More like threatened hope
#EndBadGovernance isn’t Tinubu’s cup of tea because it’s not aligned with his Renewed Hope Agenda
I always do a little dancey-dance every time I make it to Friday. I hope you do this too because chillleee, what a week! Anyway, here’s a light read to cheer you into the weekend.
- Margaret
Word count: ~1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria warns foreign entities against interference in protests
Miss South Africa contestant Chidinma Adetshina withdraws from competition after citizenship fraud allegations
Senate investigates $1.5 billion spent on Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation in 2021
The Big Deal
Nigeria warns foreign entities against interference in protests
First, it was #10DaysOfRage, then it became #EndBadGovernance. Now, it's whatever the big men in Aso Rock say it is. The protest, which is slowly ending, is taking a different turn after the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, decided that it is now a crime for protesters to get international support. And now, there’s “punishment” for any global or local supporter of the protest.
The Minister said the protests have become unnecessary because “Nigeria is in a new era of Renewed Hope as the government is working hard, and the results will soon be visible and concrete for everyone to see, feel, and enjoy.”
He also said that if international bodies or individuals want to support anything in Nigeria, they should collaborate with President Tinubu to make Nigeria a better country which is pretty much what protesters are asking for.
He sprinkled a little “the government cares about freedom of speech” in there and followed closely with a “but the protests have led to the loss of innocent lives” which is funny because the Nigerian army and police have been responsible for the loss of lives so far.
Why is this a big deal?
On Sunday, President Tinubu told Nigerians (or Nigerians told Nigerians by leaking the speech) that he’s open to having a conversation with the organizers. But so far, all they’ve done is place the sponsors of the protest on a watchlist, block their accounts and murder 16-year-old Ismail Muhammad during a protest-led curfew.
The Nigerian government has shown minimal to zero remorse about the death of the teenager and the best they could do to appeal to his grieving family was to compensate them with ₦300,000. And everything else the Tinubu-led administration has done since the protests started has raised a fear that the Nigeria we desire might be more far off than we think.
Miss South Africa contestant Chidinma Adetshina withdraws from competition after citizenship fraud allegations
If you think you’re having a bad day, wait till we tell you how Miss South Africa contestant, Chidinma Vanessa Adetshina’s journey to becoming the next winner ended because of a 2001 event.
Chidinma has been through it - angry South Africans created a petition to get her kicked out of the competition and now, she’s facing a potential identity theft court case.
The Department of Home Affairs started an investigation to figure out if there was any legal ground to withdraw Chidinma from the contest and they found dirt.
Early findings from the investigation show that the woman who identifies as Chidinma’s mother in Home Affairs records was involved in identity theft which raises uncomfortable questions about Chidinma’s citizenship.
But the 23-year-old contestant herself wasn’t involved in this fraud as she was only a baby when this happened.
Unfortunately, the South African woman whose identity may have been stolen to register Chidinma has faced serious issues, including being unable to register her own child.
Chidinma, who earned the “finalist” title in the Miss South Africa contest, has now officially withdrawn from the contest for the safety of her family’s safety and well-being. But Miss Chidinma’s exit hasn’t done much to dampen the competitive spirit of South Africans. It’s the same competitive spirit that has earned them 4 medals (1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze) at the ongoing Olympics (proof that karma’s authenticity should lowkey be doubted? Maybe).
Senate investigates $1.5 billion spent on Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation in 2021
In 2021, the federal government approved the disbursement of $ 1.5 billion for the maintenance of Port Harcourt Refinery in 2021. If you didn’t know that there is a refinery in PH, it's because the money didn’t yield any solid results. Actually, the results are so bad that some members of the Senate are now calling for an investigation of the refinery’s spending history and the alleged economic sabotage in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
But Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has denied the NNPCL has anything to do with hindering the growth of PH refinery and other domestic refineries.
He also said this allegation and other claims about him are basically just a result of haters in the media hating. “All of us here see what is happening in the media. Targeted personal attack on my person, on the institution. And we all know how this works.”
But you know what they say, the truth will always reveal itself.
The Big Picks
Kenya Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters: Kenyan police fired tear gas in central Nairobi on Thursday as small groups of protesters gathered for a new day of demonstrations against President William Ruto.
Tinubu Must Be Held Accountable For Violent Protest In North — Shehu Sani: Politician and former lawmaker Shehu Sani has blamed President Bola Tinubu for the violent outcome of the #EndBadGovernance protest against hunger and hardship in Northern Nigeria.
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