Nigeria’s currency crisis is decades in the making

On the wealthy peninsula of Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, no one knows how much their grocery shopping costs. Prices are changing so quickly that shopkeepers have given up on tags altogether. At the till, one might be shocked to discover that a tomato is now 120 naira (8 cents). Last year that could get you four, enough to balance out the hot spice in a pot of jollof rice. That staple dish is made dearer still by the soaring prices of onions and rice, forcing the poorest Nigerians to skip meals. Because Nigeria is dependent on imports, its weaker currency is pushing the annual inflation rate towards a three-decade high at almost 30%.