Reno Omokri Sparks Outrage With Claim That Nigerians Can Survive On N3,000 A Day

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has argued that the average Nigerian can survive on about N3,000 a day, stressing that poverty levels should be assessed within the economic realities of individual countries.

Speaking on Sunday Politics, Omokri discussed the rising cost of living in Nigeria and the relevance of international poverty benchmarks. He said he personally conducted market checks, accompanied by a journalist, to determine the current prices of basic food items such as yam, rice, maize and fruits.

“I went there with one journalist, no security, and I stopped along the way and priced goods. I priced yam, rice, maize and fruits. In Nigeria, people can live on that amount in a day,” Omokri said.

He compared Nigeria’s local purchasing power with living costs in other countries, noting that the same amount of money would amount to extreme poverty in places such as the United States.

“In the United States, if you try to live on that amount in a day, it is poverty. So, you have to consider the context. Again, context matters,” he added.

Omokri also questioned the use of global poverty thresholds set by international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He argued that while such institutions use standardised benchmarks to measure poverty, those figures may not fully reflect differences in local prices, purchasing power and economic conditions across developing countries.