He wants to finish you with billing
Tinubu wants to charge you more for basics.
Good morning, Big Brains. Is it just me or are we too chill for a country that is slowly falling into the deep end of abject poverty? I don’t know who asked me to be a young adult in 2024 because this is definitely not the 20s of my dreams.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria’s new bill is after your pocket and entire existence
Minister of Education wants to offer only underaged geniuses admission
Trump’s village people are working harder than yours
The Big Deal
Nigeria’s new bill is after your pocket and entire existence
President Tinubu said he doesn’t want anybody calling him T-Pain anymore and that’s okay because T-Bills has always been a better nickname for him. Now which one of us is going to remind this man that he was the one who was advocating for the poor’s right to breeffff because what’s all this?
There’s a new bill that’s being considered in the National Assembly and if this one gets passed, the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by Nigerians would increase from 7.5% to 10% which would automatically affect the price of everything else too.
If you’re thinking “10% doesn’t sound that bad”, you’d hate to know that the 10% increase is the first of three VAT increases these lawmakers are discussing. The bill is proposing that the increase to 10% take effect in 2025 while another increase to 12. 5% will take effect in 2026 and last till 2029.
This VAT hike (if it happens) will be charged on every taxable item so you might have to throw your “I’ll buy it in 2026” plans into the trash now.
Why is this a big deal?
Boy, where do we even start? A VAT increase will directly affect the already high cost of living. VAT is applied to almost every product and service, so a jump from 7.5% to 10%, and then even higher in the coming years, means everyday essentials like food, electricity, transport, and healthcare will get more expensive.
For Nigerians who are already struggling with high inflation and economic pressure, this VAT hike could make their wallets even thinner. It would have been a manageable idea if it was just a one-time increase but the bill plans to keep raising the VAT, which means prices will keep climbing year after year.
So, even if 10% doesn’t sound like much now, it sets the stage for things to get tougher in the coming years. There’s still no chance of the Tinubu economy recovering anytime soon so expect to shout “ahhh” the next time you go shopping or pay for basic services. In short, it’s not just a "bill," it’s a potential burden for everyday Nigerians.
The craziest part about this whole thing is that this isn’t the first time Nigerian lawmakers have proposed controversial bills that work for Tinubu and not the other 200 million+ people living in Nigeria. The embarrassing thing is that bills like this are being considered for implementation while bills that offer protection against gender-based violence like the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act are at risk of being repealed.
T-pain 1,000 - Nigerians 0
Minister of Education wants to offer only underaged geniuses admission
Nigerian parents think you have no business dating before you turn 18, and the Minister of Education thinks shouldn’t see the four walls of a university before you turn 18. Except, of course, you’re Young Sheldon or a straight A’s student.
Sometime in September, the Ministry of Education put up a new rule that will stop secondary school students below 18 from getting admitted into university students Even though Nigerians kicked against that rule, the ministry is still hell-bent on it. But instead of stopping every underaged Nigerian from going to school, the minister of education mentioned yesterday that they are now considering bending its rule a little bit for exceptional students.
Underaged students with average academic results, on the other hand, are only allowed to take their entrance exams and wait till whenever they turn 18 to go to university.
What are they supposed to do while they wait?
That part of the plan must have gotten lost in someone’s mail because it never made it to the public. Toyo Samson, mother of a 15-year-old SSS3 student, hasn’t stopped thinking about the government’s nonchalant attitude when it comes to the post-grad plans for underaged secondary school students.
“I have a daughter who’s supposed to go to university next year. Now, they (the government) are telling us that these kids are supposed to just sit at home. Does that even make sense? They could have at least made arrangements for digital skill learning centres pending the time the kids turn 18,” Toyo said, sharing her concerns with TBD.
The government doesn’t have plans to create e-learning centres yet but they’re planning something similar. All secondary school students will soon compulsorily have to take at least two digital or entrepreneurial courses before they leave secondary school.
Trump’s village people are working harder than yours
“Oh mehn, I’m active” – That’s the song Trump’s village people are vibing to these days. A man, suspected to be a potential assassin, was arrested at a security checkpoint close to Trump’s rally in California.
The man, who has now been arrested, had loaded firearms, multiple passports with different names, and a fake license plate. If things had gotten out of control, this could have been the third attempt to assassinate Trump in 2024.
The suspect, 49-year-old Vem Miller from Las Vegas, was cruising around in a black SUV near the rally when he got pulled over just before Trump hit the stage. While the sheriff who initiated the arrest thinks there’s no real reason to believe that it was an attempt to unalive Trump, the former president’s team is insisting that it was another assassination attempt.
The “suspect” faced charges for possession of a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine but was released on a $5,000 bail later that day. Nobody knows his side of the story because he’s been ghosting the media since then.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one random thing you wish you could tell President Tinubu?”
Afolabi’s response - “I just want him to come outside, let’s fight man to man. He should bring Shettima too.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Afolabi’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
International Customers Owe Nigeria $5.7m For Electricity: Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria $5.79 million for electricity used in the second quarter of 2024. Out of the $15.60 million bill sent to both countries for electricity between April and June, they’ve only paid $9.81 million so far.
Youths Raze Police Station In Edo: Some angry youths have burned down a police station in Agenebode, the main town of Etsako East Local Government Area in Edo State. The station was set on fire because of accusations that criminals in the area had been kidnapping and killing people.
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