Disparities between hair cut prices in the U.K, United States of America and Nigeria

Recently, my uncle came back from the U.K after visiting for three months. He was looking quite as I expected which is fresh and a bit fat but there was something odd about his appearance which I did not quite place until we got back home from the airport.

On getting home, I finally realized that his head was very bushy which is not normal at all for a guy that I have known for almost thirty-one years. My uncle is what I can term as a Nigerian version of Micheal Jordan because he used to have his hair cut slam down just like Micheal. So I asked him why he left his head in a bushy state and he replied which I quote “It cost five pounds to have a hair cut in the U.k and I just looked at it that I will be staying for three months, which means I will have to cut my hair at least 9 times which will cost me about forty-five pounds. This amount to 11, 250 Naira, which is a monthly salary of some Nigerians and to even think of spending that amount of hard earned money from Nigeria in a foreign country is economically unwise because the hair cut will only cost him just 1, 800 Naira to cut in Nigeria for three months and would it not make you or someone else who is in dire need of it happy if I give the forty-five pounds to you or that someone”.

I did not even think of writing this article until I read an article in Ebony Magazine January 2009 edition about the Obama Barber (Zariff) making a hair cut for twenty-one Dollars which is 3, 066 Naira in Nigerian currency for a single cut; this is even more expensive than that of U.k and yet we Nigerians complain that the 200 Naira (1.36 Dollars in current dollar-naira exchange rate) charged for a single hair cut is too expensive.

Now I understand why the IMF says that large percentage of Africans (Nigerians inclusive) live on less than a dollar a day which I think is not true (speaking for Nigerians only). I believe we Nigerians are just prudent in the way we spend our money at a large percentage of us excluding our leaders and the rich in our society (which we all know constitute a meager portion of the Nigerian population) because everyone knows how he or she earns their income which of course we all know our leaders loot our treasury; so they can afford to be spendthrift.

Culled from Ebony, Collectors edition for 2009.

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