Endurance is not an Economic Policy – Otunba Babatunde Olushola Senbanjo

By Otunba Babatunde Olushola Senbanjo (BOS)

A Nigerian man revisits his old grocery receipt from 2020 and decides to buy the exact same items in 2026. Same quantity, Same products, Nothing extra. What he discovered should worry every thinking Nigerian: prices have increased by over 582%. Not luxury goods. Not imported cars. Basic food items. Things people need to survive.

This is not a social media joke. This is not content creation. This is the daily reality of millions of Nigerians.

In 2020, a family could manage. Today, that same family is barely breathing. Salaries have not increased by 582%. Minimum wage has not increased by 582%. Business profits have not increased by 582%. But food? Transportation? Rent? Cooking gas? Electricity? Everything has exploded beyond human endurance.

How do you explain to a father that the same money he used to feed his family for one month can no longer last one week?
How do you tell a mother that cooking once a day is now considered “managing”?
How do you tell graduates that after years of education, hunger is still waiting for them at home?
This is not inflation alone. This is systemic failure.

The poor are no longer just suffering they are exhausted. People are tired of adjusting, tired of managing, tired of being patient, tired of hearing promises while their lives keep shrinking. Nigerians have reduced meals, reduced dreams, reduced healthcare, reduced education, and reduced hope. What else should we reduce?

The Federal Government must understand something clearly:
You cannot keep asking people to endure policies that only produce pain without relief.

You cannot keep saying “it will get better” while everything keeps getting worse.

You cannot govern a hungry population with speeches.
Food insecurity is no longer coming it is already here. When basic groceries rise by 582%, it means hunger has become institutionalised. It means poverty is no longer accidental; it is being maintained.

What is the long-term plan for food production?
What is the real solution for farmers facing insecurity and high costs?

Why are local foods priced like imported luxury items?
Why is transportation cost killing both producers and consumers?
Why do policies keep punishing the poor while protecting the powerful?

The masses are not lazy. Nigerians are not afraid of hard work. What people are tired of is working endlessly and still sinking. What people are tired of is sacrificing today for a tomorrow that never arrives.

This country cannot survive on endurance alone. Endurance is not an economic policy.
Patience is not food.
Hope does not pay market bills.
The Federal Government needs to find lasting, practical, people-centred solutions, not temporary palliatives, not media announcements, not blame games. Policies must translate to food on tables, stability in prices, and dignity in living.

Because a nation where people cannot afford to eat is a nation standing on dangerous ground.

We are tired.
Tired of suffering.
Tired of explanations.
Tired of being told to hold on.

Nigerians deserve better not in theory, not in the future, but now.