Nigerian inflation hits four-year high

Inflation in Nigeria has hit a four-year high, according to government statistics, as food prices have jumped more than 20%.

It's heaping financial pressure on a population already struggling with a shrinking labor market and a stagnant economy.

Inflation, which has been in the double digits since 2016, was 17.33% in February driven by the global health crisis, which has contributed to a drop in the price of Nigeria's main export. That's oil.

The figure is the highest it has been since February 2017.

Back then the economy was in turmoil

Today it is teetering on the brink of recession, having expanded only roughly a tenth of a percent in December.

Food prices also rose 21.79% in February the National Bureau of Statistics said, with staples including bread, cereals, potatoes, fruit, and oil driving the increase on the food price index.

President Muhammadu Buhari has made investment in rail and road infrastructure a focus of his administration's drive to kickstart growth.

Falls in public revenue, however, linked to lower oil prices, have checked that ambition.

The figures are set against a rise of kidnappings in Nigeria's increasingly lawless north, as well.

Some experts fear that insecurity combined with Nigeria's grim economic realities could trigger significant social unrest.