Rest in peace (if necessary)
Lawmakers have postponed legislative duties to honour Buhari
Good morning, Big Brains. I thought the death of our former leader would save me from Monday meetings — what a joke. I still haven’t had time to mourn, but our lawmakers, who are on taxpayers’ payroll, are doing a fine job at it.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1, 200
Reading time ~ 7 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Lawmakers postpone legislative duties to honour Buhari
Cameroon’s 92-year-old president wants to run for election again
The Big Deal
Lawmakers postpone legislative duties to honour Buhari
One unspoken and passed-down rule in the “Life in Nigeria 101” book is to publicly announce that every dead person lived a good life, even if this cannot be proven. Nigerian youths seem to be bending that rule following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, but our lawmakers are keeping the tradition alive.
The National Assembly has suspended all legislative activities in the Senate and House of Representatives until Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, broke the news on Monday, July 14. Ogunlana said the purpose of the break is to “honour the legacy and service” of Buhari, who died in London on Sunday, July 13.
For context, Buhari first ruled Nigeria as a military head of state from 1984 to 1985, then returned as a civilian president from 2015 to 2023.
In the official statement released by the Clerk, lawmakers were told to reschedule all engagements to fully participate in Buhari's burial activities.
Speaking on the late President’s death, the leadership of the Senate and House of Reps said he would be remembered for his 'commitment to Nigeria’s unity and his integrity’—a statement that may struggle to hold water depending on which side of Twitter you land on.
Why is this a big deal?
Taking a one-week break to mourn a former president is objectively fair. But let’s talk about the legacy of this particular president.
When Buhari returned to government in 2015 as a democratic leader, his focus areas were security, economic growth and youth employment. In 2018, three years into his rule, he reassured Nigerians that those three areas would still be developed as promised. Ironically, in the same breath, the statement also admitted there had been an increase in herder attacks.
That statement in question came after increased criticism of the former president’s silence during the peak of the violence. Judging by how the same insecurity issues have followed us into 2025, it’s hard to say the late President made much progress in that department.
Unfortunately, he also struggled to keep his promise in the economic area. Between 2016 and 2022, the Buhari government made ₦26.67 trillion but spent ₦60.64 trillion, leaving a massive debt of about ₦34 trillion.
His administration borrowed heavily to cover the deficit. Nigeria’s local debt grew from ₦8.84 trillion in 2015 to ₦44.91 trillion by mid-2023. External (foreign) debt also increased from $7.35 billion to $37.2 billion in the same period. This was not inclusive of a separate ₦25 trillion loan the Central Bank gave the country as extra support.
Under the former president, Nigeria’s total debt grew from ₦42 trillion in 2015 to ₦77 trillion in 2023, a factor which has contributed to the country's current economic crisis.
The “youth employment” promise was also unfulfilled. A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the number of unemployed young people in Nigeria jumped from about four million in 2015 to 12.8 million in 2020, a 220% increase.
The measure of Buhari’s legacy will always be up for debate. His supporters will continue praising him just as much as his critics criticise him. But if there’s one thing history and data have proven, it’s that his legacy as president, when measured against the three promises he made to Nigerians, will always remain shaky.
Cameroon’s 92-year-old president wants to run for election again
Speaking of presidential legacies, the 92-year-old Cameroonian President, Paul Biya, isn’t quite ready for his to end yet. After spending 43 years in power, the president is getting ready to show Cameroonians how it's done again.
In a post on his X account, Biya assured Cameroonians that his “determination to serve” matches the country’s many challenges. He also claimed that “numerous and insistent” calls from citizens at home and abroad pushed him to postpone his retirement to God-knows-when.
Under Biya’s leadership, Cameroon has seen its fair share of drama, from corruption and embezzlement scandals to worsening security issues and long “remote working” moments. For context, he disappeared from public view for over six weeks last year, and at some point, Cameroonians assumed he was dead.
Even though the president has gotten used to collecting electoral wins like Thanos, he’ll likely experience more struggle than usual this time, as some of his strongest allies have switched teams and are now running for election too.
If you’re wondering how he’s managed to rule the country for this long, Biya abolished term limits in 2008, so technically, nothing is stopping him from maintaining his “world's oldest president” title till whenever the lights guide him home.
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This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one Nigerian propaganda you’re falling for?”
Bolu’s response - “The idea of a Nigerian saviour coming to free us from this life is one propaganda I have no choice but to fall for. Not all of us want to japa.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Bolu’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
Let’s settle this thing…
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Can You Complete the “Twelve Times Table” in 1 minute? Share your results and tag us on social media.
Play catch up
One propaganda I’m slowly falling for…
On Thursday, July 10, Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, announced that he’s no longer optimistic about Nigeria’s state-owned refineries functioning at full capacity.