Below The Headlines - 121
Tuta continues to do the absolute most and Lady is coming soon
This week, Tobi continued his series on leadership and what it means for it to be ‘good’.
The podcast should return shortly along with a lot more essays and content.
Enjoy the week’s selection below
Nigerian Media
I cannot count the number of times over the years that tuta absoluta has damaged tomato crop in Nigeria. It is like a problem with no solution and yet it surely has a solution:
Tomato farmers in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau and other states are currently grappling with severe glut as the harvest season begins.
After the catastrophic Tuta absoluta outbreak ravaged crops and inflicted billions of naira in losses on the tomato industry, farmers now face another daunting challenge.
Our correspondents across the states report that markets are now flooded with fresh tomatoes, leading to a sharp drop in price and heavy financial losses for farmers who had invested heavily to recover from previous setbacks caused by the pest attack.
Over the past few years, infestations of Tuta absoluta, a highly damaging tomato leaf miner, have wreaked havoc on farms in northern tomato-growing regions.
These outbreaks have led to the destruction of vast areas of cultivated land, compelling numerous farmers to cease production. The disruptions have significantly impacted supply chains and driven many farmers into financial distress due to mounting debts.
In 2016, the first outbreak of Tuta absoluta devastated tomato crops in seven northern states: Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Gombe and Nasarawa. Subsequently, it has also been detected in two additional states in the South-West region: Lagos and Oyo.
In Kano State, Malam Abba Ibrahim Kalla of Bunkure Local Government Area, told our correspondent that going back to the farm was very difficult as he had incurred a huge loss in his tomato farm last year due to the pest attack.
He added that it was with the assistance of a loan he got from his associates that he was able to return to the farm this dry season.
Tomato farmers in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau and other states are currently grappling with severe glut as the harvest season begins.
After the catastrophic Tuta absoluta outbreak ravaged crops and inflicted billions of naira in losses on the tomato industry, farmers now face another daunting challenge.
Our correspondents across the states report that markets are now flooded with fresh tomatoes, leading to a sharp drop in price and heavy financial losses for farmers who had invested heavily to recover from previous setbacks caused by the pest attack.
The view of the kidnapping epidemic from the ground level:
Relief mixed with grief swept through Chacho village in Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State as a young bride-to-be and her bridesmaids regained freedom after spending about 49 harrowing days in the captivity of bandits.
Local sources confirmed that the victims were released only after their families painfully raised a ransom of N10 million, alongside three brand new motorcycles and other items, highlighting the heavy human and economic cost of insecurity in rural communities.
Before the abduction, Chacho village had been filled with joy as preparations for the wedding reached their peak.
However, the celebration turned into anguish barely 24 hours to the ceremony when armed bandits stormed the village under the cover of darkness, went straight to the bride’s residence and whisked her and her friends away.
A devastated family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident plunged the entire community into shock and fear, as unarmed villagers were helpless in the face of heavily armed criminals.
According to the source, intelligence later revealed that the abducted bride and others were held in one of the bandits’ enclaves deep inside the Sububu Forest, which spans parts of Isa and Sabon Birni local government areas.
The vast forest, extending into Zamfara State and the Niger Republic, has long been identified as a notorious hideout for criminal gangs terrorising communities in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
The alcohol lobby are back at it again:
Members of the distillers’ association, under the aegis of the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association and the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees, have warned that the enforcement being carried out by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control will displace no fewer than 5.5 million Nigerians from their jobs.
The unions, which are affiliates of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress, disclosed this on Friday when they besieged the Lagos office of NAFDAC to protest the order stopping them from distributing their products.
PUNCH Online reports that NAFDAC said it had begun enforcing the ban on the production and sale of alcohol in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml.
NAFDAC had, on November 11, 2025, announced plans to enforce a total ban on such products by December 2025, in line with a directive from the Senate.
However, enforcement was initially halted after the Federal Government, through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, called for an immediate suspension of all actions and measures related to the proposed ban, pending consultations and a final directive.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, during a media briefing on Wednesday, said the agency had received a matching order from the Senate to proceed and that enforcement had already commenced.
Speaking at the protest ground on Friday, the Executive Secretary of FOBTOB, Solomon Adebosin, said the enforcement would displace no fewer than 5.5 million direct and indirect jobs.
Trying to steal and sell mercury was a thing when I was a kid a long time ago. You always heard (but never actually saw) about some guy who found mercury somewhere and made a lot of money from selling it. I’m surprised to hear this is still a thing:
The Gombe State Police Command on Friday paraded five suspects in connection with alleged criminal conspiracy, possession of counterfeit United States currency, and substances suspected to be mercury.
The arrests, police said, followed intelligence-led operations carried out by officers attached to the Dukku Divisional Police Headquarters.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, four of the suspects were apprehended at about 11:00 am in Dukku town while in possession of counterfeit foreign currency.
The suspects were identified as Kabiru Abubakar, 29, of Dugge Quarters, Dukku; Abubakar Aliyu, 30, of Basirda Quarters, Dukku; Abdulrahman Mustapha, 22, of Ramin Kura, Kaduna State; and Isah Alhasan, 45, of Sheka Quarters, Kano State. Police said they were found with a total of 304 pieces of One Hundred United States Dollar ($100) counterfeit notes.
“During the course of investigation, the suspects confessed to the offence and further indicted the fourth suspect as the supplier of the counterfeit currency,” Abdullahi said.
He further disclosed that, in a related development on the same day, police operatives arrested two additional suspects at about 8:00 a.m. in possession of substances believed to be mercury.
The two suspects, identified as Muhammad Muhammad, alias Malam, 40, and Abubakar Bala, alias Boza, both from Nasarawa State, allegedly admitted during interrogation that the substance was intended for use in the production of counterfeit currency.
“They confessed that the substance suspected to be mercury was allegedly used in the production of fake currency,” Abdullahi added.
Donating a borehole and then donating a generator to power the borehole is about as meta as you can get about the Nigerian condition:
To promote proper hygiene and sanitation in markets, members of Rotary Club of Lagos Central recently provided borehole facility to trades at Sandgrouse Market on Lagos Island.
Its President, Elizabeth Ajilore said project addressed four of Rotary’s areas of focus which include, water, sanitation and hygiene, community empowerment, environmental and disease prevention. To her, clean and accessible water, is not just a convenience; it is a foundation for good health, dignity, and economic activity,especially in a busy market such as this.”
District Governor Rotary District 9112, Lanre Adedoyin stated members of Rotary Club of Lagos Central conducted needs assessment and found out that there was a challenge of clean water. So they supported with a borehole.
They also provided brand new generating set to power the borehole . Without water, there is no life. We try to create lasting impact. The project will improve their likelihood.”
Babaloja and Iyaloja of the market, Aderinto Kamarudeen and Modinot Ayinke commended them for the generous gesture and assured of proper maintenance of the facility.
Who are the Sai Malam and why do they carry around scorpions?
The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested two suspected key members of the notorious criminal network known as the “Sai Malam,” in a major breakthrough against organised crime in the state.
The command also confirmed the arrest of several kidnapping and banditry suspects in separate operations across Yabo and Silame local government areas.Items recovered from the two “Sai Malam” suspects include a large scorpion, two bags containing suspected counterfeit naira, dollar and CFA currencies, a POS machine, assorted white papers, perfumes, fetish materials and charms, a red scarf believed to be an identifier of the group, five animal horns, a sharp cutlass and other ritual-related objects.
The suspects were identified as Abdulrazak Salihu, also known as Monosa, of Polytechnic Quarters, and Habibu Sahabi, alias Habibi, of Rugar Woro area.
Both suspects, said to be in their twenties, were arrested at a hideout traced through actionable intelligence.
The “Sai Malam” group is described as an emerging criminal network in Sokoto and neighbouring areas, largely made up of youths involved in fetish practices linked to financial fraud, intimidation and other organised crimes.
An insight into what people still do to get around NYSC’s inconvenience and how some people make money from it:
Natasha Ndidi (not her real name), a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in Abuja, has narrated how David Odejide, a young man she met online through her friend, stopped responding to her after she paid him N120,000 to help change her place of primary assignment (PPA).
Ndidi said she met Odejide in December during her registration process, and after he gave her assurances, she decided to trust him with her money.
One of these assurances was that he would give her a 100% refund if the process was unsuccessful.
However, after facing pressure from her local government inspector (LGI) to produce a request letter from this new intended workplace and getting no positive feedback from Odejide, Ndidi was left with no option but to resume at the location the NYSC originally assigned her to.
When she asked for a refund, Odejide stopped responding to her, and his phone number became unreachable.
Recounting the experience, Ndidi said, “I paid N120,000 to David Odejide, also known as ‘Asiwaju’, to assist me in securing an NYSC PPA reposting, with a clearly agreed deadline of Monday, December 30, 2025. Before making the payment, I was expressly assured that a 100% refund would be made if the reposting was not completed within the agreed timeframe.
Non-Nigerian Media
News from Britain:
Twenty years ago, private schools were falling over themselves to open in China. Now the latest boom destination is Nigeria, where three prestigious British schools are opening outposts and more are rumoured.
The popularity of setting up schools in a country where homosexuality is illegal raises uncomfortable questions about how much they have to compromise their curriculum or ethos. British private schools have also set up campuses in the Middle East, posing similar challenges.
Ministers unveiled this week their new international education strategy which states independent schools and universities should open more offshoots abroad, as a way of spreading the soft power of British education and reaching a wider audience without adding to immigration to the UK.
Independent school heads have privately accused the government of hypocrisy for adding VAT to fees but wanting to use their brands to boost the economy.
Labour carried out their manifesto commitment a year ago, saying this would end “tax breaks” that the country could not afford. However the government’s latest strategy praises independent schools and says British education is a “strategic asset” that it wants to showcase to help drive up education exports to £40 billion a year.
The strategy document lauded Charterhouse opening a school in Lagos as a flagship partnership between a leading British private school and a foreign country, and it claims the Department for Business and Trade played a “pivotal role”.
This model for UK school partnerships abroad “exemplifies the global potential of British independent schools … while enhancing the UK’s international standing and reputation for excellence,” it said.
Musicians are feeling the impact of President Trump’ immigration crackdown:
But for foreign artists and the American producers who are looking to work with them, these changes are beginning to wreak havoc. Last week, the Under the Radar theater festival in New York announced it had canceled an event, just days before its intended presentation, that was expected to be one of its highlights this year: “12 Last Songs,” an immersive performance by the British troupe Quarantine, which the festival was presenting in cooperation with La MaMa and the Working Theater.
The group’s visas have not been approved. Tommy Kriegsmann, the festival’s co-producer, said in an interview that no explanation had been given, but the festival’s lawyer believed it was because two crew members — both British citizens and passport holders, Kriegsmann said — were born in Nigeria. That could have triggered the agency pause, since Nigeria is one of the countries with partial restrictions by the administration.
Under the Radar spent a year planning Quarantine’s performance, and its cancellation will cost the festival $150,000 to $200,000, which it cannot recover, Kriegsmann said.
“It’s an unbelievable mess,” he added, “and no one can provide an answer.”
News from Ghana:
Ghana’s security forces have arrested nine Nigerians suspected of co-ordinating a host of cyber-crime activities from makeshift offices in and around the capital, Accra.
Forty-four others, believed to be victims brought to Ghana from Nigeria under false pretences, have also been detained and handed over to the immigration authority.
During the two-day intelligence-led operation, raids uncovered 62 laptops, 52 mobile phones and two pump-action guns, the authorities have said.
There is a growing trend of foreigners being lured to Ghana under the pretext of lucrative work. They are then put in gated compounds, have their documents confiscated and are compelled to engage in cyber-crime.
They often work on romance scams, where a victim is encouraged to send money to a fictitious partner who they believe is real, or business email compromise, where someone poses as an employer and gets people to sends funds or sensitive data.
The weekend’s operation was jointly co-ordinated by a host of agencies, including the Cyber Security Authority (CSA).
‘’All the arrested individuals have been duly profiled and handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for safekeeping and further investigations,” Communications Minister Sam George said in a post on X.,
“We caution foreign nationals invited to Ghana to verify claims made by their fellow nationals to lure them here.’‘
What Osita Osemene did:
The heavy downpour outside the faded gray bungalow had just eased when Osita Osemene received a phone call from Fahad Nasir. Mr. Osemene stepped out to meet the young man, who had been repatriated back to Nigeria after spending three years in Tunisia, where he says he endured abuse and detention by security forces as a migrant without permanent legal status.
Mr. Nasir wasn’t ready to face his family or society yet. He needed a place to stay while he figured out how to restart his life.
Nigeria has dozens of government and nonprofit-run shelters that house female migrants who are repatriated after irregular migration – the practice of crossing borders outside legal channels. But the bungalow at which Mr. Nasir had just arrived is Nigeria’s first and only all-male shelter for returning migrants, launched in July 2021 by Mr. Osemene’s nonprofit, Patriotic Citizen Initiatives (PCI).
The organization works to restore the dignity of returned migrants from Nigeria and elsewhere, who often experience discrimination once they return home. Many Nigerians assume the migrants were deported for committing crimes.
“I was once a returnee like you, and I’ll share my story shortly,” Mr. Osemene says with a smile as he leads Mr. Nasir inside the facility’s lounge area, where five men – all returned migrants – welcome the young man with handshakes.
Located in Iyana Ipaja, a densely populated commercial suburb in Lagos state, the shelter accommodates 40 men at a time for three to eight months. They are housed in five dormitory-style rooms, each equipped with four sets of bunk beds and a bathroom.
“In Tunisia, I lived in the bush like an animal,” says Mr. Nasir, surveying his room. For the first time since leaving Nigeria, he has decent accommodations and is surrounded by people with stories similar to his.
Olive Nwosu’s debut feature was shot in Lagos traffic:
“A lot is going on in the Nigerian film space right now,” filmmaker Olive Nwosu tells me over Zoom on a crisp morning in Park City, Utah. “There are a lot of filmmakers who are doing really cool, interesting work.”
Nwosu is right. Filmmakers from across the West African country and its sprawling diaspora have been cropping up across the international festival circuit in recent years, dazzling audiences with a unique cinema culture that is political and inventive yet accessible. Recent examples include Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow and C. J. Obasi’s Mami Wata. Nwosu has now added to this growing canon with her debut feature, Lady, which world premieres today at the Sundance Film Festival.
Set and shot in Lagos, Nigeria, the film follows the eponymous Lady, a fiercely independent young cab driver, who dreams of escaping the unforgiving city for a peaceful existence living on the coast in Freetown, Sierra Leone. One of the very few female cab drivers on the road, she saves her earnings to fund her escape. But when a long-lost childhood friend, Pinky — now a sex worker — returns, she is pulled reluctantly into her orbit. Soon she’s driving a crew of glamorous, fun-loving women through the dangerous underbelly of Lagos nightlife.
With a synopsis like the above, readers and audiences who engage with Lady will, understandably, associate the film with the robust history of taxi-led titles like Martin Scorsese’s seminal picture, which Nwosu describes as a major influence: “I love Taxi Driver, it was always on my mind.” However, Nwosu’s core influences can be found closer to home.
“Lagos traffic is the symbol of Lagos,” Nwosu explains, discussing the origins behind the film’s story. “The madness and chaos of the road, the number of people who are on the street, the number of cars. The streets are such an emblem of the city, so it felt very key to start there and always return there to capture that insane energy that powers everyone.”
How bad is the cost of living crisis in Nigeria?
Riyah James, a teacher at a primary school in Surulere, Lagos, has to spend more on transport than ever before. “There’s hardly anything left of my salary,” the young Nigerian told DW. “Gas prices have skyrocketed. Sometimes the bus conductor demands higher prices practically overnight, and I don’t have enough money with me,” she explained.
“I can hardly afford to shop at the market, and all customers have this problem” of dwindling funds, she adds — not just the poorer ones. Around 52% of Nigerians struggle to make ends meet, according to a 2025 World Bank report.
Everyday life has become a test of endurance for most people in Nigeria. Food prices are at their highest level in over 20 years, and high inflation and skyrocketing transportation costs are exacerbating the cost of living crisis.
Nice piece on how Nigeria has recruited (and tried to) players of Nigerian origin born outside the country into the Super Eagles:
Maduka Okoye, who was a surprise omission from the Nigeria squad for this AFCON, was approached by Rohr in 2019. Okoye grew up in Germany, where former Bayern Munich defender Rohr is from. He played for Fortuna Dusseldorf, and Rohr knew some of their senior figures. Rohr contacted the club directly to gauge Okoye’s interest in representing Nigeria. Okoye, now 26 and with Udinese in Italy, became their first-choice goalkeeper for AFCON 2022 but has only made two appearances since, due to the emergence of current first-choice Stanley Nwabali.
Amaju Pinnick was elected as the NFF’s president in September 2014 and served for eight years. He visited players with dual nationality, including Eze and Tammy Abraham, to hold talks about switching allegiance to Nigeria. In September 2017, then-England Under-21 international striker Abraham denied reports he had agreed to switch.
[…]
The relationship between Abraham’s father and Pinnick is important to highlight. The NFF will often approach a player’s parents first. This is due to cultural practices in Nigeria, and they hope the player’s family will then emphasise the importance of them honouring their heritage.
Abraham spent time in Chelsea’s academy, along with Aina and Fikayo Tomori. The trio remain close friends and if things had worked out differently, could have been playing together at this AFCON. Tomori was born in Canada but is also eligible for Nigeria. However, he never got approached by the NFF. “It’s not like I wouldn’t have played there, but they never called me,” the Milan defender told the Filthy Fellas podcast in November. “So I never had a choice to make.”
Abraham has been capped 11 times by England’s senior side but has not been in the squad since June 2022. Tomori was part of that victorious Under-20 World Cup side with Lookman and went on to make five appearances under Southgate, but he has not been called up since Thomas Tuchel started as head coach a year ago.
FIFA only allows players to switch nationalities if they have never represented another country at senior level, as was the case with Lookman, or if they earned fewer than three caps before they turned 21 and none of those appearances came at a major tournament. Real Madrid’s Diaz took advantage of this rule to represent Morocco after making one appearance for Spain, in a friendly against Lithuania in June 2021.
Osaretin Oronsaye did not die by suicide, contrary to what they were initially told:
The family of a man who was stabbed in the neck with scissors were told he had died by suicide but they “didn’t accept it”, a court has heard.
Police initially believed that there were no suspicious circumstances when Osaretin Oronsaye, 62, was found dead at his flat in Dartford, Kent, on July 5 2025.
Two weeks later, handyman Dorin Ciorba, 29, of Barking, east London, was charged with murder after a post-mortem examination showed Mr Oronsaye was stabbed in the jugular and strangled with cable ties.
At Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday, his family told the court they searched for his belongings after being told Mr Oronsaye had died by suicide.
[…]
Prior to his death, Mr Oronsaye had been in a dispute with Ciorba over payment for some work done on his flat in April and May 2025.
Mr Oronsaye was suing Ciorba for just over £2,000, and the defendant received an email about the court case the day before the attack, the prosecution said.
CCTV shown in court on Tuesday showed Ciorba cycling to Mr Oronsaye’s home in the afternoon of July 5, before being seen cycling away in a different outfit half an hour later.
Diezani was is in court this week:
Former OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke appeared in a London court on Monday, ahead of her full trial on bribery charges relating to her time as Nigeria’s oil minister.
Preliminary proceedings, including technical matters and jury selection, began this week, with Alison-Madueke in attendance.
Alison-Madueke, who was in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.
The 65-year-old has been on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015. She has denied six charges against her.
She was formally charged in 2023 by the UK’s National Crime Agency with offences of accepting bribes between 2011 to 2015.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts,” the NCA said at the time.
According to the indictment, Alison-Madueke benefitted from at least £100,000 ($134,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets and the use of multiple London properties.