Omokri Says ₦3,000 Is Enough for an Average Nigerian to Survive Daily

(Reno Omokri. Photo by X/Inside_Naija1)

Nigeria's Ambassador-designate to Mexico Reno Omokri has said an average Nigerian can survive on 3,000 naira per day, arguing that poverty should be measured based on each country's economic realities and cost of living.

Speaking on a television programme, Omokri said he recently went to markets with a journalist without any security to check food prices.

He looked at yam, rice, maize, fruits and other essentials and determined that 3,000 naira could provide enough for someone to live on daily in Nigeria.

However, the same amount would be considered poverty in the United States because living costs are much higher there.

He said context matters when measuring poverty.

What people can live on in Nigeria differs completely from what Americans would need to survive.

Omokri also questioned whether international poverty measurements apply to Nigeria.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund use a global benchmark of living on less than two dollars daily, which represents an international standard but doesn't necessarily capture the Nigerian economic situation.

When asked if he disagreed with the World Bank's poverty benchmark, Omokri said the institution was simply using a global measure that has always been applied across different countries.