Post by Henry Emeka (@Emekus)

Respectfully a fully inflation-adjusted comparison from 1960 to 2026 would require official annual inflation, wage, exchange rate, and household expenditure data for every administration. We cannot verify a complete inflation-adjusted series for the entire period from the available sources.

What we can verify is the fuel price history and some important context.

Verified Fuel Price History
Administration Approximate Petrol Price Change
Yakubu Gowon (1973) 6k → 8.45k/litre
Murtala Mohammed (1976) 8.45k → 9k/litre
Olusegun Obasanjo (Military) 9k → 15.3k/litre
Shehu Shagari 15.3k → 20k/litre
Ibrahim Babangida 20k → 70k/litre
Ernest Shonekan 70k → ₦5/litre
Sani Abacha ₦3.25 to ₦15/litre, later ₦11/litre
Abdulsalami Abubakar ₦11 → ₦25, later ₦20/litre
Olusegun Obasanjo (Civilian) ₦20 → ₦75/litre
Umaru Yar'Adua ₦75 → ₦65/litre (reduction)
Goodluck Jonathan Up to ₦141/litre
Muhammadu Buhari About ₦145 to ₦212/litre depending on period
Bola Tinubu About ₦617/litre after subsidy removal in 2023; later market prices exceeded ₦1,000/litre according to cited reports
Living Costs Under Different Presidents

Fuel price alone does not tell the whole story.

For example:

During the 1970s and early 1980s, fuel was extremely cheap, but Nigeria's population was much smaller than today.
During the 2012 subsidy removal attempt under Goodluck Jonathan, fuel prices increased sharply and triggered nationwide protests.
Following the 2023 subsidy removal under Bola Tinubu, fuel prices rose substantially and reports cited increases in transport and food costs.

To determine which period had the "best" living standard, economists would look at:

Real wages
Employment
Inflation
Poverty rates
Housing affordability
Electricity access
Security
Education and healthcare

Not just pump prices.

What Many Nigerians Commonly Remember

Many older Nigerians often recall the 1970s and early 1980s as periods of:

Lower fuel prices
Lower food prices
Lower housing costs relative to income

However, that does not automatically mean those periods were objectively the best for every Nigerian, and the sources provided do not rank presidents by quality of life.

Current Debt Context

Nigeria's public debt was reported at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026.

That is why many Nigerians ask whether major projects, such as new seaports, highways, railways, power projects, and industrial zones, will generate enough jobs and economic growth to justify the spending.

Based on the available sources, no credible evidence supports claims that any single project will create jobs for all 240 million Nigerians. The Ogun seaport project has been promoted as potentially creating more than 50,000 direct jobs if fully developed.

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