You wake up before dawn. You work. You wait for payday. Then, you watch the money disappear before the weekend. Rent, food, transport and nothing left. That is the quiet crisis millions of Nigerians live with.
A new report by the Nigerian Financial Services Market (NFSM) lays bare the scale of that struggle: Nearly half of Nigerians earn less than N50,000 a month, barely $31.25. That’s not enough to feed a family of two for a week, let alone survive an emergency.
“I earn N25,000 every 27th of the month as a cleaner at a hotel around Akute-Olambe in Ifo Local Government, Ogun State,” said Joy Efosa, a single mother. “I use it to feed myself and my child, buy water, and recharge my phone. It’s never enough, but I manage.”