Love on a Tight Budget: How Inflation Is Testing a 45-Year Marriage

By Dada Ahmed.

At 70, Malam Abdullahi Mohammed thought he had seen it all. A retired public servant living in Lokoja, Kogi State, he and his wife, Sherifat, have spent 45 years building a life grounded in patience, mutual respect, and deep companionship. But today, their love story is being tested,not by betrayal or illness,but by something more silent, yet deeply disruptive: inflation.

“We’ve never argued this much before,” Mohammed says, his voice heavy with regret. “It’s not that we love each other less. It’s just… life has become too expensive.”

Inside their modest home, the rising cost of living has created a quiet storm. Sherifat, the family’s homemaker, has become increasingly frustrated by how quickly her monthly market allowance disappears. “The money doesn’t take us past two weeks anymore. “Rice, beans, tomatoes… even garri is now a luxury,”she laments.

Mohammed, like many retirees under Nigeria’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), receives a fixed pension far below N100,000 monthly. With prices of basic commodities more than tripling in recent years,he says his income is no longer enough to support a family of five.

“How can I increase what doesn’t increase?” he asks. “The pension doesn’t grow, but everything else does. I wish I could give her more, but I can’t give what I don’t have.”

Their story is not unique. Across Nigeria, families are buckling under the weight of an economic reality that seems unrelenting. From Lagos to Kano, Makurdi to Maiduguri, the rising cost of food is eroding household peace and dignity. What used to be enough is no longer sufficient.

“It’s not just about money,” says Johnson Nwachukwu, a petty trader in Lokoja. “It’s about the emotional cost—the stress, the guilt, the helplessness. You start snapping at the people you love because the system is squeezing you dry.”

Mohammed agrees. “Sherifat goes to the market and returns with almost nothing. I see the disappointment in her eyes, and it hurts me. I don’t want her to suffer. But what can I do? This pension doesn’t respond to inflation.”

Sherifat, tired of what she calls “pocket-sized allowances,” has started confronting her husband more often. “What do you expect me to do with N40,000 a month? I can’t even buy half a bag of rice anymore!”

The reality is that the love in this family is strong, but love alone cannot fill an empty pot.

In other words,the tension in the Mohammed household reflects a broader crisis. Economists say Nigeria’s rising food prices are largely due to structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector, low productivity, poor storage, bad roads, and minimal access to mechanization.

“If local farmers had modern tools and support, food would be more available and affordable.But instead, scarcity and cost continue to drive families apart,”says,Bello Usman, an agricultural expert in Lokoja.

The Mohammeds aren’t fighting each other—they’re fighting a broken system.

The bread winner of the Mohammeds believes the time to act is now. He urges the Federal Government to fast-track the payment of pension arrears owed under the CPS. “If something isn’t done soon, more families will suffer. “We are running out of options—and time.”

He recalled that not long ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a N758 billion bond to settle outstanding pension allowances. “That money needs to reach us on time. It’s not just numbers on paper. It’s food on the table. It’s peace at home,”he says.

As Sherifat and Abdullahi continue to navigate these hard times, their story serves as a reminder that economic policies are not abstract,they are deeply personal. Behind every inflation figure is a family. Behind every delayed payment is a broken promise.

“If we don’t address the root causes,” Mohammed warns, “more homes will echo with arguments instead of laughter.”

Their love endures. But for it to thrive, they,and millions of Nigerians like them,need more than just resilience. They need relief.
Ahmed, a retired Assistant Editor in Chief,NAN,and a member , Nigerian Guild of Editors,NGE,publishes The Reporters,an online publication in Lokoja.
ahmeddada008@gmail.com.