New year, same us
We’ve started 2026 with more violence, Sanwo-Olu is making people homeless, Fubara and Wike are fighting again and Tinubunomics is making us all broke.
Good morning, Big Brains. I know we’ve basically just got here, but I think I’m already over 2026. I really hope you’ve had a much better first week of the year than I have. Now, let’s get into what the first week of 2026 was like for Nigeria.
This Week’s Big Question: “If you were a Nigerian politician, would you try to get your kids into politics too?”
Share your responses with us, and if we think they’re fun enough, we’ll feature them in the newsletter :) So be on the lookout.
-Franklyn
Word count: ~ 1900
Reading time ~ 10 mins
In the madhouse that is Nigeria, many things go down within the week, and it can be difficult to grasp them all. This limited edition of The Big Daily newsletter cuts through the noise and sifts through the debris to bring you the four biggest news stories that shaped the week.
Let’s get into this week’s Big-4:
We’ve started 2026 with the same bad energy from 2025
Sanwo-Olu is creating a humanitarian crisis in Makoko
The Rivers State Assembly wants to kick Fubara out of office
Nigerians are about to become even poorer in 2026
We’ve started 2026 with the same bad energy from 2025
Typically, when people make New Year's resolutions, they don’t give up on the “new year, new me” mantra until at least mid-January. But Nigeria can totally not relate, because we have begun 2026 exactly the same way we ended 2025.
2025 was a violent year for Nigeria. We have already talked about how attacks, especially mass kidnappings, have been increasing since Tinubu became president. Kidnappers made over a billion Naira in ransoms during the first two years of his presidency, and they seem determined to keep the trend going.
The last quarter of 2025 was particularly bad. We covered a devastating week in November when it felt like the whole country was bleeding. Even though that week inspired Tinubu to declare a “nationwide security emergency,” the attacks did not stop before the end of the year. And they’ve just continued into this year.
On January 3, 2026, a village market in the Kasuwan Daji community of Borgu Local Government Area (LGA) in Niger State was attacked. The attackers killed over 40 people and set fire to market stalls and nearby homes. They also kidnapped scores of people, including children. The number of people taken is still being speculated on, but the most heartbreaking part is that some of the children taken were victims of a previous kidnapping.
During that terrible week in November, Saint Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, were attacked. Almost 300 students and teachers were kidnapped. The government only successfully “negotiated” the release of the last batch of students on December 19, 2025.
Now, less than a month after returning home, some of those same children have been snatched again by these terrorists. When we reported on their release in December, we called out the silliness of the federal government negotiating with terrorists because it emboldens them. We knew it was only a matter of time before these communities faced a repeat of the tragedy and we are devastated to have been correct.
The government’s soft-handed approach has allowed terrorists to return, reattack, and retraumatise these children and their communities.
As heartbreaking as this sounds, it’s not the only tragedy that has taken place this week. There have been attacks across several states, including Plateau, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Borno, and Oyo.
On January 5, 2026, terrorists attacked three villages in the Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State in a coordinated night raid.
On January 6, 2026, bandits attacked the National Park office in the Oloola area of Iwajowa Local Government Area in Oyo State. Five park rangers were killed in the attack.
At least four travellers were kidnapped on the Isanlu–Isin–Omu Aran road in Kwara State. Also, seven members of the family of Oba David Oyerinola, the traditional ruler of the Adanla community in Kwara, were kidnapped. The kidnappers have demanded ₦300 million as ransom for their release.
Nine soldiers were killed when their vehicle went over a landmine planted by terrorists near Bindundul village in Borno State. Five others were seriously injured.
2026 cannot be more of the same. Nigerians cannot afford to keep paying billions in ransom. We cannot keep living in fear, unable to go to schools, markets, churches, or mosques, or even just sleep in our homes.
Tinubu needs to step up this year. If he wants a resolution idea, we suggest he add this to his list: “Actually doing my job this year.”
Sanwo-Olu is creating a humanitarian crisis in Makoko
On September 10, 2025, the Lagos State government announced it would be demolishing homes and structures built under power lines in the Makoko area.
Makoko is a waterfront community where most people live in shanties built on the water. The residents are very low-income earners, making it one of the most vulnerable communities in the state.
Initially, the government said it wanted to remove everything within 100 metres of the power lines. However, after talks with community leaders, they reportedly agreed to reduce that distance to 30 metres. This gave many families hope that their homes would be spared.
But when the government showed up on January 5, 2026, it was pure chaos. The demolishers arrived early in the morning, backed by police officers who fired tear gas at residents and allegedly set fire to homes. The tear gas caused several residents, including infants and a community leader, to need medical attention.
To make matters worse, the government has gone back on the 30-metre agreement. They are now insisting on the full 100-metre distance. Because of this, many families who were told they were safe are now being rendered homeless with zero warning.
Two civil society organisations, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the Centre for Children’s Health Education Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), have warned that this is a full-blown humanitarian crisis. They pointed out that the government is displacing families, destroying livelihoods, and exposing children, women, and the elderly to violence and hunger.
The government says the power lines are a safety risk and that they are kicking people out for their own good. But there is a right and a wrong way to do this. Safety is important, but you cannot “save” people by making them homeless and tear-gassing their children.
Most Makoko residents cannot afford to just get up and move. How are they supposed to pay for new housing in a city that already has a massive housing shortage? The government is supposed to provide compensation and temporary shelter when they evict people. Instead, they are just increasing the number of people sleeping in the streets.
In March 2025, the United Nations called out the Nigerian government for this type of behaviour. It was during similar demolitions in Ilaje-Otumara and Baba Ijora by the Lagos state government. The UN called for an immediate stop to the demolitions of homes and forced evictions in waterfront settlements in Lagos.
They said, “Demolitions must never lead to homelessness,” and those evicted must have access to “alternative housing, resettlement and compensation for lost property.” They made it clear that the development of Lagos must not harm communities living in poverty who are already suffering from poor government housing policies.
The Rivers State Assembly wants to kick Fubara out of office
Since 2023, Rivers State politics has been defined by constant drama between the former governor, Nyesom Wike, and the current governor, Siminalayi Fubara. It appears 2026 will be no different, as the two have continued their feud with the same energy.
On January 8, 2026, the Rivers State Assembly officially began impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu. The notice of impeachment was signed by 26 of the 32 lawmakers and lists seven allegations, including the demolition of the Assembly complex, extra-budgetary spending, and the refusal to comply with a Supreme Court ruling on the legislature’s financial autonomy.
To add insult to injury, the Assembly also barred Fubara from presenting the state’s 2026 budget until their investigation is over.
Fubara has survived two impeachment attempts already. In October 2023, just a month after being sworn in, Fubara was already at odds with Wike. That month, the Assembly—which remains mostly loyal to Wike—began its first attempt to remove him. Tinubu stepped in, and a “peace deal“ between the two was signed on December 18, 2023.
But the peace did not last. In March 2025, the Assembly started a second impeachment process. Tinubu stepped in again, but this time he went nuclear: he declared a state of emergency on March 18, 2025, and suspended everyone—the governor, the deputy, and the entire Assembly—for six months.
Fubara only returned to the office on September 18, 2025. Three months later, on December 9, 2025, he officially defected from the PDP to the APC. 17 Assembly lawmakers made the same move.
Despite the move to the APC, the lawmakers still seem to take orders from Wike, who remains in the PDP. This has created a weird situation where the APC leadership is actually fighting for Fubara, while Wike—a PDP member—is seen as the one pulling the strings of the APC lawmakers to get Fubara out.
The drama has even caused a civil war within the APC. On December 30, 2025, the APC’s South-South Vice-Chairman, Victor Giadom, told Fubara that he cannot win anything in Rivers without going through Wike.
The APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, was not having it. He told Giadom to stop disrespecting a sitting governor just to please Wike. On January 5, 2026, Wike fired back, telling Basiru to “leave Rivers State alone” and warning that his support for Tinubu should not be taken for granted.
Basiru responded by calling for Wike to resign as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying he cannot be in an APC government while trying to destabilise the party in Rivers.
The Rivers State chapter of the APC has officially rejected this new impeachment move, calling it “destabilising and unnecessary.” The party’s spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, has asked APC members in the Assembly to withdraw the notice immediately to avoid destabilising the party’s plans for 2027.
Will Fubara survive a third impeachment attempt, or will the third time be the charm for his opponents? We will be keeping a close watch on the drama, so stay tuned.
Nigerians are about to become even poorer in 2026
If you think things are difficult for Nigerians now, we have some bad news: it is likely to get even worse.
The accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released its Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026 report, and the numbers are grim. It predicts that 141 million Nigerians—about 62% of the population—will be living in poverty in 2026.
Back in October 2025, the federal government rejected a World Bank report stating that 139 million Nigerians were already living in poverty. Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, called the figures “unrealistic.”
So we fully expect the government to throw a fit over these new PwC figures, predicting millions more will fall below the poverty line this year.
Nigerians are not getting poorer by accident. Government policies are directly responsible for pushing millions over the edge. We are essentially being taxed into poverty; while prices for food and fuel continue to rocket, wages are not rising to match them.
Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have repeatedly advised President Tinubu to provide social safety nets to protect the most vulnerable. Instead, it feels like those nets are being removed and replaced with even more taxes. Even WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, after meeting with the President in August 2025, stressed that safety nets are the “necessary next step” to stop people from feeling the pinch of these reforms.
Despite the outcry, the government is doubling down. The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, recently defended the administration’s direction in a statement on Sunday, January 4.
Yakubu stated that “Tinubunomics was never a promise of instant abundance.” He dismissed public outrage as “theatrical arithmetic,” and argued that the reforms are a “macro-fiscal reset,” and said that benefits will only emerge gradually.
It’s hypocritical that while Tinubu and the APC are already in full campaign mode for 2027, they expect endless patience from Nigerians.
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