Below The Headlines — 14
The only way this newsletter can be stopped from coming to your inboxes is if Nigerians stop Nigerian-ing for a week. Barring that, welcome to another week of Nigerians news in Nigeria and around the world.
This week was a busy one on 1914 Reader. Tobi started off the week making another case for the use of cash transfers to let the poor breathe in Nigeria. I started off the analysis of CBN’s financial statements focusing on the spending side of the accounts and then continued with their income in a separate post. Both posts are very long and contain a lot of numbers but if you want something shorter and to the point, we had a guest post that analysed the accounts in short story form. Finally, continuing the theme of ‘upgrading’, Tobi had a piece on how a country can advance its economic development from basic levels, with examples from Peru and Bangladesh.
We are not quite done with the CBN accounts so there will be more focused and shorter posts in the coming week.
Inside Nigeria
Reading this reminded me of the old Jewish joke — The food is tasteless and the portions are too small: “Senator Ningi admitted that people are bitter about the comment and he finds it “difficult to take” just like many Nigerians. I don’t know what N2m would do for a holiday. I find it very difficult to understand what this money is for” — Vanguard
It never ceases to amaze me that the Dangote refinery is a selling point for real estate around the area. Is it the fumes that are so desirable?: “The Dangote Refinery in Lagos presents an immense opportunity for property investments in the area” — Ripples Nigeria
You find some incredible things written in Nigerian newspapers: “The married church evangelist and mother of five was found dead in a hotel room, allegedly during a marathon sex session with her church overseer in the guest house. Probably starved of sex because her husband works in Bayelsa, she decided to take to the church Bishop for comfort when nature calls.” — Punch
May be a sign that APC’s time as Nigeria’s ruling party is coming to an end: “Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, the former speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly, has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will rule Nigeria for 60 years.” — Politics Nigeria
“The police in Edo on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of one Gabriel Ahuwa, 84, for allegedly killing his 75-year-old wife for denying him sex.” — Vanguard
Nigerian bandits are now recruiting more and more women to do their gun-running for them: “The women hide AK-47 rifles under their veils or conceal improvised explosive devices on their backs as if they were babies.” — Premium Times
Cart pushers in Lagos are undercutting the official waste collectors who don’t seem to care. And you can guess where the cart pushers dump their waste: “A resident on Aregbe Street, Monica Adigun, said for a room self-contained, the occupier pays N700 per month; one bedroom pays N1,000, while a two-bedroom apartment pays N1,500 per month. In total, we pay between N9,000 and N10,000 collectively in a month for waste, which is more expensive than what we pay cart pushers” — Guardian
“I am a photographer, and I own a boutique as well. It was last year that my uncle took me to a herbalist. I explained to him that my business wasn’t moving well, so he asked me to pay him N200,000 to make a concoction for me, which I paid within three weeks. After he was done, he called me to come pick it up, and that was last November. He directed that I should be bathing with the human head every Thursday at exactly 1 am. I used it for a month but didn’t see any difference in my business. So, I had to call the herbalist and tell him to refund my money.” — Daily Post
A rather disturbing story about a Lagos socialite who tried to kill herself by jumping into the Lagoon: “I have forgiven my ex-husband. May God provide him with another wife” — Punch
One study estimated that 30% of the people who were sold into slavery in earlier centuries in Nigeria were tricked by family and friends into it: “On July 12, 2023, the duo criminally conspired, deceived, and lured their friend, Salmanu, to a point between Funtua and Zamfara State, where they planned with one notorious bandit leader, Gotta, hibernating in Zamfara forest, who kidnapped the victim” — Daily Post
Another one of those never ending recurring stories in Nigeria about killer ogogoro: “It was also gathered that though the six persons who drank the alcohol died, the seventh person who reportedly served the drink without partaking in the drinking was alive” — Vanguard
Outside Nigeria
Update on a story we covered in BTH — 01 where a 17yr old boy in Michigan took his own life after being blackmailed online by Nigerian scammers: “Two Nigerian men accused of being part of an online sextortion ring were extradited to the United States on Sunday” — The Detroit News
Squatters took over some homes in London’s Billionaires Row. A couple of them belong to Nigerians: “The property’s’s registered owner, according to the Land Registry, is Evan Enwerem, a senior Nigerian politician, who bought it in 1978 but who died in 2007.” — Evening Standard
Nice piece on the work of Nigerian park rangers battling against the tide to save the country’s biodiversity: “Before becoming a ranger, Abiodun, 40, killed animals for a living, including endangered species like pangolin. He is now part of a team working to protect Nigeria’s Omo Forest Reserve, which is facing expanding deforestation from excessive logging, uncontrolled farming and poaching.” — US News
Osi Umenyiora’s — whose name has featured in past editions of BTH — has gotten contracts for 37 American football players through his talent identification programme since it began in 2017. Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi, who learnt about the sport on Youtube in Nigeria, is the latest one: “Ndubuisi is among six Nigerian prospects on NFL rosters for training camp, a reflection of the untapped talent in the West African nation” — Washington Post
Staying with American football, here is a feature on Israel Abanikanda who is about to play his preseason game for the Jets today: ““It’s going to be emotional to see my baby on the field in a Jets uniform,” Mariam Abanikanda told The Post.” — NY Post and a video of CJ Okoye, who got a sack in his first ever football game: “This guy, as you guys know, his story is remarkable. The International Pathway Program, this guy’s never played in a game. For him to go in his first NFL game to have a sack, our guys said if he gets a sack we were going to get a 15-yard [celebration penalty]. You saw that sideline, that’s what the NFL’s about, great stories like that. Game ball for CJ and a memorable moment for our whole team” — CBS Sports
Fascinating story on Chinese nationals who have been awarded chieftaincy titles across Nigeria. The really interesting story is that of the HUs — father and son — one of the original Chinese families who moved to Nigeria from Hong Kong in the 60s. The family have done well for themselves, including raising $8m to build Golden Gate Restaurant in Lagos in 1997: “While his father socialised with President Obasanjo, Hu Jnr became friends with Bola Tinubu, then governor of Lagos and Nigeria’s current president.” — South China Morning Post
Profile of Soldier, a fast rising artiste in London: “Born in Nigeria, SOLDIER ran away from home aged 16. “I was basically a street kid,” he says, adding that he spent the majority of his time skateboarding or visiting Lagos’ only skate shop, WAFFLESNCREAM” — Evening Standard
What do you call a Ghanaian Yahoo Boy? Sakawa Boy: “Their activities can be traced to the Yahoo boys, or fraudsters in Nigeria. Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority estimates victims have lost 49.5 million Ghanaian cedi ($4.5 million) to identity theft schemes since the beginning of the year.” — Daily Mail
Story of how a Nigerian pangolin smuggling gang were tricked into incriminating themselves by an undercover Vietnamese woman working for the Wildlife Justice Commission: “Van went undercover online, gaining the trust of Berete on WhatsApp. In one video call he can be seen walking into the yard of a compound. He points the phone’s camera at a large pile of a dozen or so sacks. One of them is opened at the top. It’s full of pangolin scales he wants to sell to Van” — BBC
Tobi Amusan is clear — Associated Press
“Toronto police identified a 28-year-old student from Nigeria as the victim who was fatally stabbed during a fight in a Scarborough plaza over the weekend.” — CTV News
More on the seemingly unstoppable drain of doctors and nurses from Nigeria and Africa in general: “The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives has reported there is now a ratio of one nurse to 1,160 patients. Its president, Michael Nnachi, said that more than 75,000 nurses had left Nigeria since 2017.” — UK Guardian
See you next week!
