Guns out

Nigeria is basically at war but our government hasn't realised. Also, Nigerians need to follow the money, US troops have landed in Nigeria, and Makoko is getting a $10 million dollar facelift.

Feb 06, 2026

Good morning, Big Brains. This year, I’ve decided to start my Valentine’s Day plans early. I’m putting together a list of fun solo activities you can enjoy on February 14 without bumping into those annoying couples. If you’ve got ideas for the chronically single, send them my way.

-Franklyn

Word count: ~ 2200

Reading time ~ 14 mins

In the madhouse that is Nigeria, many things go down within the week, and it can be difficult to grasp them all. This limited edition of The Big Daily newsletter cuts through the noise and sifts through the debris to bring you the four biggest news stories that shaped the week.

Let’s get into this week’s Big-4:

Nigeria is at war, but the government seem not to know
FAAC allocations are in, and they run in trillions
US troops have come to teach us to fight
Makoko is getting a $10 million facelift

Nigeria is at war, but the government seem not to know

This week, Nigeria got a loud and brutal reminder that we are one of the most dangerous places in the world to live. The violence is so bad, we’re putting up wartime numbers. Yet the government still doesn’t seem to be taking it seriously.

On Sunday, February 1, 2026, Nigerian defence forces were busy celebrating “successful operations” in Kwara State, claiming they had eliminated 150 terrorists. Just days later, terrorists struck back in such brutal fashion that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq called it a “pure massacre.”

Between the evening of Tuesday, February 3 and the morning of Wednesday, February 4, terrorists believed to be a Boko Haram faction attacked the Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State. They set houses on fire, killed over 170 people, and abducted others.

What makes this tragedy worse is that there were warning signs. Kwara has recently become a hotbed of terrorist activity. Groups like Mahmuda, Wulo Wulo, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have been active there in recent months. These are some of the most dangerous groups in West Africa, yet the government doesn’t act like it.

The terrorists had also been showing up in the Woro community, preaching and pressuring residents to accept Sharia law. Survivors say it was when the people resisted during one of these sermons that the terrorists opened fire and began their massacre.

In the wake of the attack, Governor AbdulRasaq says that a battalion of soldiers has now been deployed to Kaiama LGA. But instead of reassurance, it feels like another example of the government acting too late.

In November 2025, after several attacks, Kwara was one of the states that shut down schools for safety. But, thinking things had calmed down, the state government announced schools would reopen on Monday, February 2. The next day, Woro was attacked.

The Kwara government, just like the federal government, seems blind to the reality of Nigeria’s security crisis. Sadly, the reminder in Woro has cost too many lives.

And Kwara isn’t the only state hit this week:

In Niger State, the Agwara Local Government Area (LGA) was attacked, with a church and police station set ablaze. At least one person died.
In Katsina, more than 20 people were killed in the Faskari LGA.
In Plateau State, at least five residents and one soldier were killed in coordinated attacks on Zurak and Sabon Gari, with three soldiers missing.
In Benue State, four residents and a police officer were killed in the Abande community.

Late 2025 saw a surge in terrorist and bandit attacks. Even when smaller incidents slipped out of the news cycle, the violence never stopped. But why are attacks increasing?

By late November 2025, Tinubu declared a “nationwide security emergency” and announced recruitment drives for both the police and military. Whether that will make any difference remains to be seen.

Regional geopolitics may also be fuelling Nigeria’s crisis. In June 2025, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) blamed the surge in terrorist activity on its reduced presence in West Africa. AFRICOM commander, General Michael Langley, said that since the US left Niger in September 2024, attacks by extremist groups have risen across the Sahel, including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mali. He added that US intelligence networks had helped keep these groups in check before.

Whether the attacks are ramping up because of poor security structures at home or regime changes abroad, Nigeria has the means to protect itself. If only our government would start acting like Nigerian lives matter, take the situation seriously, and do their jobs.

Before we continue with all the goings-on in Nigeria, we need to tell you about something very exciting: The Citizen Townhall.

The Citizen Townhall is Zikoko Citizen’s flagship event, organised in partnership with Luminate and Open Society Foundation. It’s a platform to bring together young people, changemakers, industry experts, and other stakeholders to discuss the pivotal role of young people in democracy and development.

Politics affects your life every day and in so many ways. And you should have a say in who gets to decide things that affect you. At the second edition of The Citizen Townhall, we’ll be answering the big question: Who gets to shape our lives and what can we do about it?

February 28, in Lagos, there won’t be a more important place to be. Come through and join the conversation. Register here for FREE.

Now, back to the biggest stories of the week.

FAAC allocations are in, and they run in trillions

If there’s one thing the Nigerian government cannot be trusted with, it’s money. That’s why the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is suing the Minister of Power over ₦128 billion missing from his ministry. It’s also suing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over another ₦138 billion that has vanished.

So Nigerians should treat the Federation Account Allocation Committee’s (FAAC) announcement that it shared ₦1.9 trillion among federal, state and local governments as a wake-up call. With all the taxes we’re paying, we need to be more invested than ever in tracking how our money is being spent.

According to FAAC’s Director of Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, the money came from revenue generated in November 2025. It included:

Statutory revenue of ₦1.08 trillion
Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of ₦846.5 billion
Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of ₦38.1 billion

Here’s how it was shared:

₦653.500 billion to the Federal Government
₦706.469 billion to the state governments
₦513.272 billion to the local governments

This is our money. We must make sure it’s spent on the needs of our communities. Accountability matters most at the local and state levels. ₦513.272 billion works out to about ₦662 million per local government. That’s not small change.

Residents must use every tool available to hold their leaders accountable and watch closely how these funds are used to improve life in their communities. We must realise that mismanagement is not harmless. It costs lives.

Take Borno State as an example. Between January and June 2024, FAAC gave the state over ₦800 million in ecological funds. By September, less than 3% had been spent, even though experts had warned about the Alau dam being a risk during the rainy season. On September 10, 2024, the dam collapsed, flooding 70% of Maiduguri. Hundreds died, and hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, gives citizens the legal right to access public records and information held by government institutions. Demand budget reports. Ask for spending breakdowns. Don’t wait for tragedy before you start asking questions.

The primary job of government is simple: collect tax revenue and use it for the collective good. If your officials aren’t doing that, they shouldn’t be in government. Track who’s actually doing their job. Call them out when they’re not. Reward good behaviour with your ballot when the time comes.

Nigerians must realise, and never forget, that government officials are our employees. And right now, your employees just got a ton of your cash. Make sure they’re spending it right.

US troops have come to teach us to fight

It feels like every other week, there’s a new twist in the messy relationship between Nigeria and the United States (US).

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, the US announced it had sent “a small team” with “unique capabilities” to Nigeria. General Dagvin R.M. Anderson of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said both countries agreed the team was needed because “more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat in West Africa.”

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, also confirmed the arrival of the soldiers. But neither side has given details about the size of the team or what exactly they’ll be doing.

Nigeria and the US have a long history of military cooperation, especially in fighting terrorism in our region. But things took a strange turn in October 2025 when Republican politicians in the US started claiming a Christian genocide was happening in Nigeria.

Since then, we’ve seen US President Donald Trump call Nigeria a “disgraced country” and threaten to send in troops “guns-a-blazing.” Rapper Nicki Minaj even spoke about the alleged genocide at the United Nations. The US dropped bombs on terrorist camps in Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025. And let’s not forget the Nigerian government paying a firm $750,000 a month to lobby the US government in Nigeria’s favour. It’s been a wild few months in Nigeria-US relations.

Now, with US soldiers on Nigerian soil, the drama has reached a new level. And yes, it’s a cause for concern. Having a foreign military in your country raises questions about independence, sovereignty, and neocolonialism.

Of course, the US has one of the most powerful and well-funded militaries in the world, so it’s tempting to believe its presence will make Nigeria safer. But history tells us otherwise.

We’ve previously covered how US interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya left those countries worse off. But if you prefer your cautionary tales to be much closer to home, then look no further than Mali.

In 2014, as terror spread across the Sahel, Mali welcomed 3,000 French troops to help fight terrorist groups. They fought, yes, but here we are 12 years later, and terror is still a major problem. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is now so powerful that it’s put Mali’s capital, Bamako, under siege, blocking fuel tankers from entering the city.

Years of French military presence brought very little progress but plenty of human rights abuses. One infamous incident saw the French military bomb a wedding in the village of Bounti, killing 19 civilians, according to a UN investigation. Eventually, Mali’s military government kicked the French out, with the last troops leaving in August 2022.

The lesson? Foreign militaries, no matter how powerful, are not a quick fix. Combating terrorism requires homegrown solutions. Nigeria needs a government that can rise to the challenge.

So yes, after all the back and forth, the US is finally here. But don’t expect them to save us. The reality hasn’t changed: ultimately, we must save ourselves.

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A government’s job is to look after its citizens, and sometimes that means asking people to move out of their homes. But when that happens, the least a government can do is make the landing soft. Sadly, it’s not clear whether the Lagos State government has figured that part out yet.

On Monday, February 2, 2026, members of the Lagos State Assembly met with leaders and residents of Makoko. The meeting was to address the recent demolitions, where over 3,000 structures were torn down, leaving more than 10,000 people homeless. The brutal evictions, which caused multiple deaths, including infants, have been described by civil society organisations as a humanitarian crisis.

After the meeting, House Majority Leader Noheem Adams announced that the Assembly was ordering all ministries and agencies to stop demolition operations in Makoko, Oko-Afon, and Shogunro. He added that there would be compensation for those affected.

While lawmakers were meeting with residents, the executive arm was busy telling a different story. At a press briefing, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s aides insisted the demolitions were necessary because of the community’s closeness to electrical powerlines. Then they revealed Lagos has committed $2 million to the “Water City Project”—an urban renewal plan to transform Makoko into a modern floating city. The project, first assessed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2021, is pegged at $10 million, with Lagos contributing $2 million and the UNDP covering the rest.

No one denies Makoko’s living conditions are tough, and an urban renewal project isn’t a bad idea. But development must respect people’s dignity. Using teargas and gunshots to chase people out of their homes is a violation of that dignity.

Evictions in crowded cities like Lagos are almost inevitable when big projects roll out. But they must be handled with care. A great instance is Turkey, where the relocation of citizens in earthquake-prone areas is supported with grants, loans, and relocation aids.

In Hong Kong’s floating village of Aberdeen, in the 1960s, about 150,000 people lived on boats in conditions similar to Makoko. Instead of being forced out, residents were offered cheap public housing. Over time, they moved ashore willingly. Today, Aberdeen is filled with luxury yachts and has become a tourism hotspot.

Makoko’s $10 million transformation could easily turn the area into a high-brow tourist magnet that boosts Lagos’s revenue. It’s clear why the government is excited. But revenue should never come before human lives.

Compensation for Makoko’s current residents must be seen as part of the investment in the Water City Project. If their homes are being taken for Lagos’s next shiny attraction, they deserve something in return. They deserve a proper relocation plan. They deserve compensation. They deserve dignity. They deserve not to be choked by teargas because the government wants more revenue.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his government need to do the right thing. They need to do right by the people of Makoko.

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