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This newsletter is over Lagos traffic… we move still
Adetomiwa has been chokingly happy about nothing in particular… she’s worried. Should she be worried?
This newsletter is into you. Talk to us, we’re lonely
Adetomiwa had an oatmeal pancake on Saturday. Oluwatosin thinks it was trash. Adetomiwa thinks his face is trash.
Happy Independence day!
Our economy is *bad word*, but at least it’s our economy.
To commemorate this day, the president gave a speech where he gave us a pretty fat eye into his ideal Nigeria, and what he’s going to do to get it.
What is free speech?: The President has promised to crack down on “hate speech” and profanity on social media. If you’re considering openly critiquing the current government, you might want to pump your breaks. You might get kidnapped or arrested. This government does not play
He still hates corruption
He is aware that the economy sucks. And he is working on it. By learning from the past administration’s mistakes. Evidently, because the last four years were not enough
He is working on stabilising the exchange rate and pulling Nigeria out of debt
Speaking of hate speech,
The 3rd of October marked two months since Omowole Sowore was arrested for openly protesting against the Federal government, and despite fulfilling the bail conditions, he is still in detention.
At the time he was arrested, the government claimed he was “disturbing the peace” or “treasonous”. The DSS was granted a 45-day detention order as the penalty for his “crime”. But barely 24-hours before his release, the Attorney-General of the Federation’s office filed charges of treasonable felony, cybercrime offences and money laundering against him before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
On the 30th of September, the Nigerian Government again accused Sowore of transferring ‘illicit funds’ and of money laundering. Coincidentally, the Federal High Court granted Sowore bail less than a week later, on the 4th of October… odd.
Your money is candy and you are the baby
This week, the National Assembly concluded plans to increase Nigeria’s 2020 budget from the previously approved N9.12 trillion to N10.729 trillion. They established that borrowing is a no go (or last resort), so to accommodate the increase, they must adjust the budget and raise the money internally.
That’s a good start… any actual revenue plans?
Topping the list of established revenue streams is our lord and saviour crude oil. The senate decided that to accommodate the budget hike, they will increase the price of oil from $55 to $57 per barrel. But, global oil prices are still unstable and the price is largely determined by the market, so it's difficult to predict or determine an increase. They’re aware, though, so they’ve spoken sternly about diversifying.
They’re also zeroing in on taxes. Days before they affirmed the budget increase, the government a 50% increase in VAT, from 5% to 7.2%. This VAT is the third .
What’s with all the hikes?
It's a compensation strategy, maybe? Nigeria’s revenue has missed its targets by at least 45% a year since 2015 and tax collection is apparently one of the largest holes. Though the number of taxable adults have increased, the rate of taxes paid is low.
The kids are not hungry, you’re being paranoid
Even with conflicting evidence-- vendors dropping out, reports saying kids are (still) starving-- vice president Osibanjo insists that the National Home-Grown School Feeding Program has been successful.
Backstory?
It has been three years since the Nigerian government started the National Home-Grown School Feeding Program, created to feed school children. The aim, they affirmed, was to collectively feed the 24 million registered children in Nigeria, by partnering with state governments and local food vendors. At the time it was launched, they promised this scheme would address Nigeria’s outrageous child malnutrition rates, the school dropout rates and create employment/revenue opportunities for low-income families.
What’s the matter, then?
In June, a Journalist reporting for the daily trust did some digging and came back with results that highlighted the scheme’s failings: money was getting shaved off the budget and many vendors were dropping out.
The government shut it down in an open letter that they had the Daily Trust post share (drama). They insisted that it was irresponsible reporting, and shared evidence of their progress.
What’s the VP got to do with it?
It was reported that vendors in Taraba formed some sort of union and threatened to drop out of the program. These vendors accused the government of colluding with banks to make money off them.
The VP responded-- faster than the government does to most things-- insisting that the scheme has been doing great, and anyone who says otherwise is dumb*. He added the vendors (probably because he is the national spiritual leader and they just know these things), and “Most of those who complained were those who failed to carry out their assigned responsibilities”.
Whatever they’re doing, though, they might want to look into the impending national food crisis. Can’t feed kids if there’s no food you know.
Paraphrasing*
Here are some things we didn’t get into
People in Benue are deathly afraid to go outside. Over 48 people were kidnapped there in the last month. But don’t worry, the president is keen on security
Nigeria took an oath to keep hospital patients safe on the first-ever Patients Safety Day. What this means is that [public] hospitals should, at the least, not smell like moulds, yes? We’ll see.
Recommended reads
Don’t Say You’re Sorry, there’s a better response to someone facing a loss.
Amid the Nigeria bookstore buzz, Adichie's remarks on postcolonial theory were ignored. But they are just as important.
“We did not know at that moment if we existed in each other’s future but we were conscious of the beautiful gift the Universe had given us.”
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