Unmasking the Naija Lifestyle

Meet Ofure, Kosi and Segun, three diverse yet typical Nigerians. In this article, we find out about the social and economic realities of their day-to-day lives, their ambitions, and the cultural factors that unite them.

These stories are inspired both by Naija Lens – Ipsos Nigeria’s bi-annual general opinion survey with a sample drawn across the country, and African Lions – a collaborative research study that aimed to define and quantify aspects of the African Middle Class across the continent.

We explore how the middle class has fared since the 2014 economic downturn in Nigeria and what this has meant for trade, investment and consumption. It finds that while most people are “hunkering down”, growing trends include the adoption of digital media and social media platforms – there is no doubt that Nigeria is at the forefront of the digital revolution.

Key findings include:

• 95% of Nigerians shop in the open market, with 99% paying with cash.
• Almost 58% of the vehicles on Nigerian roads are commercial and many people commute by “okada”, a type of motorbike that is economical to run.
• Education is a priority for personal investment and those who can afford private tuition for their children do so.
• Media consumption in Nigeria is such that 83% watch TV stations at least once a week, and 82% listen to radio at least once a week.
• Data is a fast-growing category and Nigerians typically spend 5% of their total income on it.
• The economic downturn of 2014 has meant that Nigeria has now overtaken India as the country with the largest number of people in poverty.

Find out more in the first wave of the Naija Lens report and the African Lions study.