The tragic reason behind the death of 67 people in Christmas charity stampedes in Nigeria.

Stampedes at three different Christmas charity events in Nigeria have resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 67 people over the past week, with a significant number of the victims being children. The country is grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis, making it extremely challenging for families.

On Wednesday, at least 35 children lost their lives during one of the events in the southwestern Oyo state. Subsequently, on Saturday, 22 individuals were reported dead in the southeastern Anambra state, while another 10 fatalities occurred in the capital city of Abuja. In Abuja, over 1,000 individuals had gathered at a church to receive donations of clothes and food.

Here’s why people in Africa’s most populous country are risking their lives for holiday donations.

Inflation at a 28-year high

“There is hunger in this Nigeria. Every Nigerian needs food,” one woman, in tears, told the local Arise television after the stampede in Abuja.

The dire economic situation in Nigeria is primarily attributed to the government’s austerity measures aimed at cutting costs and attracting investors. However, these policies have inadvertently led to a surge in the inflation rate, which currently stands at a 28-year high of 34.6%. Additionally, the Nigerian naira is experiencing significant devaluation against the US dollar, further exacerbating the financial challenges faced by the population.

At least 63% of Nigeria’s more than 210 million people population is poor, according to the government’s statistics office. The government has struggled to create jobs. And when people gather to protest hardship, security forces are quick to clamp down. In August, more than 20 people were shot dead by security forces during nationwide protests.

“The average Nigerian has seen food go out of their reach,” said Cheta Nwanze, managing partner at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm. In 2022, the firm found that about 97% of Nigerians spend up to 63% of their income on food, but that share must have grown since then, he said.

Some of those who died in Abuja had waited overnight outside the church in cold weather for the chance to enter early, according to Loveth Inyang, a witness who rescued a baby from the crush.

Security is costly, too

Deadly stampedes are not new in Nigeria and are often caused by lack of adherence to public safety measures. But analysts say people’s desperation to survive is making crowd control more difficult.

Accounts from witnesses and police in Abuja and Anambra showed that the stampedes occurred before the events started as people tried to secure prime positions.

In Abuja, the church was forced to cancel the event, leaving bags of rice and clothing items inside.

Organizers of such charity events often do not consider security a priority, said Ademola Adetuberu, who runs the Abuja-based Barricade Executive Protection security firm.

Meanwhile, the number of events is increasing as philanthropists and organizations try to meet the growing demand for food.

“If organizers of such events brainstorm more, get professionals to advise them and have a budget for security, this can be prevented,” Adetuberu said.

How authorities are responding

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has asked authorities to no longer tolerate “operational lapses” by organizers of such events, while police have made it mandatory for organizers to get prior permission before hosting them.

But such commitments are not new and usually difficult to enforce, analysts said.

“People’s incomes have been squeezed through the entire year. When they hear somewhere that food is being distributed, their natural instinct is to go,” Nwanze said. “Add this to our notoriously poor queue culture and you have the perfect storm that will lead to such a stampede.”