Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has claimed that an average Nigerian can survive on N3,000 per day, arguing that poverty should be assessed within the economic realities of individual countries.
Omokri made the assertion while appearing on Sunday Politics, a television programme where he discussed the rising cost of living and the application of international poverty standards.
According to him, he recently visited a market with a journalist without security personnel to assess the prices of basic food items, including yam, rice, maize and fruits.
“I went to the market with a journalist, without security, and checked the prices of yam, rice, maize and fruits. From what I saw, N3,000 is enough for an average Nigerian to live on for a day.”
However, Reno Omokri acknowledged that the same amount would not be sufficient to cover basic living expenses in countries such as the United States, citing differences in the cost of living.
“But in the United States, if you try to live on that amount in a day, it is poverty. So, you have to context, again, context matters,” stated.
The ambassador-designate also addressed the World Bank’s global poverty benchmark, arguing that international poverty measurements should be considered alongside the economic circumstances of the countries being assessed.
He noted that the global benchmark of living on less than $2 per day is based on an international standard, but maintained that poverty should also be viewed in relation to the actual cost of living in a particular country.
When asked whether he disagreed with the World Bank’s poverty benchmark, Reno Omokri explained that the institution was applying a global standard that had been adopted for international comparisons.
His comments come amid ongoing debates over the rising cost of living in Nigeria and how poverty should be measured in an economy where food, housing and other essential expenses continue to vary significantly.
