In a development that has triggered intense conversations across the country, Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has asserted that an average Nigerian can survive on ₦3,000 per day.
Omokri made the claim while appearing as a guest on Sunday Politics TV programme over the weekend, as monitored by Tripod Times.
He strongly argued against using generalized international benchmarks to evaluate poverty in Nigeria, insisting that localized economic realities differ vastly from Western contexts.
To validate his perspective, Omokri revealed that he recently conducted an incognito field study of local commodity prices.
“I went to the market with a journalist, without security, and checked the prices of yam, rice, maize and fruits,” Omokri stated during the broadcast. “From what I saw, ₦3,000 is enough for an average Nigerian to live on for a day.”
While acknowledging that a daily budget of ₦3,000 translates to extreme destitution in Western nations, he maintained that the same amount possesses stronger domestic purchasing power.
“In Nigeria, people can live on that amount in a day,” he explained. “But in the United States, if you try to live on that amount in a day, it is poverty. So, context matters.”
When questioned on whether his stance challenged the traditional poverty thresholds established by international financial bodies, Omokri noted that global institutions rely on rigid data that fails to mirror localized living conditions.
“The World Bank is using a global benchmark,” he stated.
Omokri’s commentary comes amid a prolonged cost-of-living crisis across Nigeria, marked by fluctuating commodity pricing and food inflation. While his remarks were aimed at highlighting the relative affordability of local staples compared to high living expenses abroad, they have nonetheless drawn sharp scrutiny from citizens calculating the math against current market realities.
