Campus Crisis: Students Struggle With Rising Costs Of Food

When Elisha (other names withheld), a student at a public university in Lagos State, returned home during a break, his father could barely recognize him due to his visible emaciation caused by malnutrition.

On campus, the accounting education student explained to his concerned father that he could only afford bread and beans, as most food items were beyond the reach of the average citizen.

“I was outside when I saw him arriving on a commercial motorbike. Even from a distance, I could see how lean he was. When he came down and greeted me, I asked if he had been sick, and he said no. I asked if he knew he had lost weight and why.

“His reply was shocking. He said he mostly ate bread and beans on campus. Cooking in the overcrowded hostels is not allowed. Eating what we call ‘swallows’ is often a luxury.

“I felt bad, but apart from him, I have three other children in the same university. We used to pay less than N40,000 in fees just a few years ago, and now we’re paying nearly N200,000,” said Elisha’s father, a medical worker in a Lagos teaching hospital.

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that headline inflation for June 2024 was primarily driven by food inflation, which rose to 40.9 percent year-on-year, up from 40.7 percent in May 2024 and significantly higher than 25.3 percent in June 2023. Similarly, core inflation rose to 27.4 percent in June 2024, from 27.0 percent in May 2024 and 20.1 percent in June 2023.

The report noted that all measures of inflation rate increased in June 2024, though at a slower pace. Headline inflation increased to 34.2 percent in June 2024 from 22.8 percent in June 2023 and 34.0 percent in May 2024.

Inflationary pressures are driven by currency depreciation, with the official exchange rate averaging N1471/$ in June, compared to N769/$ in June 2023, and rising imported food inflation (36.4 percent y/y).

“Before, I could manage N4,000 for a week, but now that’s no longer feasible. Common rice is sold for N300 per scoop. The government needs to drastically reduce the cost of food items, as they cannot provide us with cooked meals,” one student said.