Below The Headlines — 10
This newsletter will be taking a 2 week break after this edition. The next edition will arrive in your inboxes on the 29th of July. Be sure to remain on the right side of the law while we are away. We
Inside Nigeria
Publishing houses in Nigeria are struggling with rising costs and declining profits. The spread of digital devices seems to have hit them particularly hard — Business Day
“Farmers in Plateau State have said the hike in the prices of commodities in the market is a good development as they are making good returns on their investments. For example, the price of maize suddenly skyrocketed across the country, a situation poor consumers have described as worrisome” — One man’s Agbado is another man’s sweet corn — Daily Trust
“A forensic analysis has confirmed the authenticity of the viral video that allegedly shows former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje receiving bundles of dollar notes as a bribe” — I guess we can call this Nigerian Political ‘Science’ since the ‘forensic investigation’ delivered a different result when the governor was in power — Guardian
“Youths in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State have reportedly killed a “monster” terrorising their waterways” — The link also includes a short video of the youths and the unfortunate monster which looks suspiciously like a hippopotamus — Daily Post
Seems that in Osun State, 7/7 is a ‘special’ day for cultists, so much so the Police had to issue a warning to hotels and event centres not to allow their premises be used for any celebrations relating to the day — Tribune
“I might consider it when my children are older. My daughter has also warned me not to remarry” — That is Pastor Ituah Ighodalo — Vanguard
The battle over the Gangs of Lagos movie continues. Amazon says Lagos State Government has no power to censor movies under the 1999 constitution — ThisDay
“Parents of the deceased were handed a list of items to buy to enable the elders to perform a land-cleansing ritual “for such a thing not to happen again in the community”” — An 18yr old boy took his own life in Port Harcourt and his parents were handed a cleansing bill — Punch
“Fuel subsidy removal has significantly affected our work. On average, my boys and I used to attend to 15 cars in a day, but now, we hardly get more than four vehicles to work on in a day” — He goes on to say that only 2 of his 10 apprentices now come to work regularly since he can no longer pay them enough to cover transport and feeding — Daily Trust
“Before religious activities are held at any centre, podium, location, or area, authorities of the religious body, should approach the nearest Area Commands, Divisional Police Station for adequate security and coverage” — Things have come full circle following the killing of a RCCG Pastor in Ogun State as God will now use the Nigerian Police to protect you on earth — Vanguard
Abuja Customary Court Judge ‘advised’ a woman in a divorce case brought before him to try and be submissive to her husband from time to time — Daily Post
“The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 44-year-old businessman, Amara Kennedy, for circulating nude photos of his former lovers” — He blackmailed the women and even after receiving multiple payments from them, he went ahead and posted the photos online anyway, including to a church WhatsApp group — Punch
“Today, I moved a motion over incessant attacks on my people (constituents). Kidnapping has become like akara business in my constituency” — That is Amobi Ogah, a member of the House of Reps from Abia State. I will only add that Akara selling is a respectable business — The Cable
Kulikuli is in trouble in Bauchi: “Apparently disgusted with the way and manner in which the otherwise desirous commodity is being prepared and handled in the markets, some residents who spoke with Arewa Voice, said they would stop eating Kulikuli for now until the condition under which it is prepared and sold is significantly improved” — Vanguard
“He emphasised that no area of the state permits gay activities” — That is Elvert Ayambem, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly — Daily Post
Outside Nigeria
A couple of charts on how methamphetamines are increasingly being seized in unusual places around the world prominently features Nigeria: “A meth lab is much easier to hide than a field of poppies. Unlike cocaine, heroin or cannabis, synthetic drugs do not require land or an army of cheap labourers to produce” — The Economist
Somewhat related, season 4 of Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan series has a storyline about drug trafficking in Nigeria — WSJ
“Damilola Adeparusi, who calls herself Chef Dammy, began an attempt to surpass Bassey’s record even before it had been confirmed, claiming to have cooked for 120 hours. Last month she appealed for money to hire bodyguards after claiming that she had received death threats as a result” — Everyone now wants to be a record holder but beware the risks — The Times
Research on Misoprostol found it was able to end pregnancies after 10 weeks without the need for a hospital visit. With abortions being banned by many states in the US, self-managed abortions are becoming increasingly popular. 1,352 women were recruited for the study, of which more than half were from Nigeria — Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
“As for Nigeria, a debt report published by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics at the end of March 2023 showed that multilateral debt accounts for about two-thirds of Nigeria’s external debt, while only 9.5 percent is owed to China” — Chinese state owned media debunks the ‘lies, smears and misdirection’ about China’s lending in Africa — China Daily
A 68yr old woman in Pennsylvania, USA, got scammed by a Nigerian she met on Facebook. He then started using her to receive funds from his other scams which she converted to bitcoin and sent on to him in Nigeria. In total she received nearly $30,000 on his behalf and has now been sentenced to 2yrs probation — Go Erie (If you haven’t already, be sure to read Carlos Barragán’s incredible piece on Nigerian online scammers — Atavist. Also: “In its mapping of the perpetrators, the FBI found that they often had links to organized crime based in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, the Philippines and Nigeria”- The story in question is about online gangs blackmailing young boys — Aftonbladet)
“A University of Maryland study upended by the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria made an unexpected discovery: Preschool children who regularly watched educational television programming at home while schools were closed showed significant strides in early learning outcomes like literacy, shape recognition and social skills” — Phys.org
Nigeria’s Super Falcons are planning a strike to boycott their first game against Canada at the Women’s World Cup in Australia on July 21st. It is the same old story — they are being owed money and this present NFF has somehow managed to be worse than the last one — Mirror
The visit of 3 Chinese warships to Nigeria has sparked the usual and expected debates — Voice of America
A Nigerian man was sentenced to 1 year in prison for attempting to rape an Australian woman in Bali, Indonesia. A strange story where the sentence was only 1 year because the court took into account that “both the victim and the defendant had forgiven each other during the initial trial” — Coconuts
Kehinde Fadipe’s new novel In Such Tremendous Heat set in Singapore and about the lives of high earning Nigerians in the city-state, is getting rave reviews — The Times
Who are the Chinese investors investing in Africa’s tech space? — South China Morning Post
Newsletter OGs will remember our friend who moved to Nigeria from New York to start a new life. Here she has observations about Nigeria’s payments infrastructure (she likes it) — New York to Nigeria
“The Muslim community in Sao Paulo is diverse and the celebration reflected it, with people from Afghanistan, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Syria, Mozambique and converted Brazilians” — Arab News (Perhaps of historical significance is that many of the Muslims who led the Malê slave rebellion in 1835 in Brazil [Malê from Yoruba Ìmàle] were of Nigerian origin. More than 200 of the rebel leaders were deported back to Africa with many of them ending up in Lagos — Malê Revolt)
“After a 25-hour flight from Nigeria, Ifedayo Olusegun is back to terrorise Super League defences” — Mr. Olusegun has been the top scorer in the Malaysian league for a couple of years running — New Straits Times
Tobi Lawson delivered two very good pieces on 1914 Reader this week. The first was on why we should separate the personal achievements of billionaires from what is useful for the economy. The second piece was about the history and ideas from Nigeria and around the world on exchange rate reforms, delivered in 5 links for you.
Enjoy your summer holidays and see you in a couple of weeks!