Less talk, more workings
Tinubu has another plan to stabilise rising food prices, but we’re not sure that we’re impressed
Good morning, Big Brains. Totally unrelated, but I’m wondering why the whole country has been super chill about the fact that we’re getting an amended constitution. The awareness seems low, and I don’t think that’s normal. While you enjoy today’s edition, I’ll be cooking up a fitting conspiracy theory.
- Margaret
Word count: ~1000
Reading time ~ 3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Tinubu’s government has another plan to help you spend less on food
Terrorists are stopping the blackout in the North from ending
The Big Deal
Tinubu’s government has another plan to help you spend less on food
A not-so-wise man once said, “The only way from here is up” and Nigeria’s food inflation has taken those lines too seriously. With food inflation slowly rising to almost 40%, the federal government is tasking all the bright minds in the Ministry of Agriculture to develop lasting solutions.
After what must have been months of brainstorming, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and his crew have announced what could be a solution to these rising food prices –the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-pocket project
The idea behind the project is to develop 750,000 hectares of land across Nigeria for maise, wheat, rice, and cassava production. As its name suggests, the project is about putting more food on Nigerian tables without wrecking anyone’s pocket.
In the Minister’s words, the plan isn’t just to grow food, but to do it smartly by keeping farms productive all year—using both rainy and dry seasons and tapping into irrigation from significant rivers like the Niger and Benue.
Why is this a big deal?
It’s hard not to be slightly impressed with everything the Minister said, but once beaten, twice shy. The Tinubu-led administration has beaten Nigerians with some unkept promises so it’s perfectly normal if this news triggers some trust issues.
Sometime in June, FG announced a plan to distribute ₦50,000 to 100,000 households in all 36 states for three months. They also promised to purchase food items worth ₦155 billion and share them nationwide. The beneficiaries of these funds and palliatives, if they ever got disbursed, have been hard to find.
Then in July, President Bola Tinubu approved a temporary halt on duty and value-added taxes for basic food items. This tax break was slated to kick off from July 15 and run until December 21, 2024. It’s been silence and crickets ever since.
There is no evidence that this new project will be a flop, and there is no assurance that it will reduce food prices either, given the history of Tinubu’s previous attempts at reducing food prices. But hey, maybe the third time will be the charm.
Terrorists are stopping the blackout in the North from ending
Nigerian terrorists have suddenly become the new custodians of light. Since Monday, October 21, northern Nigeria has been in darkness after some vandals targeted the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line. It’s been over a week now, and people are starting to get frustrated. From the look of things, this blackout is probably going to last for longer than anybody anticipated.
The major reason why the blackout has still not been fixed, according to the Nigerian senate, is the presence of heavily armed terrorists who have taken over the power supply area.
It sounds like something straight out of a Nollywood movie, but it’s been confirmed by Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President. The guys at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) have been ready to fix the problem, but their technical skills are limited in the face of armed terrorists.
He added, “What is being done now is that the security agencies are putting their heads together to get to that spot and try to eradicate the threat that has been there for quite a while. So as we speak, the security agencies are doing to deal with the matter.”
The Deputy Senate President also mentioned that President Bola Tinubu is all in, instructing security agencies to throw everything they’ve got at this problem. “The National Security Advisor is in the loop; we’ve been discussing this personally. So rest assured, all hands are on deck to fix this situation,”.
We can’t say we understand the plot of this new development, but for the sake of Nigerians living in the North, we hope they are truly working on fixing things.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one thing that can significantly improve the quality of your life?”
Lois’ response - “I want to live with my family again. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening soon. Some of them are in Canada while others are scattered around different parts of the world. I hate what Nigeria does to its citizens for real.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Lois’ , we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Nigeria’s Constitution is Getting Amended; Here’s Why You Should Be Concerned: Like almost everything from the ‘90s, the 1999 constitution has become outdated and Nigerian lawmakers are currently working on an updated version that will be ready by December 2025.
NNPCL Sells Petrol At ₦1,025 Per Litre In Lagos: Just three weeks after hiking the petrol price, retail outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) decided to shake things up again on Tuesday, raising the pump price in Lagos from ₦998 to ₦1,025 per litre.
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