The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 22.79% in June 2023. This represents a 0.38% increase from the 22.41% recorded in May.

In the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report released in Abuja on Monday, the NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the June inflation rate was 4.19% higher than the rate in June 2022, which was at 18.6%.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in June 2023 was 4.19 percent higher than the rate recorded in June 2022, which stood at 18.6 percent.

The report highlighted the major contributors to the increase in the headline index, with food and non-alcoholic beverages accounting for 11.81 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel contributing 3.81 percent.

Other factors included clothing and footwear at 1.74 percent, transport at 1.48 percent, furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance at 1.15 percent, education at 0.9 percent, and health at 0.68 percent.

Moreover, the report indicated that the average CPI for the 12 months ending in June 2023 was 21.54 percent, representing a 5.00 percent increase compared to the previous year’s 16.54 percent recorded in June 2022.

In terms of food inflation, the rate for June 2023 on a year-on-year basis was 25.25 percent, marking a 4.65 percent rise compared to June 2022’s rate of 20.6 percent. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation in June 2023 reached 2.4 percent, reflecting a 0.21 percent increase compared to May’s rate of 2.19 percent.

The report indicated significant increases in the prices of various goods and services, such as passenger transport by air and road, gas, vehicle spare parts, liquid fuel, fuels, and lubricants for personal transport equipment, and medical services in June 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate for June 2023 was 1.74 percent.

Regarding urban inflation, the rate in June 2023 was 24.33 percent on a year-on-year basis, representing a 5.23 percent increase from June 2022’s rate of 19.09 percent. Similarly, the rural inflation rate for June 2023 was 21.37 percent, which was 3.25 percent higher than the rate recorded in June 2022 at 18.13 percent.

An analysis of states’ profiles revealed that Lagos had the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 25.75 percent in June, followed by Ondo at 25.4 percent and Kogi at 25.23 percent. This indicated a considerable increase in the prices of goods and services in Lagos State compared to the same period last year. Additionally, Lagos recorded the highest month-on-month inflation rate at 2.7% in June, signaling a faster pace of price changes compared to other states.

The main driver of this surge was the removal of fuel subsidies by the federal government, leading to a significant rise in the pump price of petrol in Lagos. On the other hand, Borno recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis at 20.4 percent, followed by Zamfara at 20.93 percent, and Ekiti at 21.06 percent.

In terms of the month-on-month inflation rate for all items in June 2023, Ogun had the highest rate at 3.21 percent, followed by Plateau at 3.05 percent, and Jigawa at 3 percent. On the contrary, Zamfara had the slowest rise at 1.40 percent, followed by Delta at 1.42 percent, and Rivers at 1.54 percent.

Regarding food inflation, Lagos had the highest year-on-year rate at 30.37 percent in June, followed by Kwara at 30.8 percent, and Kogi at 29.71 percent. In contrast, Zamfara had the slowest rise in food inflation at 21.38 percent, followed by Sokoto at 21.60 percent, and Borno at 21.75 percent.

On a month-on-month basis for food inflation in June, Kwara had the highest rate at 3.82 percent, followed by Abuja at 3.64 percent, and Ogun at 3.56 percent. Rivers had the lowest increase at 0.75 percent, followed by Zamfara at 1.33 percent, and Adamawa at 1.47 percent.

The NBS said the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers may not fully capture the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the exchange rate.

Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana meaning ‘’to reach back and get it done’’. The concept is depicted by a bird that has its head turned backward with a precious egg in its mouth. Sankofa denotes an inquiry into the past for what is good and bringing it into the present to influence a positive change. Sankofa innovation therefore entails the progress recorded based on critical reflections, regeneration and improvement of historical facts.

Observation has revealed that several ideas that have developed in the modern economies, especially in the startup ecosystem of Africa have not been particularly new ideas but are modernized adaptation of the ancient ingenuity. From Fintech to Agritech, old and almost forgotten values and practices are now being recalled and rekindled to extend economic prosperity.

For instance, esusu is a word that dates back to the Yoruba traditional economic system which has found its way into modern finance and financial services. Esusu is a traditional form of cooperation whereby individuals contribute to informal savings and develop a robust credit system for their mutual benefits. Leveraging on the force of numbers combined into a unit, esusu helped the individuals to meet their financial needs which they could have failed to meet individually.

Nigerian-American Fintech unicorn, Esusu financial, is leveraging data solutions to help its clients have access to any property of their choice through credit building and rent reporting to the credit bureau. In 2022, Esusu financial was reported to have reached a valuation of $1billion in less than six years the company was founded. Another company, Esusu Africa, a Nigerian based microfinance, leverages digital technology to deliver financial management solutions to financial service providers and their customers while ensuring ease of contribution and collection of thrift and access to microcredit facilities.

In the agricultural sector, ideas such as crowdfunding and crowd-sourcing saw the emergence of many startups. Crowdfunding and crowd-sourcing for projects within the agritech ecosystem also have their root in the traditional Yoruba economic system. In the traditional African societies, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy.

Among the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria, the practice of Aro and Owe was adopted by farmers to embark on a large agricultural project that may be impossible for an individual to handle alone. Aro and Owe were a corporative farming arrangement where kinsmen formed a consolidated work-force to work a large farmland. These systems not only awakened a sense of collective ownership among the farmers, it made work easier and faster for them and foods were available to the community.

Both Esusu and Owe and Aro represent historical evidence of collaborative work for common good and the need to preserve this work ethic for sustainable development.