“What Can ₦70,000 Do?”: Nigerian Father of Six Makes Emotional Plea to President Tinubu Over Survival Crisis

A heart-wrenching video has surfaced on social media, capturing a Nigerian man’s desperate appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he struggles to sustain his family of eight on a monthly income of ₦70,000.

In the viral clip shared on X (formerly Twitter), the man standing beside his wife detailed the grim reality of living on Nigeria’s current national minimum wage while caring for six children. Visibly emotional, he revealed that the soaring cost of living has reduced his family’s meals to the barest minimum, often leaving the adults to starve so their children might have a chance to eat.

“President Tinubu, this is me and my wife. My salary is ₦70,000 and she gave birth to six children. What can ₦70,000 do for someone that has six children? We both drank garri today, and we don’t know what our children will eat. Please, I beg you in the name of God, help us fix this country,” he pleaded.

The video has ignited a fierce debate online regarding the adequacy of the ₦70,000 minimum wage, which was approved in 2024 but has been heavily eroded by persistent inflation. According to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), headline inflationrose to 15.38% in March 2026, driven largely by the high costs of food and transportation following regional energy spikes.

Economic Context: The ₦70,000 Reality

As of April 2026, the struggle to balance a ₦70,000 salary against the high cost of staple foods like rice, beans, and garri has become a central theme in national discourse. For a family of eight, this income level often fails to cover even basic nutritional requirements, particularly in urban areas where transportation and housing costs continue to climb. This viral moment serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for social safety nets to protect the most vulnerable citizens during periods of extreme price volatility.