Below The Headlines - 114
"Traditional" baby food is back and Nicki Minaj is at war with her gay friends over Nigeria
This week we covered a fair bit of ground on the ‘Reader. Tobi started with a post that opened with one of my favourite quotes - simple theories are clear and simple and often wrong. I tried my hand at an explainer on RFCC as it relates to the Dangote Refinery and why it is having issues with it (spoiler: I don’t know). Tobi closed out the week with a piece on how Nigerian leaders have used religion as a “state building” tool. It has, of course, not gone well.
It was just Tobi and I on the podcast this week where we talked about Trump and F.O.O.D
Enjoy the week’s selection below
Nigerian Media
Dauda Choji has been farming strawberries in Jos since democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999. He shares some of the things he’s learnt:
Although Mr. Choji is a civil servant, he spends every free moment he has on the farm providing guidance to his workers. During weekends, he is always on the farm to monitor every development.
His farm is also attracting foreign visitors. During the Miss Tourism Africa contest, which was hosted in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, contestants from different countries visited the farm and were excited to pick and eat strawberries.
Dauda told Daily Trust he has gotten an off-taker for his produce, but will also welcome more, solving his marketing puzzle.
After many years of follow-up stories, strawberry production is growing stronger in the Chaha community.
“Almost all the boys that I have trained have farms that are almost competing with mine. I am happy that they watched the way I did things, and they adopted the same method, and they are succeeding. I am so happy,” he said.
For those who want to start a strawberry farm, the farmer advises that knowledge, patience, and attention are very important.
“If you don’t have the time, expertise, and a good source of water, you cannot have a successful production. That is why I sank a lot of boreholes here and powered them with the solar systems and said bye-bye to fuel. I was told these systems can last for a minimum of 20 years.
“Apart from my office hours, every other time I have, I spend it on the farm,” he concluded.
Interesting story about traders realising something that’s really bad for business:
Traders at the Makurdi Modern Market in Benue State protested what they described as incessant cases of car theft in the market.
The traders decided to shut down the market on Tuesday, alleging that car theft had become rampant in the market.
The traders called on the government to investigate the multiple reports of stolen vehicles in the market.
As of the time our correspondent visited the market, the main entrance gate was locked while traders, policemen, and other security operatives were seen outside discussing the situation.
People who came to the market to transact business were stranded as they could not access the market.
The traders insisted that they would not open the market for business for the next two days to register their grievances over the persistent theft of vehicles and other items by suspected thieves.
One of the traders, who identified himself as Mazi Ezenna, told journalists that there was hardly a day that the market union would not receive a report of car theft.
Ezenna said, “We are tired of complaining about this issue of insecurity in the market. There is no security at all. We have spoken to the government through the state Ministry of Industry.
“Just imagine, between September and November 1, no fewer than six vehicles were stolen from the market. The customer will drive his or her vehicle to the market, park it, go purchase goods, and the next thing, the car is no longer there.
“We, the traders, have lost so many cars this year in the market. So, we have decided to stay off the market for two days to enable us to think of what to do next, and for the government to provide security in and around the market.”
Another story from the economic frontlines:
However, the economic downturn has brought many things back to old ways of life. The cost of buying baby food, just as other products is not for the financially-weak.
A peep into market showed that the cost of baby food like Cereals ranges from N20,000 to N50,000 per tin depending on the brand.
Economy&Lifestyle has discovered that most Nigerian breastfeeding mothers, particularly those with average income are now returning to feeding their babies with homemade meals.
They’re making alternatives like potato, rice, banana, purees, semolina, amala and ewedu (yam flour and jute leaf) soup among other things to feed their infants.
Mrs. Doris Erabor, a factory worker and a nursing mother said: “I make semolina paste, add milk and salt to feed my four-month- old baby. For two months, I couldn’t afford the baby food which price has increased.
“I was very worried because I don’t want to go for new brands which can pose health risk for my child.
“I started feeding him with pap (corn meal). I work at a factory and the pay is not much. A few weeks before resuming work, I was thinking about what kind of food would sustain him because the pap wasn’t helping at all. So, a friend introduced me to semovita and milk.
“This has really helped feed my baby and we are seven months old now.”
Some of these scams are really baffling. I suppose it’s hard for me to understand how people can get taken in by these things:
Operatives of the Ogun State Police command have arrested a woman identified as Elizabeth Thomson for allegedly defrauding three people of N8.5m through fake Canadian work visas.
Recall that the command had raised alarm about the incessant cases of travel and visa scam, fake dating site among others used to swindle victims.
The police spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, on Wednesday, said the suspect under the pretext of securing a Canadian work visa deceived the victims that their visas had been approved.
Odutola said, “The victims narrated that after undergoing biometric verification as instructed by the suspect, they were informed that their visas had been approved.”
According to Odutola, the victims on taking the supposed approval letters to the Visa Facilitation Service office in Lagos for verification, found out that the documents were fake.
She noted that this led to the arrest of the suspect and on interrogation, she confessed to operating a fraudulent migration scheme.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime. Preliminary investigation revealed that she had been operating a fraudulent migration scheme targeting individuals desperate for employment opportunities abroad,” she stated.
A long read about illegal felling of rosewood and of course exports to China. Never underestimate the capacity of Nigerians to do serious environmental damage in the name of survival:
David Isaac*, another Toungo farmer-turned-logger, tells us he has been at it for 15 years. “I cut trees to feed my family,” he says. “Farming does not pay anymore. This one does.”
In Baruwa, a forest community tucked in the Mambilla Plateau in the Gashaka Local Government Area of neighbouring Taraba State, George Johnson* has been logging for three decades. He first came to Gembu, a cold town on the plateau, to work on people’s farms. But farming paid too little.
“Things were expensive,” he says. Logging was better. Sometimes he harvests eucalyptus for local farmers. Other times, when dealers call, he travels three hours to Baruwa to log rosewood.
[…]
Between 2014 and 2017, an average of 40 shipping containers – about 5,600 logs, or 2,800 trees – left Nigeria for China every single day, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). In 2016 alone, the EIA reported, more than 1.4 million rosewood logs worth $300 million were smuggled into China, despite the species being listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a classification requiring strict permitting and oversight.
[…]
Much of this demand traces back to China’s enduring cultural fascination with rosewood, known as hongmu. Once reserved for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, rosewood furniture became a coveted status symbol, admired for its deep hues, durability, and capacity for intricate carving. That appetite lives on.
But China’s own forests could not sustain this demand. Large scale logging was banned decades ago. The hunger simply shifted elsewhere. First to Southeast Asia, and more recently to Africa, which now supplies the lion’s share. A 2022 Forest Trends report shows that by 2020, 83 per cent of China’s wood imports came from Africa, while shipments from Southeast Asia declined. CITES data adds that over 41 per cent of China’s rosewood log imports from range states – more than 2.2 million cubic meters worth about $1.037 billion – came from Africa. The scale of demand is staggering: Forest Trends noted that between 2000 and 2015, China’s rosewood imports surged by 1,250 per cent, with the value nearly doubling in a single year between 2013 and 2014, reaching $2.6 billion.
Meanwhile Zambian friends came visiting and had some things to say:
The Zambian government has indicated interest in understudying the operation of the National Values charter, the cornerstone of the proposed Nigerian Identity Project which was earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
However, Zambia pointed out that there is growing concern back at home, particularly among its younger generation, about the dominant themes of rituals, occultism, and superstitions in many Nollywood productions.
This was the outcome of the second meeting between officials of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, led by the Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and the Zambian High Commission in Nigeria, led by Jenipher Mutembo, Deputy High Commissioner, in Abuja.
Non-Nigerian Media
A story I never expected to read even in my wildest dreams:
Nicki Minaj has defended her decision to share a tweet praising Donald Trump, telling LGBTQ+ fans they are “blinded” by their “personal obsession with Trump” – before deleting her comments.
The rapper had posted a screenshot from Trump’s Truth Social account about violence against Christians in Nigeria, which read: “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.’”
Minaj said the message gave her “a deep sense of gratitude” for living in a country “where we can freely worship God.” She added: “Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously.”
Her post triggered backlash from fans who accused her of ignoring Trump’s record on LGBTQ+ rights. One long-time follower wrote: “[N]icki as a die hard fan, who genuinely sticks besides you through every single scandal, you cozying up to this fucking loser, [I] might actually have to tap out. we live in a country that wants to weaponize religion so YOUR GAY FANS can be pushed into a corner and silenced.”
Minaj hit back at the criticism in a reply that was later removed.
“Imagine hearing that Christians are being MURDERED & making it about you being gay,” she wrote. “When my home was swatted multiple times with my innocent toddler inside (with maybe 20 officers with guns drawn pointed at our home due to political corruption), you being gay couldn’t save me. Expecting someone to stay oppressed, abused, targeted, harassed & CONSISTENTLY ignored by public figures who were supposed to be helping them says more about you than it does anyone else.”
Update on the internationalisation of Nigerian food:
The historic Dogpool Hotel site in Stirchley is being reborn as Empress, a new Nigerian fine dining restaurant that promises to bring delicious flavours to the heart of Birmingham.
Opening its doors on Saturday 22nd November, the transformation of the long-vacant Dogpool Hotel marks a new chapter for site.
The restaurant is located at 1063 Pershore Road, Birmingham, England B30 2YJ.
[…]
Signature dishes will include Smokey Jollof Rice, Deluxe Fried Rice, Abula, Assorted Meat Peppersoup, Empress Royale Platter VIP Seafood Okro,
Efo Riro, paired with craft cocktails inspired by African ingredients and palm-wine blends.
Economic development update:
Sheltering from the pitiless sun under large blue umbrellas, several dozen young Nigerian women sporting colourful dresses paraded to the rhythm of drums in a mass wedding on Friday -- an annual rite held in western Nigeria.
This tradition of the mass Awon marriage, organised in the small town of Shao in Kwara State in October, is linked to local mythology.
The story goes that a young hunter from Shao once met a strange woman with a single breast near the river named Awon.
After spending several days with a man from the village, she asked the villagers to set a day each year to commemorate her visit by marrying all girls of a suitable age, to ensure the prosperity of the community.
The goddess then disappeared.
Once dressed in their wedding finery in the palace of the local ruler, the young women parade through the streets of Shao before the mass wedding is blessed by the priest of Awon.
Ore Oduba says he has finally broken free of a 30 year addiction to porn:
Ore Oduba jived into the nation’s hearts in 2016 when 13 million watched him become the surprise winner of Strictly Come Dancing. He said it was the most incredible experience of his life, and Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, praised the American smooth that he and his dance partner, Joanne Clifton, performed to Singin’ in the Rain, saying her husband would have been proud of it.
That joyful national moment gave the former Newsround presenter a platform to build a career as an actor, mostly in musical theatre, alongside presenting work. But now he has revealed that behind the twinkly smile he was hiding an addiction to pornography that he can trace back to his first exposure to explicit online content when he was just nine years old.
The addiction, he said, destroyed his life “from the inside out”, leaving him consumed by self-loathing and contributing to thoughts of suicide. Oduba, 39, decided to speak out after seeking help for his addiction following the death of his father and the end of his marriage. His addiction was something he had hidden from all those close to him. “It is the perfect taboo,” he says.
An older boy first showed him sexualised images of a video game when he was nine. “I didn’t choose to be in this position. I was a child. I fell into something. [I had] a curious mind. By the time I was 14 or 15, this was a daily occurrence,” Oduba says by video call, choosing not to switch his camera on as he articulates better without the overstimulation of looking at faces. He also prefers to use the phrase “adult explicit content” rather than the word “pornography”, which he finds is “a trigger”.
Oduba grew up in Dorset, where his parents had moved the family from Nigeria in 1988. His father, a lawyer who continued to work in Nigeria, was a strict disciplinarian and after a sibling was caught smoking, Oduba understood that if any of them transgressed further they would be punished by being sent back to the west African country. Oduba went to Canford School, an independent school in Dorset, and then Loughborough University.
Another piece about British private schools expanding abroad with a section on Nigeria:
As Rugby School Lagos opens its doors for the new academic year, it does so with the financial backing of a billionaire family with close ties to the Nigerian government.
Eko’s developer is the Chagoury Group, a conglomerate founded by tycoon brothers Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury — both fixtures of Nigerian politics and business for decades. Gilbert also paid $1.8 million in 2021 to resolve allegations that he and others provided approximately $180,000 that was used to support four US federal political candidates, in violation of election laws, according to the US Department of Justice.
Neil Hampton, CEO of Rugby School Global, the arm of the school responsible for overseas expansion, told Bloomberg the Chagoury Group approached Rugby in the hope the school would provide “educational expertise” for the Eko Atlantic campus.
After spending time with members of the Chagoury Group in the UK, Rugby’s team were convinced of their viability as business partners. “Clearly the Chagoury Group and Eko Atlantic do understand finance and business but equally they understand the mission — which is about educating young people,” he said.
Rugby gets at least one speculative approach a week from someone interested in opening a school overseas, Hampton said. To sort through the requests, Rugby employs external help.
“A brand which is more than 450 years old like Rugby, which has international schools around the world and a reputation to uphold in the UK — we need to be absolutely clear that the people we’re partnering are the right kinds of people,” said Hampton.
It’s not unusual for the Chagoury family to be supporting a school in this way. The family’s business and philanthropic interests are vast, including funding a nursing school at the Lebanese American University and a gallery at the Louvre established with a Chagoury donation. Gilbert Chagoury is currently serving as the St. Lucian ambassador to the Holy See.
Latest prisoner to be released in error in Britain is:
Another foreign criminal has escaped from prison, as police admit they have been unable to locate him for almost a month.
Ola Abimbola, a Nigerian national, allegedly walked out of the open prison HMP Ford on October 10 and has not been seen since.
The 36-year-old is currently serving a 21-year sentence for offences including kidnap, GBH and possession of an offensive weapon in public.
He is yet to return to the prison, with Sussex Police saying it is working with partners to find him.
Abimbola is the second foreign national known to be on the run from police, with Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, still at large since he was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth on October 29.
In the Daily Telegraph, myself and my Formation co-author, Fola Fagbule, had a small intervention on the matter of a “Christian Genocide” in Nigeria:
In the early hours of Sunday, March 15 2015, a village in Nigeria’s middle belt state of Benue became the scene of unspeakable violence. The assault began at 4am, when most villagers were asleep. By dawn, dozens of men, women and children lay dead.
The perpetrators of this atrocity in Egba were Fulani herdsmen – the latest actors in an attritional conflict between itinerant cattle herders and settled farming communities, locked in bitter struggle over dwindling natural resources.
The timing was striking. The massacre occurred just two weeks before Nigeria’s presidential election, pitting Muhammadu Buhari – a Muslim northerner of Fulani extraction – against incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian. Buhari would win not only the presidency but also Benue state, where the attack had occurred mere days before voters went to the polls.
There is something sobering about this sequence. The attack features in the statistics now circulating globally as evidence of a genocide against Christians in northern and central Nigeria – a narrative that has captured the attention of Donald Trump, the US president. It has led him to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threaten military intervention. One can see why: the victims were almost certainly Christian, the perpetrators Muslim.
A feature on the Museum of West African Art in Benin:
It was a hot afternoon in Benin City, Nigeria, and dozens of construction workers were racing to put the finishing touches on the Museum of West African Art before its opening next week.
Workers fitted out the museum’s auditorium while Nigerian rap music blasted from a radio. Builders sanded down the building’s curved red earth walls. Inside the entrance hall, art workers were busy installing sculptures and paintings.
Phillip Ihenacho, the museum’s director, said during a tour of the site that he hoped the construction would finish on time. “By chaotic Nigerian standards, we’re doing well,” he added.
Many Nigerian artists have long clamored for something like the Museum of West African Art: an institution that can command international attention and host major exhibitions by collaborating with Western peers. Yet the multimillion-dollar development has long stirred controversy in Benin City, not least because it was originally billed as a home for returned Benin Bronzes, masterpieces of African art that British soldiers stole from the ancient Kingdom of Benin in 1897.
For decades, the Nigerian government called for the return of the looted bronzes, a catchall term for artifacts that include intricate brass plaques and carved elephant tusks, which are now scattered across institutions and private collections around the world. Many of those items are hundreds of years old and were once used in royal and religious ceremonies.
