Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat says Nigerians are considered among the least patriotic people in the world.

The Lagos deputy governor stated in a Channels TV video while relaying his Senegalese friend’s perception that Nigerians complain too much. Mr Hamzat, however, said he was unsure whether he agreed with his friend.

“I have a Senegalese friend. His father a Senegalese. His mother a Nigerian. He said — I don’t know if I agree with him —; he said, ‘My brother, it seems Nigerians are one of the least patriotic people in the world’,” stated the Lagos deputy governor.

Mr Hamzat added, “I said, ‘Why did you say that?’ He said, ‘Prices of things in Nigeria is about three times but in Senegalese it is about 15 times, but you people keep complaining’.”

Earlier in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 22.41 per cent amid increased food prices. 

A recent report by the World Bank said “high inflation between December 2022 and April 2023 is estimated to have pushed four million more Nigerians into poverty.”