We are living in a dickensian country.
PiggyVest Report: Only 1 in 10 Nigerians can comfortably raise ₦156k in 1 week.
- 56% more people want to japa, but savings for Japa have completely dropped, almost non existent.
- Minimum wage is ₦70k but a pot of jollof rice costs 624% than it did 10yrs ago, that’s 42% of the MW.
- Savings collapsed from 8/10 people to 5/10 people, as Nigerians stopped saving simply because they don’t earn enough.
- 58% of adults earn below ₦100k/month or nothing at all. Yet they are earning more now but affording less. Because in 2023 minimum wage was ₦30k and worth $65, now in 2026 it is ₦70k and worth $53, less value.
- In America less 10% of household earning is spent on food. In Nigeria, ₦6 of every ₦10 earned is spent on food (60%) as inflation rises monthly. 60% is the highest of any country the US Department of Agriculture tracks.
- While many Nigerians want to Japa. Many have opted to start life here, not because its easier, but with optimism for the future.
- 63% about 140M Nigerians are living in poverty. 6 in 10 Nigerian do not have emergency funds.
- However, people paying Black Tax has dropped by 80%, though more than half of Nigerian earners support extended families.
- Only 6% of Nigerians feel financially secure. Not because they earn a lot, but because they save a fixed amount monthly.
- Nigeria is experiencing two economic realities at once; on paper the economy is good, which is true. In reality, households feel poorer.
A Tale of Two Nigerias — Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-founder and COO of PiggyVest at OpenHouse Lagos 2026.