According to World Bank, 92.1% of Nigerians are living below N2,000 ($5.5) a day — the worst record in the world. And less than 8% of working Nigerians earn above $165 (N60,000) a month, also the worst in the world! That might not sound so bad on the surface, but in context, it is — especially when you consider that the buying power of N2000 has significantly reduced since the recession in 2016.
Share of population living at below $5.5 a day.
Nigeria: 92.1%
India: 86.8%
Ethiopia: 84.7%
Bangladesh: 84.5%
Pakistan: 79.5%
Indonesia: 62.3%
Egypt: 61.9%
South Africa: 57.1%
Vietnam: 35.4%
Mexico: 34.8%
China: 31.5%
(World Bank)
Longer list: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmpyeYhFOI1/
But the government completely disagrees. President Buhari, at a dinner organised in his honour on Monday, May 14, 2018, by the Jigawa State Government, said that the economy of Nigeria has improved, and his basis for the statement is that Nigeria's foreign reserves have almost doubled. He conveniently forgot to state why our foreign reserved were depleted in the first place. (It was him, in case you were wondering).
The Vice President also, unsurprisingly, echoed the President's sentiments, claiming that Buhari has been growing the Nigerian economy — this, despite the many challenges the country is facing.
In March 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also stated that Nigerians are getting poorer. But if our government actually admitted this, would they even be our government?
