SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Thousands of protesters in several cities in Nigeria have taken to the streets in recent days over an economic crisis.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).
SIMON: There's been some major unrest, and at least 13 protesters have died. NPR's West Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, has been reporting from those protests and joins us from Lagos. Thanks for being with us.
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: Thanks, Scott. Thanks for having me.
SIMON: And why these protests now, do you think?
AKINWOTU: Well, I've lived in Nigeria for eight years, and over that time, the economy has been in gradual decline. But over the last year, it's felt like free fall. There's been this brutal combination of unprecedented fuel prices, soaring food costs, high electricity tariffs. And it's led to one of the worst economic crises for decades.
Things got really bad when the recently elected government came into power last May, and they immediately made some major reforms. They scrapped this fuel subsidy, which is one of the few benefits that Nigerians get from them. They also removed an electricity subsidy, loosened these much-criticized currency controls.
Bodies like the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, and also the World Bank, they actually praised these moves as a step in the right direction, but the impact has been crushing. Electricity costs have shot up. Inflation has soared to its highest in almost 30 years. The government say that they understand and have pled for patience that these challenging times will pass. But many people just don't trust that things will get any better.
SIMON: And, Emmanuel, how are people there in Lagos coping?
AKINWOTU: You know, unfortunately, the reality for many people is that they're not. You know, Nigeria has one of the highest number of food-insecure people in the world. And in the protests of the last few days, the message was more or less the same, that people are hungry. You know, here's one of the protesters, 50-year-old Blessing Rosemary (ph).
BLESSING ROSEMARY: Nigerians are suffering. We are suffering. The bag of rice is 75,000 naira. Why they are selling (ph)? Minimum wage is 70,000 naira.
AKINWOTU: You know, she mentions the bag - a bag of 50kg bag of rice - you know, the price of which has really soared. It's at least 75,000 naira now in most places. That's about $45. That's actually more than the monthly minimum wage, which is 70,000 naira. And that measure - the price of a bag of rice - has become this emotive benchmark in people's minds for food prices soaring beyond what most people can earn or afford.
SIMON: Emmanuel, there's been similar protests in other African countries of late, and I wonder if there's any connection.
AKINWOTU: Yes, it's connected. You know, these countries - like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya - they all are experiencing cost-of-living crises, and they all have debt crises. You know, they've gone to the World Bank - I mean, sorry - they've gone to the IMF for loans. And essentially, because - and essentially, to get those loans, they've had to implement budget cuts, austerity measures to meet the requirements. And those measures have had a huge impact on working people and low-income earners.
And people are fed up because there's also a huge frustration with corruption in each of these countries. These are very young populations. Here in Nigeria, the median age is just 19. And there's a lack of prospects, a lack of jobs, and it's deeply painful. And it's why we're seeing this kind of response on the streets.
SIMON: Well, thanks very much for joining us with this important story today. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu. Thanks so much.
AKINWOTU: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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