The Economy is Growing. So Why Are You Broke?

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]If you listen to the news, they'll tell you that the economy is growing. They point at the stock market hitting record heights and telling us the GDP is looking great [music] for 2026. From a boardroom in Abuja, the number looks like a success story.

[00:00:14]So, if the economy is growing, [music] why is your pocket shrinking? This is the gap between the macro and the micro.

[00:00:21]The macro is the scoreboard for the rich. It is for the investors. [music] It is for the big banks. But, the micro is the economy you and I actually live in. It is [music] the price of a crate of eggs, the cost of transportation, and the fact that 100,000 naira feels like 10,000 naira in today's market.

[00:00:38]Meanwhile, the government is currently obsessed [music] with fixing that scoreboard while the players on the field are exhausted. They are seeing a massive push [music] to widen the tax net at a time when the subsidies are gone and the basic commodities are nonexistent. If it is, you can't ask people to pay first world taxes when they are still providing their own power, >> [music] >> their own water, and their own security.

[00:01:02]So, it then begs the question, what is the government for? So, this is more like a PR thing. The logic seems to be, let's make the big numbers look good so we can sound successful on a global stage. Here's the problem with that. A booming stock market doesn't put food on a family's table. And the thing is, [music] they know this. If the average Nigerian has no purchasing power, they can't spend.

[00:01:27]If they can't spend, [music] local businesses can't grow. And if local businesses can't grow, this macro success that we are touting globally is just a house of cards waiting to fall.

[00:01:39]So, until the gains we keep hearing about translate into lower prices and more money in your hand, it is not a recovery. It is just an experiment where you are the one paying the [music] bills. If you like explainers like this, please do not Don't to like, share, and follow. If you're seeing this on YouTube, please make sure you subscribe.