Mattocks over MacBooks

The Nigerian government said every hungry Nigerian should embrace farming

Jun 24, 2024

Rise and shine, Big Brains. Add “trade my laptop for hoe and cutlass” to your to-do list because our future as Nigerians is literally in our hands now. Find out what I mean in the newsletter.

- Margaret

Word count: ~1,000
Reading time ~3 mins

This Week’s Big Question - “What’s one job you can never dream of doing?” Share your responses with us and if we think it’s fun enough, we’ll feature it in the newsletter :) so be on the lookout.

Let’s get into today’s edition:

Presidency advises Nigerians to take interest in farming
Lagos state records more suspected and confirmed cholera cases
US lawmakers insist on the prompt release of Binance's Gambaryan

The Big Deal

Presidency advises Nigerians to take interest in farming

Big Brains, it’s probably time to shut your Mac for good and pick up a mattock (btw this line was originally used by a Big Daily reader, say “hi” when you see this). The federal government has advised Nigerians to start farming and it’s not the Elon Musk type.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga who has been working outside his job description lately, is the man behind this interesting advice that is supposed to help Nigerians cope with the rising cost of food in the country.

He also sprinkled a little “this didn’t start with President Tinubu” in there, saying that “in 1984, when former President Muhammadu Buhari came in, there were shortages of rice, milk, and sugar, and the government had to open warehouses to make these items available to people.”

Onanuga added that Tinubu’s government is trying to not have a repeat of this crisis so they are investing in agriculture but this investment wouldn’t take effect until Nigerians start taking individual interest in farming.

The “it will get better” promise now has a timeline…

Thanks to Onanuga, we now have a timeline to determine whether President Tinubu has met his KPIs or not. According to him, life will get better for Nigerians in the next twelve months. He also lowkey added that Nigerians need to suck it up because the same thing is going on in the rest of the world.

Why is this a big deal?

There’s an ongoing food crisis in Nigeria and the government hasn’t done much to address it. It is worrisome that Nigerians are being urged to assume a position of self-reliance which is something citizens of the country have been forced to do for years. If a 12-month timeline and a call to become farmers is all the government is willing to offer Nigerians, it might be right to worry about the country’s future.

Lagos state records more suspected and confirmed cholera cases

The cholera outbreak in Lagos has gotten worse, with 35 deaths and 417 suspected cases reported. The most affected areas are Lagos Island, Kosofe, and Eti Osa.

But according to the Health Commissioner Akin Abayomi, things are under control. He said the state’s Emergency Operations Centre and different groups are currently tracing people who may have come in contact with the disease, keeping an eye on communities, teaching people about the disease, and making sure that those who have cholera get the right medical help.

Abayomi also mentioned that the work they are doing wouldn’t amount to much if Lagos residents don’t stick to hygiene rules and watch what they drink and eat till the outbreak is fully controlled.

Ogun state also confirmed that a 62-year-old resident of the state passed away after contracting the disease. They added that five other people across two LGAs in Ogun state are receiving cholera treatment in the hospital.

And it’s not just Nigeria…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has seen an increase in cholera cases around the world this year. Nearly 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths have been recorded in 24 countries. The most cases were in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Africa followed closely behind and regions like the Americas, Southeast Asia, and Europe were also mentioned as cholera hotspots.

So far, WHO has been able to supply more than five million doses of vaccine to these affected regions. Even though there are still many unaffected regions across the world, WHO is still working with other experts to prepare for a global outbreak.

US lawmakers insist on the prompt release of Binance's Gambaryan

Remember Tigran Gambaryan, the wanted crypto bro? Last week, we reported that the tax evasion charges against the Binance executive have been dropped. But Tigran still has a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) so he’s still in detention.

United States lawmakers, French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan, are not very pleased with this and are now asking the Nigerian government to let the man go.

The lawmakers, who visited Gambaryan at Kuje prison last Wednesday, said he is suffering from malaria and “double pneumonia”. From their observation, he has also lost noticeable weight and is being denied quality medical attention.

Hill said that the money laundry charges EFCC has slammed against Tigran are most likely untrue because “Tigran has devoted his professional life to fighting money laundering and tax evasion, having spent ten years as an IRS Special Agent where he successfully led cyber and financial crime investigations.”

He also added that “Tigran must be immediately granted a humanitarian release, the remaining charges dropped, and he must return home to America where he belongs.”

The Big Picks

Ruto Ready For ‘Conversation’ With Youth Protesters, Says Kenya’s Presidency: Kenya's President William Ruto expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with thousands of young protesters who staged nationwide demonstrations this week against proposed tax hikes, according to a presidency official on Sunday.

Top comedian sworn in as Malawi's vice-president: Renowned comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi was inaugurated as Malawi’s vice-president during a ceremony at the parliament in the capital city of Lilongwe.

If you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter, don’t forget to subscribe and share. You can also leave feedback for us in the comments or by filling out this form.