Below The Headlines — 08
Below The Headlines — 08
The ‘Sallah where they kill rams’ edition is brought to you from around the world
Inside Nigeria
A story that appears in the papers every year: “The high rise in the cost of rams is affecting the market. As you can observe, the market is dull. The patronage is low. We are running the business at a loss. Allah bears us witness.” — Tribune
“Our investigations revealed that Joy Umukoro, delivered the baby in April 2023, and conspired with her boyfriend to sell their baby for N1.7 million.” — The buyer and the baby are nowhere to be found . Other reports suggest the couple sold the baby to fund their drug habit — Punch
“It is my finding that the defendant caused the death of the deceased by shooting him with a gun at a close range, which subsequently led to his death” — The defendant here is a 78yr old community leader in Ondo state — Guardian
The combination of spike in fertiliser and fuel costs has more or less killed irrigation farming in parts of the north. Farmers now abandoning their crops on the farms — Daily Trust
“The victims, aged between 15 and 25 years, also claimed that they were mandated to make returns of N10,000 to N15,000 each night, while each man they slept with paid them a paltry N1,000” — That is very hard work to put it mildly — Vanguard
News from Kano: “A top member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Abdulmajid Mustapha, has accused the Kano State Pilgrim Board of barring him from getting a visa to travel for the 2023 Hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia. Mr Mustapha, popularly known as Dan-Bilki Commander, is a popular critic of Rabiu Kwankwaso” — Premium Times
Staying with Kano, here is an offence that is contrary to Section 188 of the state’s Sharia law: “A Sharia Court in Kano State on Thursday ordered that a 25-year-old man, Aliyu Sa’ad, who pleaded guilty to calling his friend gay, be remanded in a correction centre” — Daily Post
“A housewife, Salamat Suleiman, has filed for divorce after two months of marriage, due to husband’s health issue. The complainant told the court that she noticed that her husband had watery sperm” — They had only been married for 2 months. Get out while you can I guess — Vanguard
“The judge also ordered Mark to clean the EFCC office from 8am till noon under the supervision of an official of the legal department. He ordered that the phone used by the convict to perpetrate the crime be destroyed, adding that it should be burnt and evidence of the destruction should be brought before the court” — Rather ‘innovative’ sentencing for an internet fraudster — Punch
Outside Nigeria
Alára is at the Brooklyn Museum from June to October with a concept store — Vogue
The question for me here is how did Uchenna Nlemchi manage to leave America when there was a warrant out for his arrest? — United States Attorney’s Office
Chioma Ameche has done really for herself in China — Twitter
You narrowly escape the war in the north east but you lose your son and a grandson. You find yourself in a camp for the displaced in Abuja and then one security forces show up with bulldozers and level your home. Life can be tough — ABC News
My cynical take on this is that in a bid to ‘impress’ the incoming government (and preserve his job) the current tax boss launched an indiscriminate demand for back taxes from shipping companies. Now half of Nigeria’s crude oil is going unsold as there are no ships willing to risk being seized on a trip to Nigeria — Yahoo (via Bloomberg)
Somewhat related, Nigeria is now owing oil traders $3bn from the trade-by-barter deals used to import fuel which was then sold at subsidised rates. NNPC gives them raw crude and they supply refined fuel. Until NNPC, a congenital debtor, started owing in the trade by barter arrangement as well — Reuters
The Nigerian tapas restaurant, Chuku’s, got an £8,000 donation from Beyoncé. The restaurant is located close to the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium that hosted the UK leg of her Renaissance tour — Evening Standard
A list of the most powerful weapons in Nigeria’s military arsenal. Chinese made weapons feature prominently — Military Africa
33yr old Wunmi moved to Canada in 2021. Now she has advice for newcomers. In general, the market for ‘advice to newcomers’ is booming especially in the UK and Canada — Toronto Star
Profile of Femi Gbajabiamila with something conspicuously missing. Hmmm — Africa Report
“Nigeria, which has one of the world’s biggest Muslim populations, was able to fill its quota of 95,000 pilgrims at the last minute after many states extended their deadlines for people to pay, authorities said. Despite higher costs, would-be pilgrims delayed by the pandemic were enough to fill demand. “Even if it reaches 10 million naira ($21,630), Nigerians will go, especially those committed to it,” said Adamu Yusuf, who has been to Mecca on numerous occasions” — Subsidies are wonderful — LA Times (via Associated Press)
“The most prominent Islamic movement of this sort is the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria, which has established a prayer center on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, alongside major Pentecostal megachurches like the RCCG. At a recent Sunday service, the group’s bank and PayPal account information were prominently displayed to facilitate electronic donations. A preacher urged married couples to spare each other harmful words. Then the congregation prayed for specific needs: success with an immigration application to Canada, with a job interview, with an upcoming court case” — The competition for believers by different religions is really heating up in Nigeria and Africa — WSJ
The best oxtail in Dallas, Texas costs $26.99. Ondo to the world (yes, I’m biased) — Dallas Observer
“A British politician who was tortured in Kenya before being the victim of “extraordinary rendition” to Nigeria has been failed by the British government, the appeal court has been told” — No prizes for guessing who that ‘British politician’ is — The Times
The latest liveability index from The Economist:
This week on 1914 Reader, Tobi Lawson wrote a follow up to my post on the deterioration in the relationship between Nigeria and oil majors. He highlighted a very interesting research paper on the subject.
See you next week