In our colonization era?
The street believes that France has plans to colonize Nigeria, but the NSA has receipts
Good morning, Big Brains. There’s one more sleep until 2025, and I really don’t know how to act. What do you mean 2020 was five years ago? It’s even more exciting that this is going to be the last newsletter of 2024. We’ll see you in 2025! For now, enjoy this short and sweet edition of The Big Daily.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 800
Reading time ~ 3 mins
Let’s get into the news you missed during the weekend:
Nigeria isn’t getting colonized by France
Trump has a warm spot for TikTok
Zamfara workers are getting 13th month salary
Taliban leaders no longer want women to be seen
The Big Deal
Nigeria isn’t getting colonized by France
The conspiracy theories about President Tinubu selling Nigeria to France started after the president paid the European country a visit (that screamed luxury). The latest addition to the long list of France-Nigeria theories is that 2025 might be our year of recolonization because France has allegedly established a military base in Nigeria.
If you’re one of the people who believed that rumour, you might want to sigh because that’s all it is – a baseless rumour. Don’t quote us though; quote Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA), who dismissed the allegations as rumours spread by Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger’s junta leader, accusing Nigeria of involvement in efforts to destabilize his country.
Ribadu added that Nigeria has denied foreign military base requests from the United Kingdom in the past, so there’s literally no way the country would give France that opportunity. According to Ribadu, Nigeria’s relationship with France remains transactional and the love language that maintains the fire in that relationship is ka-ching. Long story short, nobody’s trying to colonize us.
Trump has a warm spot for TikTok
By now, you should know that there’s a chance that you’ll stop seeing videos from your favourite American TikTok creators because of a proposed ban. But there’s also a chance that the app could get a second chance because Trump has a “warm spot” for it (which is something we can’t say about other 78-year-olds).
On Friday, the president-elect filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to put a pause on a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration—unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it off.
For TikTok’s owners and fans, this feels like a holiday miracle, especially since Trump spent his first term (2017-21) coming for the app with national security arguments and failed ban attempts. We’re not sure if this change of mind is happening because he and his son have had positive viral videos on TikTok multiple times within the last few days, but the creators and business owners in the US are having a good day today.
Zamfara workers are getting 13th month salary
At the risk of sounding impressed with the barest minimum, the Zamfara State Government has decided to sprinkle some holiday cheer by approving an end-of-year bonus for public servants and pensioners.
According to a circular from the Head of Service, Ahmad Aliyu Liman, Governor Dauda Lawal has given the go-ahead for a 13th-month salary bonus—equivalent to 30% of typical pay—for 2024.
And it’s not just for those facing capitalism’s shege everyday; even pensioners are getting some extra zeros. This should be the norm but it isn’t so we’ll take it.
Taliban leaders no longer want women to be seen
If you think you’ve seen the worst of 2024, you’d hate to know that the Taliban’s supreme leader has ordered a ban on windows in homes that overlook areas where Afghan women work or gather, saying any existing ones should be covered.
A statement shared on Saturday, December 28, by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid instructed that new buildings must not have windows that let people see into places like courtyards, kitchens, or wells often used by women.
The statement claims that seeing women in these spaces could lead to “bad behaviour.” To enforce this, authorities will inspect construction sites, and homeowners with such windows will be asked to block them or build walls to stop the view.
The Special Big Picks
Top Seven Policies That Stressed Nigerians In 2024: One thing about Nigerians: we will “God abeg” our way out of the craziest situations. But thanks to Nigerian policymakers, even the loudest of God abeg’s proved impotent in 2024. From “God abeg” to “Affliction shall not arise again”, here are 2024’s most interesting policies.
Ranking Japa Routes For Nigerians According to Zikoko Subjects: From free schools to high-paying international jobs, there’s something for everyone in this end-of-the-year version of 1,000 Ways to Japa.
Worst Nigerian Politicians of 2024: As the year slowly comes to an end, we thought to remind you (and the politicians) of their bad characters within the year by giving them awards that represent all they did in 2024.
Best Abroad Life Stories of 2024: Some of these stories left Beyonce’s internet in utter shock, while others brought everybody and their mom to tears. It’s been an interesting year for Abroad Life, and these stories prove it.