Issue 13 [S2] Oluwa, what is going on? We are sha going on a break
Oluwatosin stepped into 20 with food poisoning. Don't let the beards fool you. Oluwatosin is just turning 20. Everyone on this team knows he is not 20.
This newsletter was listening to Soapy by Naira Marley. We still believe that the Soapy dance is irresponsible and should not be encouraged. It came in a YouTube shuffle and honestly, the producer is a genius.
We are going on break. Again. Because we have had thirteen issues this second season already.
This newsletter will take some time sha, or not. I don’t have the answers to these questions.
We are going on a break. It has been thirteen weeks and we want to be back to serve you better.
“Buy me stuff from London when you're coming back” - Your nice underwear might be second-hand by the time you're wearing it the first time.
This is the season of clownery, but if Satan is working hard, the Nigerian government is definitely working harder.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we are aware that many Nigerians complain about the allowable amount of N50,000.00, but until the law is changed, Nigeria Customs Service will continue to enforce the extant law that says personal effects shall not exceed the value of N50,000.00. Anything more than the approved value is considered Merchandise in Baggage, and therefore liable for duty payment.” - Joseph Attah - Customs, Public Relations Officer.
What this means is, when you enter the country, any new items entering the country valued at N50,000 will be subject to duty payment. An unidentified passenger at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, was stopped and her one pair of trainers and one mini boy bag were placed on duty payment with a bill of N175,000.
To avoid these duty payment charges, “new items” imported into the country will now need mileage on them.
How?
New underwear for your friends and family? Just wear it so when customs searches your box, they can't ask for money for used panties.
TL;DR: Don’t spend your money outside the country because Nigeria will get its own cut[?]
USSD banking charges -MTN versus First Bank versus NCC [independent?].
Meanwhile, Airtel might have has been charging you guys since.
MTN Nigeria had on Monday announced a N4 charge for every 20 seconds of using USSD bank codes. The telecoms company claimed it took the decision as was requested by the banks. But, the banks sent over text messages to customers explaining that no such decision had been made.
MTN, wozz di problem?
MTN is allegedly the only Telco that is yet to implement end-user billing which is the standard practice for customer-initiated transactions. The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), noted that the N4.00 charges are as determined by the NCC, the industry regulator.
But according to MTN, other network providers implemented these charges a long time ago without notifying their subscribers; the banks still deduct an average of N50 for USSD transactions despite the fact that the infrastructure for such transactions is provided and maintained by the network operators.
That said, some Airtel customers claimed that they had been charged for USSD bank transactions previously.
PRO TIP: Set a PIN code for your sim cards so that you will not be defrauded when you lose your phones in this country.
PSS: Let’s talk about financial inclusion and USSD banking in our telegram group. Let us know what you think about financial and social inclusion.
A case for dictatorship?
If you haven’t noticed, Nigeria has been getting worse since we got democracy. While arguments can be made for the PDP era noting the erasure of foreign debt and the rise in vanity development numbers compared to the extremely anti-democratic era of the APC Federal government, Nigeria today is hardly better than it was five years ago.
But, for every Kagame whose track record is questionable, there is a Paul Biya, or Muhammadu Buhari - the producer of Nigeria’s two recessions with the option of a third.
The solution for bad government and a poor democracy is more democracy, a stronger opposition party and governance looking to build strong institutions and good workflow.
There will be a lot of drawbacks to Nigeria reverting to a dictatorship - no matter how benevolent the leader will become. The last few months & years in Nigeria have shown us press gagging, weird currency controls and closed borders to fix the lack of enforceable ECOWAS and Customs policy.
What Nigeria needs to do is look for a government system that will work, cut down on spending on salaries and allowances for the government, revamp and cut down on an ineffective civil service.
But, these are my thoughts anyway. They are hardly political advice.
Read more about the drawbacks of autocracies from the Guardian.
We are taking a break
Five weeks, and we are back. We are working on projects we are sure you will enjoy. Season two has been fantastic and we have learned so much. We want to go back to our drawing board and make sure to innovate while not losing the central message and focus of this newsletter [which is, plis, send us money].
Recommended Stuff
Go out, make friends, fall in love.
If you're in Lagos, it is art szn. The Ake Festival just ended, but there is so much happening.
The Lagos Photo Festival just started and the official Dj is a riot. Our friend Nengi is exhibiting.
Netflix has a documentary series: Explained. It's amazing.
Send Oluwatosin or Adetomiwa a DM to plug you to some of the fantastic stuff happening this Christmas.
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