majority without any means of livelihood except their parents, find themselves struggling daily to survive and meet academic demands.
Isiaka clearly did not envisage the hardship she would face in school when she initially resumed. According to her, she now struggles to feed herself, pay bills, take the shuttle to school, and concentrate in class.
She adds, “We pay a lot of money in my department for one production or the other. Sometimes, I feel very reticent and sad whenever I want to ask for money from my parents because I know it's not easy for them.
“I've starved so many times because I'm trying to conserve my money for transportation fare to school. My pocket money is not increasing, and school bills are increasing. I wonder how I will survive, thanks to God,” she said.
Another undergraduate, Joshua Afolabi, who schools in Lagos, also spoke with TheRadar, and corroborated Isiaka’s experience about how the high cost of living is affecting students.
He said: “The high cost of living in Nigeria has become a suffocating weight on its citizens, with skyrocketing prices of basic necessities like food, housing, and healthcare, exacerbating poverty and inequality amidst the country's economic struggles.
“The relentless surge in inflation, coupled with stagnant wages and endemic corruption, has left us (even high-class citizens too) gasping... E don dey touch everybody small small… struggling to make ends meet, eroding their purchasing power and diminishing their hopes for a better future.”
Another student, David Ajani, who observes his undergraduate studies in the northern part of the country, precisely in Zamfara State, also shared his experience with TheRadar.
He said: “The high cost of living has affected my way of life and that of other students. Feeding, transportation, and the way students need to get school materials have been greatly affected.
“The little allowance I get from my parents is not enough to get study materials, and we all know food is important. I have to get foodstuffs a little below what I usually get and then get other school materials for learning. Sometimes, I can't even afford some of them.”
When asked if paying tuition fees was not an issue, Ajani responded: “Tuition fees are a different experience entirely. Some other students, including myself, couldn’t afford the fees. The school management had to step in and break the payment into instalments, which was very helpful. But even then, some still couldn't afford to pay the required half.
“In my case, I had to turn to my state's association for help, and thankfully, they supported me, enabling me to make the half payment for that session. However, it affected me academically. Instead of focusing on my studies, I often found myself worrying about how to feed and cover other bills. I had to make certain adjustments to my lifestyle. I don't think about three square meals. I just want to eat well, even if it's only twice a day.”
This is the experience of numerous Nigerian students across the country and as a result, have to endure a lot and pay through their noses to bag a degree.
Consequently, Afolabi and Ajani, like many of their mates, have started exploring different ways to support themselves. Afolabi revealed that while he does not have a side hustle yet, he has begun learning an online skill to improve his prospects.
Ajani, on the other hand, has managed to secure a small online job. “I found a website where I can get paid for engaging on social media,” he explained, adding that this opportunity hasn’t disrupted his academics as he strives to maintain a balance.
Meanwhile, in another report, students of the University of Ibadan (UI) were the focal point in Nigeria’s economic crisis, as they resorted to crowdfunding to meet the deadline for increased school fees. The university’s management had increased school fees, in what has been a trend for higher institutions across the country, and students were left with no other option than to crowdfund, just to remain in school, further highlighting the plight of tertiary students in Nigeria.
‘We have the right policies, implementation is the problem’
Commenting on the ordeal of Nigerian students, an economist, Adeyeri Peter, highlighted the impact of rising costs on Nigerian students and the general populace under the current administration. He attributed much of the economic strain to what he described as the “unfriendly policy of the government of the day.”
He said: “Look at how things have turned out since the start of this administration, everyone is affected, students included.
Drawing from his personal experience as a student in Oye-Ekiti, Peter highlighted a stark contrast between the past and the present.
"Back then, with just a thousand naira, we could prepare a decent meal. A kilogram of gas cost N250, a crate of eggs went for N700, and pasta was N180. Fast forward to today, a kilogram of gas is about N1,500, and a crate of eggs is upwards of N5,000"
“Basically, for a student to make a meal now would be doing so on the high side without even getting enough value. The inflation we have today has crippled the purchasing power of every individual.”
Comparing Nigeria’s inflation rate to other countries, Adeyeri acknowledged that every nation faces challenges but emphasised that Nigeria, blessed with abundant natural and mineral resources, should not be struggling as much as it is.
“Some African countries that are not as blessed with natural or mineral resources like Nigeria are doing exploits, and Nigeria, despite all it has, is lagging behind. Nigeria is known to be the giant of Africa, but this same Nigeria has been facing a series of problems like the high cost of living and even the depreciation of our currency over time.”
“Nigeria has always been leading other African countries, but recently Nigeria has been lagging behind, and this can be compared by looking at the gross domestic product of African countries, and we can see that countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria now have a higher Gross domestic product than our dear Nigeria,” he said.
Criticising the government’s efforts to address inflation, Adeyeri described them as inadequate and ineffective.
He pointed out that beyond the introduction of a student loan programme, which he claimed few students could access, there has been no substantial measure to ease the financial burden on students.
“There’s no deliberate effort. The so-called efforts so far only add salt to the wound of the common man,” he said.
Adeyeri expressed concern about the desperation caused by the high cost of living, particularly among students. “Many are resorting to illegal activities like stealing and other social vices just to survive,” he explained, adding that this financial pressure also takes a toll on students’ mental health.
He said: “The impact of this inflation on the mental health of these students is by no means insignificant. Many students, after dealing with the stress of paying bills, transporting themselves to school, and feeding, become mentally incapacitated to function properly in school.
“This inflation also has a great effect on the academic performance of a student. For instance, a student has a class to attend at 7 am, and because of the increment in transport fare, the student can’t afford to take a cab to school.
“Such a student has no option but to trek to school, and he/she might have to leave home for an hour or so for the class. This can lead to the student either getting to the class late or even not being able to assimilate well due to the stress of trekking miles that early morning. This alone reduces his/her learning capacity,” Adeyeri further stated.
What can student loans do?
To say that it prioritises education and students’ welfare, the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government signed the student loan bill into law, initially in 2023, then an amendment in 2024, all at breakneck speed.
It is noteworthy that this is not Nigeria's first attempt at a student loan. There was an initial plan in 1972 by the military government headed by General Yakubu Gowon. It reportedly crumbled because beneficiaries refused to repay.
This time, however, the scheme is becoming increasingly popular among students as their fees from the second year are covered, and they get a monthly stipend of N20,000. Despite these, some indigent students expressed to TheRadar that the conditions are out of reach, especially the part where they have to get two guarantors who are either a senior civil servant, a lawyer with at least 10 years of experience, or a judicial officer/justice of peace.
Therefore, freshers have to face the harsh reality of the Nigerian economy. Some parents have expressed scepticism about the scheme, saying that "maybe the president should focus on creating jobs first."
Others expressed that the lack of jobs, other fees involved, and a lack of clarity about what will happen to people who default on repayments mean the loan is still a black market for many Nigerian students.
Way out for struggling students
Addressing possible solutions, Adeyeri admitted that while the government’s current policies, such as subsidy removal, are fundamentally sound, poor implementation is the real issue. He criticised the lack of adequate plans to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on the population. “The only noticeable outcome of this policy is the increase in federal revenue and state allocations, but these funds often fail to benefit citizens due to embezzlement,” he noted.
For Nigeria to move forward, Adeyeri called for more transparent and impactful implementation of policies to ensure that the benefits reach the people most in need.
According to him, “Since the very first day the president was sworn in and made the statement about the removal of subsidy, Nigeria has not remained the same. Till this moment, if the government had implemented the removal of the subsidy, then adequate plans should have been made to control the effect of such removal on the masses.
The only effect I have seen from the removal of subsidies is the increase in the revenue allocation. The federal government’s revenue increases, and in turn, the federal allocation being shared among states increases, and when this allocation is being shared to these states, it doesn’t have real impacts on the inhabitants of such states as a result of embezzlement of such funds,” Adeyeri added.
Reflecting on broader issues, Ajani also called for better governance, urging policymakers to adopt student and citizen-friendly initiatives.
“The policymakers should try a much better policy that won’t be harsh on citizens and students because, when it gets harder than what we can bear, it will really mess up the community security system, which is already happening in some parts of the country,” he warned.
Afolabi also expressed his thoughts on the role of policymakers in easing students' financial struggles. He suggested that leaders focus on making education more affordable, boosting financial aid programs, and stabilising costs for essentials like food and housing.
High food, fuel prices, forex volatility, others push Nigeria’s inflation rate to 33.88% in October
Previously, TheRadar reported that Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 33.88 per cent in October 2024, a 1.18 per cent month-on-month increase from the 32.70 per cent recorded in September 2024.
According to the Consumer Product Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, November 15, the headline inflation is 6.55 percentage points higher than the 27.33 per cent recorded in October 2023.