Happy new year! Issue 1 [S3]
Happy new year! Let's get into it
Nigeria is at an important point of its life cycle - perhaps, at the most important point of this said cycle. Everything that can happen might just happen. We are a little optimistic - there is absolutely no better time to solve Nigeria’s problems than right now. There is education and there is the technology and we are getting the best version of the technology at this time without having to reinvent the wheel.
Is the government bloated? There is tech to manage personnel. Are our policy ideas outdated? New ideas have been tested and have worked.
But, government spending is very high, and it is directed at things that are not particularly important - the executive and legislature. State and local governments are absent and particularly notorious with their policies. The future honestly looks bleak.
What’s next?
What ever happened to Vision 2020?
Nigeria is surprisingly missing as Ghana is taking up the big brother role in ECOWAS, throwing its weight behind a new regional currency - the Eco.
Except, the proposed new currency is different from the version of the Eco that has ECOWAS discussed and agreed on years ago. For several years, English-speaking members of ECOWAS have talked about launching a new currency. In July last year, ECOWAS leaders finally announced plans to adopt a single currency for the region in 2020. They chose the name for their currency: ‘Eco’.
The government of France and eight West African nations belonging to the UEMO announced a new currency and named it the Eco. This new currency is looking to phase out the CFA Franc, the currency for francophone West Africa.
This Eco will still remain pegged to the Euro for now, but the former French colonies will no longer be required to maintain 50% of their reserves in France’s treasury. Ghana, however, is urging the region to implement “a flexible exchange rate regime” as soon as possible. Under the new deal, France will also no longer hold a seat on the UEMOA-linked regional bank – the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO, the acronym in French).
Nigeria is currently “studying” the situation. If you ask us, we will say this new currency should be dead on arrival. The mechanics of a currency union, are very messy. We should have this conversation in our Telegram group. Join us here!
Iran versus The United States of America... Nigeria might be a big winner.
Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, was killed in a pre-dawn US air raid at Baghdad's international airport on Friday.
You see, Soleimani was the second biggest person in Iran - think Osinbajo, but not sent around for condolences. At least six others were killed, including Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an adviser to Soleimani. Following the attack, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the US of "harsh retaliation".
Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, calling it an "aggression" on Iraq that would "spark a devastating war". He added that the attack was also a "flagrant violation of the conditions authorising the presence of US troops" on Iraqi soil.
It’s all about the oil.
In November of 2019, Iran announced that it had discovered a new oil field containing around 53 billion barrels of crude - a discovery that would increase Iran’s proven reserves by over a third.
The death of the Iranian military leader in a U.S. airstrike sent oil markets reeling. Crude oil prices jumped 3.42% to more than $63 on Friday morning, the highest level since April 2019. But one analyst suggested that oil prices could go as high as $80 even if a full-blown war between the U.S. and Iran didn’t materialize.
Historically, conflict in the Middle East has translated into higher prices.
The winners? The people involved in the 2020 Nigerian budget.
But when in Nigeria...
Federal lawmakers have been kicking against the 37 billion Naira in the budget for the house renovation.
The gag is, THE BUDGET HAD TO BE PASSED BY THE HOUSE!
President Muhammadu Buhari approved N37 billion for the renovation of the National Assembly complex. The amount, which was captured in the 2020 budget is not part of the N128 billion allocated for the National Assembly for the year.
Your freedom of movement ends in Jigawa, if you are a man and a woman, at night.
Oluwatosin thinks sex is a crime and should be banned.
The Kirikasamma Local Government Area of Jigawa State, on Monday, enacted a bye-law banning members of the opposite sex from meeting at night. The local government said this was due to rampant cases of out of wedlock pregnancies among women.
But even for Oluwatosin, this is too much.
According to the new law, henceforth, members of the opposite sex (even lovers) found violating the law would be sentenced to six months in prison with an option of N50,000 fine. Mr Sanusi Doro, the local government information officer said: “true lovers” are only allowed to meet during the day to discuss. The new law was signed in a ceremony that was widely attended by residents.
The law became important for the community after the parents in the community allegedly complained about incidences of out of wedlock pregnancy due to the night meetings and discussions between the opposite sexes.
We're back, baby!
Thank you for 2019; for coming to our parties, reading our rants and sharing your thoughts with us. It's a new year and we go again! More rants, more news, more growth. Thank you for being in our corner.
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