T-pain or T-spending?
FG wants to give unemployed Nigerian youths free cash
Good morning, Big Brains. I might be autistic according to TikTok. Apparently, only autistic people enjoy doing perfectly normal stuff like melting into the face of the person they adore. I don’t even know what I want you to do with that information, but there you go.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1, 000
Reading time ~ 4 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
FG wants to give unemployed youths free cash
Biden pulls uno reverse card in son’s favour
The Big Deal
FG wants to give unemployed youths free cash’
Former President Muhammadu Buhari called Nigerian youths “lazy” in 2018 without taking accountability for the country's unemployment rate (yes, we keep a record of wrongs). But the Tinubu-led administration seems to be doing things differently (we say this very loosely so just walk with us to draw your own conclusion).
The Federal Government is cooking up a plan that might take some weight off Nigerian youths' shoulders. The plan is called the National Youth Unemployment Benefits Scheme—a program that’s supposed to manage Nigeria’s unemployment crisis.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, explained that the plan is designed to support not just unemployed youths, but also the underemployed and those struggling to make ends meet in self-employment.
Giving people fish is cool, but FG also wants to teach unemployed youths how to catch fish by encouraging skill development and self-reliance.
Why is this a big deal?
Anything that could reduce youth unemployment in Nigeria or at least try to make life easier for Nigerian youths sounds like music to our ears, For context, about 70% of the Nigerian population falls under the youth category. The disturbing part is that over 80 million Nigerian youths are unemployed. The thing is we’re not sure if this is the “it” plan that would turn the situation around..
Now, let’s explore why our trust in this plan is a bit shaky right now. In 2016, Buhari tried to pull off a similar initiative, which he called N-power but in 2023, the initiative ran out of power and died an interesting death. Why? the summary of the entire gist is that it was shut down because there were concerns over where the funds allocated to the initiative were going.
We know Tinubu and Buhari are different men, but N-power’s failure raises transparency and sustainability concerns. The details of Tinubu’s project are still coming together, but we wonder if the government will be able to ensure that funds reach the right hands this time.
It is also interesting that this project is being proposed at a time when the country is running on loans– we’re not sure where the funds for this project will come from, but if it works out, it could do more than provide stipends—it might help unemployed youths level up and even start bridging the country’s wealth gap.
As Edun put it, “This program will serve as a bridge, enabling many of our unemployed and underemployed youths to transition into more stable and productive livelihoods.”
We’re curious to see how this plays out, and as always, we’ll keep you updated.
Biden pulls uno reverse card in son’s favour
Joe Biden just did a plot twist nobody saw coming by granting his son, Hunter Biden a presidential pardon for his firearms and tax convictions.
On Sunday evening, Biden said Hunter had been “singled out” and unfairly prosecuted just because he’s a Biden. “There’s been an effort to break Hunter—who’s been five and a half years sober—even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” the President said, adding that, “in trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me. Enough is enough.”
Biden explained his decision with a mix of fatherly love and political commentary. He said raw politics had infected the justice system, leading to what he called a “miscarriage of justice.” He basically told Americans that it's blood over politics.
But here’s where it gets interesting: as recently as November 8, the White House had sworn that there would be no pardon for Hunter. Yet, a few weeks later, Biden is hitting the uno reverse card on his promise. Critics are, of course, having a field day, accusing him of breaking his word and using his presidential power to shield his son. Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado, even said the move “tarnishes” Biden’s reputation as he prepares to leave office.
Hunter was supposed to be sentenced for lying about his drug use during a gun purchase and owing $1.4 million in taxes. He called the pardon an act of mercy, saying his mistakes during addiction had been “exploited to humiliate and shame” him and his family for political drama. Now, he says he’ll dedicate his life to helping others in recovery.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump couldn’t let the moment pass without some trolling. On his social media platform, Truth Social, he called the pardon a “miscarriage of justice”.
Of course, presidential pardons for families aren’t new. Trump himself pardoned his son-in-law’s dad, Charles Kushner, for loads of crimes, including tax evasion and witness tampering. In both cases, neither Trump nor Biden broke any rules according to the Constitution.
Under the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, the president has broad authority to grant pardons and reprieves for federal offences, except in cases of impeachment. This means President Biden’s decision to pardon Hunter Biden is entirely within his legal powers as outlined in the Constitution.
It’s just a normal day in America.
This Week’s Big Question
“What do you think 2025 is going to look like for you?”
Angel’s response - “2025 will be a year of academic comeback. I just gained admission into 200 level and resumed for the first time today (I'm a direct entry student) and all the classes lecture slides look like gibberish but somehow, I have to make it work.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Ngozi’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
IGP Orders Probe Into Amnesty’s Allegations Of Police Brutality: The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has called for an investigation into claims that the Nigeria Police Force was involved in the deaths and arrests of protesters during the August End Bad Governance protests held across the country.
The Good Life Nigerians Lived Before Petrol Subsidy Removal Was Fake – Tinubu: President Bola Tinubu claims that before the 2023 removal of petrol subsidies, many Nigerians were living beyond their means, caught up in what he described as “fake lives.”
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