Another one bites the dust...
Over 200 victims of Niger State flood incident have been confirmed dead
Good morning, Big Brains. Being a Nigerian feels like a chore sometimes. It almost feels like the country is designed to work against its people. I’m sending all my love to the Nigerians in Niger state.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Over 200 victims of Niger State flood incident have been confirmed dead
Ghana’s cedi is now the best-performing global currency
The Big Deal
Over 200 victims of Niger State flood incident have been confirmed dead
Thursday, May 29, is always going to be remembered as a dark day for Mokwa town, Niger state, where a deadly flood has claimed over 200 lives.
Even though the incident took place in the past week, the people of Mokwa town are still counting their losses, as five hundred people are still missing. Local officials told the BBC that search operations have stopped entirely because rescuers no longer believe that missing victims can be found alive.
The flood, described as the worst in Niger state in over six decades, has left corpses buried under the earth. According to Mokwa’s district head, Muhammadu Aliyu, authorities will begin digging up the dead to prevent a disease outbreak in the coming days. Mokwa’s Deputy Vice-Chairman Musa Kimboku also added that nearby villages have been instructed to bury any corpses they find.
Survivors told the BBC that they watched the flood drown everything, including the people they care about.
While some residents believe the flood was worsened by a nearby dam bursting, officials haven’t confirmed whether that’s true, but this might be a possibility, given that the flood was intense enough to carry bodies to Rabba town, which is one hour away from Mokwa.
Why is this a big deal?
Floods like these cannot be pinned on nature alone, because we’ve seen a continued display of lack of proactiveness and competence on the part of the authorities.
We know this because Nigeria has been recording more tragedies like this lately. In September 2024, Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, experienced its worst flood in 30 years.
The flood was reportedly caused by the overflowing of the Alau Dam, which has remained in questionable condition despite the allocation of ₦762 million for its maintenance over 12 years.
Also, the federal government does this thing where it sets aside 2.3% of the funds in the Federation Account for flood management in the country. That money is called the Ecological Fund, and it is split into several parts and shared across states in the country, with the bigger chunks given to those more prone to flooding.
Borno State alone received ₦816.34 million from the Ecological Fund between January and June 2024 to prevent national disasters, but spent only 2.45% on flood control. This terrible decision left over 400,000 Nigerians displaced after the Maiduguri flood.
But Borno State was not the only one on this table. States like Adamawa, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Zamfara and Kebbi all received the funds but spent less than 50 per cent of them on environmental protection efforts in the first half of 2024.
In the same 2024, the federal government allocated another generous ₦350 billion budget to support dams and irrigation projects across the country. It’s unclear how much of that money was directed to the repair of Niger state’s dams— Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro— but Mokwa’s incident seem to indicate there might be a repeat of 2024 flood crisis.
If proper planning and accountability don’t follow these large allocations, we’ll keep having these devastating floods every year, with more lives lost, more communities destroyed, and more headlines like this one.
Beyond that, other factors like construction along waterways and poor drainage systems need to be addressed by the authorities, too.
Ghana’s cedi is now the best-performing global currency
We bet you didn’t cedis coming, but Ghana has gained another bragging right against Nigeria.
The Ghanaian cedi has shocked the world by becoming the best-performing currency in 2025, gaining nearly 50% value against the US dollar. For context, the cedi started the year hanging around ₵15 to a dollar, and now it’s settling down at ₵10.
Fortunately for Ghana, investors are observing the crazy comeback and are interested in partnering. It's not every day you see a currency lose 55% of its value, make a comeback and become a global force in just three years.
Unlike Nigeria’s audio results, Ghana’s tight money policies are actually paying off. Despite the country’s inflation dropping to 21.2% in April, the Bank of Ghana has kept interest rates at a high rate of 27% to kill two birds with one stone – keep inflation in check and make the currency attractive to foreign investors.
Another strategy that’s working for Ghana under President Mahama is cost-cutting efforts, such as dissolution of seven ministries to free up cash.
And there’s Nigeria…
Ghana has become the model student Nigerian parents make the object of their “Do they have two heads?” lectures. Ghana’s tightening reforms are very similar to ours. While the country maintains a 27% interest rate, Nigeria has kept its own at 27.5%, yet the naira continues to struggle for its life. The currency ended May with a ₦1,630/$1 rate, after maintaining its ₦1,620 for several days during the month. Even one cedi is now worth ₦153.56. Similar reforms, but the results are varying like mad. God will help us.
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