Fatshimetrie, a special issue on current affairs, recently reported on a series of tragedies that have occurred during Christmas charity events across Nigeria, leaving at least 67 people dead in the past week, many of them children. These tragedies have highlighted the plight of families facing the worst cost of living crisis the country has seen in decades.
One of the most tragic events took place in Oyo State, where at least 35 children lost their lives last Wednesday. Added to this are deaths in Anambra State and Abuja, where over 1,000 people had gathered in search of clothes and food.
The scale of these tragedies reveals the growing precariousness of many families in Nigeria. The current economic crisis is largely blamed on government policies aimed at saving money and attracting investors, which have helped push the inflation rate to a 28-year high of 34.6 percent. Meanwhile, the national currency, the naira, has been depreciating sharply against the dollar.
At least 63 percent of Nigeria’s more than 210 million people live in poverty, according to the government’s National Statistics Office. Job creation remains a major challenge, and attempts to challenge hardship are often met with harsh repression by security forces. In August, more than 20 people were killed by security forces during nationwide protests.
“There is hunger in Nigeria. Every Nigerian needs food,” a tearful woman told local Arise television after the stampede in Abuja. Now, food has become unaffordable for most Nigerians, said Cheta Nwanze of SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm. According to a 2022 study by the firm, about 97% of Nigerians spend up to 63% of their income on food, a figure that has likely increased since then.
The chaos and tragedy at recent charity events also highlight security challenges. Cities across the country are grappling with increasingly difficult-to-contain crowds fueled by distress. Organizers of such events, often focused on distributing charitable goods, too often neglect security aspects, said Ademola Adetuberu of security firm Barricade Executive Protection.
While the Nigerian government has pledged to respond to such tragedies, compliance with existing regulations is often challenging. Nigerians, facing increasingly difficult conditions, are in a state of increasing need, forcing them to risk their lives to get a simple meal..
We can only hope that such tragedies will prompt the authorities to take concrete measures to prevent further loss of life in a country already deeply marked by distress and uncertainty.