The Tiger TG 950 generator, popularly known as ‘I-Better-Pass-My-Neighbour’ generator, has more than tripled in price, now selling for N70,000, up from N15,000, when President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in May 2015.
Known as “I-Pass-My-Neighbor” for its affordability at the time, the previously low-budget generator, easily affordable to low-income earners in Nigeria is steadily becoming a luxurious item, out of the reach of the masses.
The steep rise in generator prices came amid a dip in the value of the naira and surging commodity prices under Buhari’s regime.
Checks in two leading e-commerce platforms, Jumia and Konga, revealed that the Tiger Generator now sells for over N70,000.
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 aluminum coils cost less than N70,000.
“At the moment, you no longer see that generator less than N70,000 except if an aluminum coil, but if na copper na N70,000 upward depending on the place wey you buy,” Ikechukwu said.
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 Buhari became President in 2015. Today, the dollar sells for N757, a rise of more than 380 percent.
The Buhari 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 the Tiger Generator, ‘I-pass-my-neighbour,’ only, as 1.9KVA generators, bigger than the ‘I pass-my-neighbour,’ previously selling for N35,000, now cost over N100,000.
