Inflation, according to the oxford dictionary is the increase in the prices of prices and the fall in the purchasing power of money.
Inflation has, over the years been a major enemy of survival, especially in developing countries and Africa as a whole. Every month, we see the bureau of statistics roll out stats, facts and figures regarding the previous month, and one thing I always check out for is the statistics involving the rate of inflation.
Nigeria as a country, has a population of over 200 million people, making it the most populated black nation in the world, and to balance this, nature had provided us with a lot of natural resources, one of them being oil, the biggest export in the world today.
Inflation has severely rocked the Nigerian economy, but the year 2022 has been the hall time high. Last month, October, saw the country hit it's monthly all time high inflation rate since 2005 at 21.09% after increasing steadily for nine months. Food inflation is the highest, standing at 23.72%, according to the statistics released by the central bank.
[A screenshot taken from a website some hours ago]
Insecurity, bad economic policies, increase in cost of production, disruption in the supply of food products, high taxes, and persistent depreciation of the naira currency are all factors responsible for the high rate of inflation in the country. Some areas in the northern Nigeria that has been responsible for the production of some very important food and cash crops have experienced an increased state of insecurity caused by herdsman and bandits that have forced the farmers away from their farms, creating a decrease in production and an increase in demand for the already produced food.
The bad economic policies by the current government in power is highly responsible for the increased level of inflation faced today. The federal government had, at some point few months ago, ordered the central bank of Nigeria to print and pump in more currency for spending into the economy. This was a very wrong move that increased the supply of money chasing few goods in the economy.
The flooding experienced in most parts of the country some weeks ago caused a major hike in the inflation rate in the country, with the flood erasing large area of farmlands, killing crops and animals, thereby reducing the supply in the foodchain, and ultimately leading to an inflation. The flood also put some parts of the country on lockdown, leading to the disruption in the supply of food. Food produced in one part of the country couldn't be moved to the other, causing high demand on the ones available which leads to increase in price.
The Nigerian naira (NGN) has experienced a free fall against the dollar at the foreign exchange market in the past months with one dollar going for as high as 810 naira. This leads to an increase in the cost of importation as a very weak currency goes against a stronger opponent. Every day, we wake up to news of the naira depreciating against the dollar, and with no stringent measure taken by the government or central bank, the naira is projected to fall further, with many Nigerians looking at the N1000 - $1 rate. A big problem it would be, I tell you.
But in spite of all these, life goes on, and the question on the lips of almost all Nigerians is, “How do we survive against inflation?”
Knowing that the high inflation rate in the economy wouldn't be solved any time soon, it is important that citizens find other means of survival as the value of the local currency keeps dropping. A way of earning passive income in times like this is by getting involved in crypto.
Trading crypto currency, and blogging on the Hive Blockchain provides a means of passive income for most people affected as the income they earn monthly is barely enough to cater for their needs.
Freelance or contract writing: I am a novel writer and is basically involved in contract writing where I write for novel publishing platforms, my works get published and I earn. You need just access to internet connection and the ability to write long stories and you could be earning in dollars from your home.
There are other means to earn passive income to help guide against the effects of the rising inflation which includes blogging, etc.
The question now is, would we continue living against the tides if rising inflation?
How can inflation be reduced in the Nigerian economy?
Thank you for reading, I am Shades, you can do well to follow my blog for more contents.
I've learnt my lesson.