The Tiger TG 950 generator, often known as the ‘I-pass-my-neighbour’ generator, has more than tripled in price, now selling for N70,000, up from N15,000 when President Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015.
Given the name ‘I-pass-my-neighbor’ for its affordability at the time, the previously low-budget generator easily afforded by low-income earners in Nigeria is steadily becoming a luxurious item for the masses.
The steep rise in the generator’s price came amid the dipping of the value of the naira and surging commodity prices under Mr Buhari’s regime.
The generator sells for over N70,000, according to checks by Peoples Gazette with the two leading e-commerce platforms in Nigeria (Jumia and Konga).
The generator was listed on Konga for N78,000 on Sunday night. However, checks on Jumia revealed that the once N15,000 low-cost generator sold for N70,000. That is N8,000 less than the Konga price.
The Gazette contacted an electronic retailer named Ikechukwu, who put the generator’s price at N70,000.
According to him, only inferior I-pass-my-neighbor generators with aluminium coils cost more than N70,000.
“At the moment, you no fit see that generator less than N70,000 except if na aluminium coil, but if na copper na N70,000 upward depending on the place wey you buy,” Mr Ikechukwu told The Gazette.
He blamed the weakened naira and the growing cost of importation occasioned by the importation ban placed by the Buhari regime for the rising prices of generators.
The dollar sold for N197 before Mr Buhari became president in 2015. Today, the dollar sells for N757, a rise of more than 380 per cent.
Mr Buhari’s regime prohibited the importation of the I-pass-my-neighbor generator in 2015 because the cheap generator contributed to significant air pollution and health problems.
The price increase is not confined to I pass-my-neighbour, as 1.9 generators, bigger than the I pass-my-neighbour, previously selling for N35,000, now cost over N100,000.
