Shey na like this we go dey dey?
31.8 million Nigerians can no longer afford to eat
Good morning, Big Brains. Just a little warning, today’s edition of TBD is full of news that will make you ask God why He sent you to this country. For the best reading experience, play Se na like this by Wande Coal.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria is number 1 on the global food insecurity chart
FG wants you to get ready for 3 days of thunderstorms… literally!
Cooking gas is now available at a price that’ll make either you or your wallet cry
The Big Deal
Nigeria is number 1 on the global food insecurity chart
Nigeria is topping global charts but it’s not for the reason you think. On second thought, your guess is most probably right because we keep getting burned by this country. The latest serving of disappointments comes in the form of a just released report courtesy of The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). This report shows that Nigeria now has the highest number of people affected by food insecurity in the world. “Numbers don’t lie” but this is the one time we wish it were a lie because 31.8 million people have been estimated to fall into this category. Guys, 31.8 million!
Unfortunately, it gets even worse. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) added that floods in different parts of the country have destroyed 442,790 hectares of farmland, leading to rising malnutrition rates in the North-east and North-west regions. On average, the number of severely malnourished children receiving treatment has increased by 41%, while moderately malnourished children have risen by 70% compared to 2023.
The UN believes the continuing economic crisis has caused food prices to rise, with inflation reaching a 30-year high. Prices for essential foods like maize, millet, sorghum, and beans are now 100% to 300% higher than last year across markets in the country.
Why is this a big deal?
As a country, we’ve gone through almost all the five stages of grief in 2024 and it’s all because of the dying economy. We've gone through “denial”, where some people refused to acknowledge that the President's policies were not benefiting the country but we’ve finally arrived at the “acceptance” stage.
After months of dodging, even Tinubu finally accepted that there was hunger in the country with a sprinkle of “there’s no free beer parlour” (his way of saying that real progress takes time and hard work).
Over the weekend, while addressing the food insecurity in the country, he also said “People say we are hungry. But we say, be patient.”
For a president, Tinubu doesn’t seem fazed enough by the rising number of hungry people in the country. Of all the things he could say to this, he said “Be patient”. It’s like telling a sad person not to be sad.
Last week, we reported that the First Lady spent almost a billion this year on five trips alone. We did some maths and discovered that that’s how much it costs to buy about 14,000 bags of rice today.
At this stage, we shouldn’t find this surprising anymore but since the WFP report was made public, the government hasn’t shared any plan to get us off the global insecurity chart.
On a slightly relieving note, the WFP is being a trooper by offering to assist 1.6 million people affected by food insecurity in September. We can’t say what tomorrow holds but judging by the President’s comments, policies and history of being out of touch with people’s reality, we can guess that it doesn’t hold much.
FG wants you to get ready for 3 days of thunderstorms… literally!
When it comes to climate change, Nigeria seems to be going from frying pan to fire. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) has dropped another bummer on us. On Sunday, they shared a weather outlook predicting there would be thunderstorms across the country for the next three days.
If you live in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, or Kwara state, the thunderstorms will most likely hit a city near you.
In the afternoon and evening, scattered thunderstorms are likely in parts of Kwara, the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Benue, and Kogi states.
There’s also a high chance of heavier rainfall hitting states like Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ogun, spreading to the coastal areas of Lagos, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa states in the coming days.
How’s this my business?
It’s your business like mad. NiMET has put the country under flood watch and FG has started begging Nigerians to clear their canals and gutters in preparation for the flood. History has shown that we are mostly on our own when stuff like this happens (hint-Maiduguri) so little advice – take these predictions and warnings seriously.
Cooking gas is now available at a price that’ll make either you or your wallet cry
Adulting just hit peak ghetto hood and the National Bureau of Statistics won’t tell us who to blame. Like the price of everything else in the country, the average price to refill a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas went up by 69.15%, rising from ₦9,194 in August 2023 to ₦15,552 in August 2024.
The NBS report, which didn’t state the reason for the increase, shows that refilling a 12.5kg cylinder jumped by 9.05% from ₦14,261 in July to ₦15,552 in August 2024.
The prices are unique to each state but Rivers is leading the price race at ₦17,086, with Cross River and Abia closely behind. Compared to last August, that’s a 56.25% hike from ₦4,115.
5kg cylinders are now sold for ₦7,000 in Benue and Sokoto and ₦5,600 in Taraba. But North-Central states are keeping it budget-friendly at ₦14,767.
But for real though, shey na like this we go dey dey?
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s the funniest excuse you’ve used recently to avoid adulting?”
Ivy’s response - “Some new friends I’ve been hanging out with were trying to drag me to this expensive restaurant. I told them I couldn’t because my grandma was sick. My grandma died three years ago.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Ivy’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Edo Poll Was For The Highest Bidder, Says LP’s Olumide Akpata: Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party candidate in the Edo governorship election, shared his disappointment about the widespread vote-buying and lack of interest in the polls, saying it felt like the election was all about who could pay the most.
Ghana Police Arrest 42 At Economic Hardship Protest: Ghanaian police reported that they arrested 42 protesters in Accra after things got heated during demonstrations against economic struggles and the government’s approach to illegal mining, called “galamsey.”
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