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The former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, has called on the Federal Government to tackle the country’s rising inflation urgently.
In an appearance on the socio-political program Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, broadcasted on Channels Television on Friday, Ayokunle voiced his grave concern about Nigeria’s economic instability over the past year.
To highlight the effects of inflation, Ayokunle shared a personal story about an incident from earlier in the year when he was constructing a poultry house and had to buy cement.
“I was to do a small poultry, and they [the bricklayers] said I would need a small house, which they call the pen.
“They would floor it and buy cement. By that time, cement was N5,300. When I learnt that cement was N5,300, I shouted. Only one bag?!
“I paid for the number of cements that was needed for that small pen. But unfortunately, the estimate was not right because the bags of cement couldn’t complete it.
“They came to me and said everything has changed, and a bag of cement became N11,000. I said, ‘What!’ I almost fainted. How many weeks difference?” he said.
Ayokunle pointed out that these extreme price changes indicate a larger problem of economic instability in Nigeria.
“This is the Nigeria we are talking about where the economy is not stable at all. You can’t predict the prices of goods. What is even worse is the price of medicine,” he lamented.