Below The Headlines - 51
Shehu Sani speaks up for men and Bolt launched a hunger games competition for its drivers
On 1914 Reader this week, Tobi wrote about how people often bark up the wrong tree when it comes to what multinationals can be reasonably expected to do in a developing economy. You can’t run away from the role of a functional and competent government.
Enjoy the rest of the show below and see you next week.
Inside Nigeria
Salah is coming so let’s go to our ram correspondent for price updates:
The price of ram has either tripled or doubled when compared with how it went last year.
The same thing goes to the animal feed and cost of transportation.
Given the breakdown of ram price, based on their categories, a trader, Abdullahi Adamu, said the smallest animal that attained the level of sacrifice currently sold between N120,000 and N150,000.
He said such categories of rams were sold between N70,000 and N100,000 last year.
According to him, a middle-sized ram, which sold between N150,000 and N180,000 last year now costs between N250,000 and N300,000.
There are also jumbo-sized rams, which cost from N800,000 and N1.4 million.
Same rams were said to be sold last year, at the rate of N500,000, while the biggest of all, sold at N1.1 million last year.
Do people not know the punishment for smuggling drugs into Saudi Arabia? Quite lucky they were caught in Nigeria:
According to the statement the suspects, Usman Kamorudeen (31), Olasunkanmi Owolabi (46), Fatai Yekini (38), and Ayinla Kemi (34), had prepared 200 cocaine pellets (2.20kg) to ingest before their flight.
The statement read, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have raided Emerald Hotel, Ladipo area of Oshodi, Lagos State where some intending pilgrims to the ongoing hajj in Saudi Arabia were lodged and caught in the act of ingesting wraps of cocaine ahead of their flight to the holy land on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
A sad story about why it is impossible to appease terrorists:
Amid preparation for this year’s farming season following the start of rainfall, terrorists operating in Zamfara, North West Nigeria, are raiding agrarian communities to instil terror in farmers.
In the Bakura Local Government Area of the state, they attacked Rini and Birnin Tudu, both farming communities on Monday, May 27, killing five people and abducting several others. Farmers in the areas said the terrorist attack shocked them because they had earlier paid millions as protection levies to avoid such occurrences.
Terrorists in many parts of Zamfara force local communities to pay them millions for protection. They use these funds to sustain their operations, procuring heavy munitions after fleecing the helpless villagers. Most farming areas in the state fall victim to these illicit operations, especially when they are left with no options than paying the terrorists or losing access to their farm fields.
In February this year, Rini and Birnin Tudun communities signed a peace deal with the terrorists, paying ₦10 million to Halilu Buzu, leader of the criminal gang in the area. A few months later, the communities would suffer deadly attacks from another group of terrorists trying to expand their territory.
Shehu Sani speaks up for da men:
Former Senator and Civil Rights Activist, Shehu Sani, has expressed deep concern over the increasing incidents of men’s penile organs being mutilated due to domestic disputes in Nigeria.
In response to a recent case where a housewife in Kaduna cut off her husband’s manhood, Sani, in an interview with DAILY POST in Abuja on Wednesday, called for the implementation of strict protective laws to address this violent act.
He emphasised the urgency of legal protection for men against such assaults, stating, “The woman who cut the manhood of her husband in Kaduna has committed a serious crime.
“The rising cases of violence against manhood demand a specific law to protect it against being abused.”
Quite frankly an astonishing number:
Besides, the new born are brought to a world of uncertainty in IDPs camps where access to proper health care services and feeding sometimes gets daunting leading to health challenges and even malnutrition as was the case recently at the Ortese IDPs camp in Guma LGA where cases of malnutrition were discovered among the children.
In fact, it was also discovered in that camp that over 200 new babies were given birth to in one month by displaced mothers taking refuge in that camp alone.
It reads as if Awka is in a grip of gratuitous violence:
Cult-related killings have become a new normal in most of the villages that make up Awka community, the capital of Anambra State, such that many residents of the city, particularly the elites, now abandon their palatial homes to check into hotels at night.
In the past five years, it had become a common sight to see dead bodies litter the streets, usually after an exchange of fire between rival cult groups. There had been instances where indigenes residing outside the state met their deaths on the night they stepped into Awka and when questions were asked, the answer would be that previous killing was traced to the victim and his rival cult group only waited patiently for him to step into Awka for a revenge.
Cultism had in fact, permeated many segments of the youths in Awka, with the result that it has moved beyond the tertiary institutions to the markets and even to secondary schools and among tricycle operators. Areas where the killings have become a common occurrence include Ifite, Okpuno, Dike Street, near Eke Awka Main Market, Obinagu, Nkwelle, Ezinano, UNIZIK junction, among other places.
Recently, there was pandemonium at the busy Aroma area of Awka when, in a broad daylight, gunmen suspected to be cultists, killed one youth in his 20s. The development caused business houses in the area to quickly close, with many people scampering to safety. The victim, who hailed from Amudo Village in Awka, was said to be a tricycle revenue collector who was previously a Keke operator himself. It was gathered that the assailants trailed him from the Ifite area of the state capital and shot him at close range at a filling station, which serves as a popular bus stop for buses and tricycles. Few hours later, another youth wearing the apron of the taskforce set up by the state government to enforce traffic violation, was gunned down by suspected cultists who sped off in a Siena bus after ensuring that he died on the spot.
An interesting story about a host community demanding that Shell grant them their own bespoke community development trust fund and not lump them with anyone else. Of course, as any Nigerian knows, the real story is the inability of people to cooperate leading to a race to the bottom atomisation of everything:
He said that the oil firm told the seven communities to write to the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to request that they want a separate HCDT.
“What transpired at the meeting is unacceptable and an indication that SPDC is taking our peaceful disposition for granted, and having exhaustively towed the path of dialogue, the only option left is to shut down the entire field.
“We cannot understand the position that Shell is saying that the EA Host Community Development Trust is subject to intercommunal litigation; why then did they go ahead to incorporate the EA HCDT clustering us with five alien communities?
Meanwhile in a parallel universe:
Worshipers and enthusiasts from far and near on Wednesday gathered at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun, Lagos in a night of songs and praise in memory of Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as Prophet T. B. Joshua.
Joshua died on June 5, 2021 after one of his evening services in Lagos, just a week to his 58th birthday. The programme was marked to commemorate the third year anniversary of his departure and to worship God for sustaining the ministry thus far.
Dressed in a yellow gown and white headscarf, his wife, Pastor Evelyn Joshua, led members to sing and march around the altar.Speaking during the programme, daughter of T. B. Joshua, Promise, assured that the church had not deviated from her father’s mission and vision.
The very weird relationship between Nigerians and DSTv continues. To summarise - pay TV is a fundamental human right or something close to it:
The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) has fined Multichoice Nigeria, the parent company of DSTV and GoTV N150 million for disobeying its order.
Besides, the tribunal ordered that the pay-tv provider give a one-month free subscription of its DStv and GOtv package to its Nigerian customers.
In April, The ICIR reported that Multichoice announced an increase in subscription rates for its DStv and GOtv packages for the second time in five months.
The new rates were to take effect from May 1.
However, a lawsuit was filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade, stating that the eight-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate after which the tribunal ordered the pay-tv not to increase its subscription fees without proper notice.
A bunch of guys were arrested for producing fake drinks and I can’t help but admire the choice of drinks they decided to fake. Go big or go home:
According to him, the team affected the arrest of the two suspects, aged 31 and 41, in the act, while other members of the gang escaped.
“Items recovered from the suspects included five cartons of Jack Daniels Drinks, two cartons of Black Barrel drink, one carton of Williams Lawson drink and one carton of Jameson drink.
“Police also recovered one carton of Black Label drink, one carton of Remy Martins, six cartons of empty and Glenfiddich bottles
Outside Nigeria
The very long life of a car tyre in Nigeria. Plenty of photos included:
“In Nigeria, a tyre never quite dies. It’s made from non-degradable material. However, even when the tyre is out of the car, there’s still a use for it.”
Esiebo’s work shows repurposed tyres scattered across the city, where they are used as flower pots, football goalposts, punch bags, makeshift tables, swings in a park and even seating in trendy bars. A company in Nigeria, he says, is recycling waste tyres to become floor tiles for a playground.
US lawmakers have finally woken up to the Binance issue. Surprised it took them this long:
US lawmakers have accused Nigeria of wrongfully detaining an American staff member of cryptocurrency exchange Binance in an attempt to extort money. They urged President Joe Biden and the State Department to quickly intervene in the case.
Tigran Gambaryan, 40, and a company colleague were arrested by Nigerian security authorities in February while on an official visit to the country.
Gambaryan is facing charges of tax evasion, money laundering and engaging in unlicensed financial activities, in a trial that began in May.
“Mr. Gambaryan’s health and well-being are in danger, and we fear for his life,” read a letter dated June 4 and signed by 16 members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“It is crucial to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance,” stated the letter, which also said he had been subjected to harsh treatment and called for swift action to save his life.
Crazy story of a ‘drive to win’ scheme launched by the pride hailing app, Bolt, for its drivers:
Oladipo is one of the 20 Bolt drivers in Lagos who told Rest of World they had worked up to 18hours a day for several weeks in the hope of getting health insurance cover from the Estonian ride-hailing company. Its drive-to-win scheme had left them exhausted and forced them to take risks — such as driving while sleep-deprived — to clock more rides.
Calling the scheme “outrageous,” Isa Sanusi, the Nigeria director of human rights advocacy group Amnesty International, told Rest of World it was an example of how “technology widens the existing inequality that strips people like these drivers of their human rights.”
Bolt did not expressly tell the drivers how many trips would qualify them for the health insurance, but two drivers who won the bonus said it took them 300 trips.
Tems new album is getting rave reviews:
Like many loving mothers, Témìládè Openiyi's mom prophesied that her daughter would be extraordinary. She had imagined her baby girl on a more traditional path (college, office job) as she reared her, but when Témìládè - whose name means "The crown is mine" in Yoruba - decided instead to remake the face of Nigerian pop in her image as Tems, the mother reminded her child of her destiny. "'Don't forget the name I told you and she's a special baby,'" Tems's mom said on her first EP, 2020's For Broken Ears, recalling what she told others before Tems was born. Just over three years later - after seeing her daughter have more success as a musician than most artists will know in their lifetime - Tems' mother reaffirms her purpose in a spoken bit on Born in the Wild, the debut album Tems has already managed to shift culture ahead of.
Dangote’s refinery has ended fishing as a livelihood for people who live in its vicinity:
People living near the site were happy about the developments when they were first mooted a decade ago, says Tajudeen Ismaila, 35. But the mood has changed. “We prayed for development, and we didn’t expect it to come in this form,” he says.
Thousands of people from the Ilekuru, Idasho, Okesegun, Okeiyanta and Magbonsegun communities have been evicted from ancestral lands by state authorities to make way for the development.
Local people say they were promised new schools, electricity, boreholes, jobs and compensation agreed in an MOU signed between the Lagos state government, the Ibeju Lekki local government, the trade zone managers and 12 community groups in 2007, which they understood covered all development in the area. But those the Guardian spoke to say they have received school textbooks, school tuition fees, and less than 81,000 naira (£43) in compensation.
News from Australia:
A Salvation Army support worker who had sex with a teenager at his homeless shelter will spend at least six months behind bars.
Friday Fredrick Jeremiah, 35, was sentenced in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to having sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old minor who was in his care.
The therapeutic youth support worker, who emigrated from Nigeria in 2008, used the girl's 'vulnerability' to get close to her and have sexual intercourse with her.
The court heard how Jeremiah had asked the girl 'what she was into' sexually, which caused her to feel 'uncomfortable'.
The offending occurred when he took the victim away from the shelter to a nearby park, where he grabbed her head and kissed her.
He then led her to a tree and pulled down her pants before engaging in sexual activity, news.com.au reported.
A feature on Oluremi Onabanjo, a photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York:
As a curator in the photography department of the Museum of Modern Art, and a Ph.D. candidate in art history at Columbia, Oluremi C. Onabanjo squeezes as many exhibitions and talks as she can into an already packed schedule.
“I tend to absorb heaps of images, texts and sounds in one day,” she said. A New Yorker for the past 12 years, she previously lived in Kano, Nigeria; Lagos; Johannesburg; Fair Lawn, N.J.; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “Living in New York has given me a political education,” she said, “taught me how to look alongside and think with artists, and made me sensitive to how the forces of history structure the contemporary conditions of social life.”
Nigeria’s foreign minister was in Korea trying to drum up EV investment in Nigeria:
According to Tuggar, Nigeria doesn't require heating during winter months, providing an ideal environment for EV production, unlike more developed countries that struggle to meet their electricity needs.
“What we can provide is safety for investment and security, which is what the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is focused on,” he said.
“We have embarked on macroeconomic reforms that guarantee investors can exit with their funds and profits.”
I always enjoy how state media in China reports their achievements in Africa to the Chinese people:
Feeling the gentle hum of the train beneath him, James Anowai, a content creator and YouTuber, was buzzing with excitement as he settled into his seat on the revitalized Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, recently.
For Anowai, whose enthusiasm was palpable, this ride was not only his first-ever train experience or journey from one station to another but also an opportunity to share something new and exciting with his followers about the Abuja light rail built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, a Chinese multinational construction giant.
"Everybody is relaxed. It is very smooth, clean, and, actually, a nice experience. It is something I want to do again, over and over again," he told Xinhua in an interview, capturing the moment on his camera phone clipped to a tripod.
News from Thailand:
SURAT THANI: Police have arrested a Nigerian man on the tourist island of Koh Phangan for overstaying his visa by nine months.
Police were acting on complaints from local residents that a foreigner claiming to be an influential person from Nigeria was asking for free food and accommodation, said Pol Lt Col Winit Bunchit of the Tourist Police.
When police located the suspect he tried to run away, but they pursued and arrested him.
Officers found that Benjamin Chiemelie Ene, 35, had overstayed his visa by 276 days. He was taken to the Koh Phangan police station for further legal action.