Eat your apples
Nigerian doctors are going on strike till the government starts giving two shits
Good morning, Big Brains. How’s Nigeria treating you this morning? Never been one to suffer in silence and I’m glad Nigerian doctors are just like me. It will make sense when you’re done reading the newsletter but for now, eat your apples!
- Margaret
Word count: ~1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigerian doctors go on nationwide strike
FG defends cancellation of over 22,700 certificates from Togo and Benin Republic
Russia says France is refusing to cooperate over the arrest of Telegram CEO
The Big Deal
Nigerian doctors go on nationwide strike
You might want to start eating more than one apple a day because you really can’t afford to fall sick this week. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is currently on a warning strike and it’s going to last the whole week.
This strike isn’t directly related to the 1,001 things that are wrong with the Nigerian healthcare sector, it is supposed to prompt the Nigerian government to bring back Dr Ganiyat Popoola who was kidnapped 8 months ago.
Dr. Ganiyat Popoola,a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre in Kaduna, was abducted along with her husband and nephew eight months ago. While her husband was freed in March, Dr. Popoola and her nephew are still being held by these kidnappers.
The resident doctors staged a protest just weeks ago demanding the immediate release of Dr. Popoola but that didn’t exactly move the federal government.
Why is this a big deal?
This strike leaves no room for any sort of medical attendance, not even emergency care. Yesterday, we reported that the Nigerian Police Force pulled a press conference to announce to the entire country that they rescued the 20 medical students who were kidnapped earlier in the month without paying ransom. Nigerians want to know if the same level of “professionalism and commitment” cannot be used to rescue Dr Popoola.
Doctors have been asking the government to invest more in the physical and mental safety of health workers but FG seems to be more interested in bringing back Nigerian doctors in the diaspora. This strike is probably going to be the first of many other strikes because the goal is to get the government’s attention and hold them accountable until Dr Ganiyat is rescued.
FG defends cancellation of over 22,700 certificates from Togo and Benin Republic
If you got your university degree from any university in Benin Republic, you probably didn’t get any degree at all.
Last year, an undercover journalist, Umar Audu, got a degree from a university in Benin Republic in just six weeks and was able to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). This is probably what inspired the Minister of Education to do more digging until he arrived at the conclusion that over 22,700 Nigerians got fake certificates from two countries including Benin Republic.
The minister said the Federal Government only recognizes three schools in Togo and five in Benin Republic, calling the others illegal. Mamman also said that many Nigerians with degrees from these illegal schools never actually went abroad but got their certificates through scams involving officials both in Nigeria and overseas.
FG is currently playing FBI by looking for top government workers with these fake certificates. They’ve also asked the private sector to do the same. We hope our girl Ayra Starr, who got her degree from a university in Benin republic, is safe.
Russia says France is refusing to cooperate over the arrest of Telegram CEO
Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, is starting to look like one of the prominent people that will do jail this year.
The Russian embassy in Paris has accused French officials of not cooperating with them concerning Durov’s arrest. “What’s their own?” Durov is a citizen of Russia and other countries so it’s kinda their business.
The embassy said they quickly asked French officials for an explanation, demanded that Durov’s rights be protected, and requested consular access, but so far, the French authorities have not cooperated.
Telegram has publicly informed the French officials that they have nothing to hide. If that’s true, Durov should be out soon. But if he’s found guilty, we’re looking at up to 20 years in jail.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one invention you wish existed today that could make your life easier or more fun?”
Naomi’s response - “I need a time capsule that lets me hit pause on life whenever things get too busy. Imagine being able to freeze everything, take a quick break, and hit play when I’m ready again.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Naomi’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Nigeria’s GDP Rose By 3.19% In Q2’24 — NBS: Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.19% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
NNPCL Announces LNG Shipment To Japan, China: The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has started shipping Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargoes to Japan and China on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis.
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