Nigerian influencer Hauwa has sparked widespread reactions online after criticizing Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, over his recent claim that he does not see the level of hunger many Nigerians complain about.
Onanuga made the remark during a live interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme, where he dismissed claims of widespread hunger under the Tinubu administration.
According to him, the narrative gained traction after a viral social media video in which a voice repeatedly chanted “Ebi n pa wa o” (“We are hungry”), insisting that the phrase has since been echoed by critics without accurately reflecting the country’s reality.
To support his position, Onanuga said he often asks members of his domestic staff how they are coping and that their responses suggest the situation is manageable.
He also pointed to the Federal Government’s decision to increase the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 as evidence of efforts to cushion the effects of economic hardship.
Reacting in a video shared on her Instagram page, Hauwa disagreed with Onanuga’s assessment, arguing that the rising cost of living paints a different picture.
Breaking down the cost of preparing a simple pot of spaghetti, she listed the prices of basic food items, including spaghetti, pepper, plantain, ponmo and fish, noting that the total already exceeds ₦6,000 before adding transportation, cooking gas, oil, seasoning and other ingredients.
According to her, the actual cost of preparing the meal would be about ₦8,650, which she said represents a significant portion of the ₦70,000 minimum wage.
She added that even she considers herself privileged because many Nigerians can no longer afford such a meal and are forced to buy damaged or lower-quality food items just to survive.
Hauwa also linked the worsening economic situation to the rise in crime, alleging that hunger has pushed some people into kidnapping and other criminal activities.
In her words:
“Spaghetti is ₦1,050, pepper ₦1,000, plantain ₦2,000, ponmo ₦600 and fish ₦2,000. That is ₦6,650 for one pot of spaghetti, and I haven’t added transportation, gas, oil, Maggi and every other thing needed to cook it. Let’s say everything comes to about ₦8,650.
“The minimum wage is ₦70,000. ₦8,650 is about 12 percent of the minimum wage. Mind you, I am still privileged because I can still afford to eat spaghetti and plantain. There are people who can’t even afford that. They go to the market and buy the broken ones.
“Hunger is why you enter a bus and get kidnapped. They demand ₦10 million or threaten to kill or rape you. When people say they don’t see hunger, I don’t disagree because maybe there is no hunger in your circle.
“Go to Eko Market and look at the children. Small children who should be in school are sitting behind baskets of pepper under the hot sun. Get into traffic and you will see young boys running after cars because they want to sell plantain chips.
“There is hunger, seriously. You want to rent a two-bedroom apartment and they ask for ₦4 million. They say they don’t want Yahoo boys in their houses, but ordinary salary earners cannot afford the rent they are demanding. Let me go and cook before I die. I don’t see the hunger? How will you see the hunger?”
Her video has since gone viral, with many Nigerians taking to social media to share their opinions on the country’s economic realities and the contrasting views expressed by the presidential aide and the influencer.
