And so today, the community brings to us once more, a wonderful contest asking us; What is the cost of living like in your country or region? It is a wonderful and intriguing contest as I will be letting each and every one of us know the cost of living in my region (Akwa Ibom State).
A BRIEF IDEA ABOUT AKWA IBOM STATE, UYO
Akwa Ibom State is located in the south-south part of Nigeria and it lies between latitudes 4°32′N and 5°33′N, and longitudes 7°25′E and 8°25′E.
On the East side of Akwa Ibom State lies Cross River State, on the Westside lies Rivers State and Abia State, and on the South part lies the Atlantic Ocean. The state is currently the highest oil- and gas-producing state in the country and its state's capital is Uyo, with over 500,000 inhabitants living in it.
The slogan or nickname of the state is, The Land of Promise. It was created from the former Cross River State by Ibrahim Babangida in 1987 before it got its own independence and stood on its own.
The Cost of An Average Man Living in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo
I am going to be using myself as a case study In this contest as I will be able to give an exact amount of how much I spend in a day and in a month. This is approximately the cost of living of a single individual living alone in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo.
For an average man living in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo, renting a house and doing all the others, we are likely to spend just too much that we never realize that we've spent a lot in a day.
Things are quite costly here due to the fact that almost everything sold here is exported except for few things like Cassava, Palm Oil, and Plantain.
Now, let's look into specific commodities an average Akwa Ibomite living in Uyo is likely to buy for their daily needs but I will be making my calculation on a Monthly basis because an average man prefers to buy his commodities in stock for a one month period and that is because the cost of buying those things daily is quite costly than buying and stocking for a one-month interval.
MONTHLY EXPENDITURES
Fetching of Water:N 300 ($0.75)
For an average Akwa Ibomite, he or she is likely not to have a borehole in his or her compound or in the place rented and would always go through the stress of waking up every morning to fetch water, and here, a bucket of water cost Ten Naira ($0.025). So for one month, we are likely to spend Three Hundred Naira ($0.75).
A Packet of Salt: N150 ($0.375)
This is another commodity that seems to be increasing in price daily. Then the prices were pretty cheap, while the smaller size was just sold at fifty Naira ($0.125), the medium size one Hundred Naira ($0.25) and the bigger size, One-Hundred and Fifty Naira ($0.375). Now, the smaller size is Eighty Naira ($0.2), the medium size is One Hundred and Fifty Naira ($0.375), and the bigger size Two Hundred and Fifty Naira ($0.625).
So, for an average man, the medium size is better and preferable for him in a month.
A Packet of Maggi N2,000 ($5)
These are the two types of Maggi I use in cooking and every month the prices may vary but I buy them approximately One Thousand Naira each and that's a total of spending Two Thousand Naira monthly for these types of Maggi every Month (Star and Knorr Maggi).
A Bottle of Palm Oil N1,000 ($2.5)
The 1.5 Liter of Palm Oil is sold at the rate of One Thousand Naira each, so I should be able to use a 1.5L till the end of a Month.
A Bottle of Groundnut Oil N1,200 ($3)
A 1Liter of cooking oil cost about One Thousand, Two Hundred Naira in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo, and funny enough not all prices are the same. Some of the groundnut oil prices vary because the market women sell different types of cooking oil but a good one costs about One Thousand, Two Hundred Naira.
Sugar:N 2,500 ($6.25)
Sugars are mostly tied 4 cubes Twenty Naira in nylon but an average man, he or she is likely to get in the pack so it would last for a month which would be preferable to buying them daily. So, this sugar is sold at Two Thousand Five Hundred Naira.
Beef: N5,000 ($12.5)
It is hard to give an actual price of how much meat cost because in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo, our meats are bought from the butchers based on how much we need it but the lowest price is Five Hundred Naira as things are becoming costly even the prices of beef and the size are affected. But if we are buying at the rate of Five Hundred Naira daily, it actually means in a month we should be looking about spending Five Thousand Naira for beef.
Half Bag of Rice ~ N9,000 ($22.5)
For the rice, we have two types of rice. We have the local rice which is called the sand rice and this means that we will see a lot of sand in it while we have the imported rice as well but it does not contain any sand in it. The local rice is always cheaper and sweeter than the imported rice but many of us always refuse to buy the local rice because we would not have the time to seat and remove sands from rice. So, a half bag of imported rice is about Nine Thousand Naira
Gas: N3,000 ($7.5)
In Akwa Ibom State, the prices of filling gas increase speedily and weekly but currently the price of filling a gas per Kilo is Five Hundred Naira ($1.25) so to fill a six-kilo gas is Three Thousand Naira.
Transportation: N6,000 ($15)
For an average man who goes to work, church, programs, or school, the cost of transportation is quite expensive and the rate of fuel increases every day and this affects the cost of transportation. This is mostly the means of transportation for an average man living in Akwa Ibom State per day.
I wouldn't want to continue the cost because if I go on, I would take the whole;e day. The prices of things are quite expensive due to the Covid 19 Pandemic and ever since then, it has really been a hectic one for Akwa Ibomite.
Adding all her expenses monthly, individual expenses every month are approximate Thirty Thousand, One Hundred, and Fifty Naira (N30,150) ~ $75.375.
And that's the cost of living for a single individual living alone in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo.
Thanks for this wonderful contest and I hope I have been able to give you all the cost of an individual living in Akwa Ibom State, Uyo.