Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has sparked a debate over the country’s cost of living after claiming that ₦3,000 is enough for an average Nigerian to survive for a day.
Omokri made the comment during an appearance on Sunday Politics, where he discussed rising living costs, poverty and the difficulty of applying international poverty standards to countries with different economic conditions.
The ambassador-designate said he recently visited a market with a journalist without security personnel to examine 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.”
Omokri argued that the amount needed to meet basic needs should be considered within the economic realities of each country.
He contrasted Nigeria with the United States, saying ₦3,000 worth of purchasing power would not be sufficient to meet basic daily needs there because of the significantly different 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.”
The discussion also touched on the World Bank’s international poverty benchmark.
Omokri argued that global poverty measurements should be understood alongside the economic circumstances and purchasing power of individual countries.
When asked whether he disagreed with the World Bank’s benchmark, he said the institution was applying a global standard that is used internationally.
His comments come amid continuing public debate in Nigeria over food prices, inflation, household purchasing power and the rising cost of living.
Omokri’s ₦3,000 estimate is a personal assessment based on his account of checking market prices and should not be interpreted as an official estimate of the amount required for Nigerians to meet all their daily basic needs.
The statement is also distinct from the World Bank’s methodology for measuring poverty, which uses internationally comparable purchasing-power thresholds rather than simply setting a daily Nigerian naira spending target.
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