This is Nigeria
"Look how we living now... Look what we eating now..."
Good morning, Big Brains. We hate to be the bearer of bad news but in the iconic words of Falz, “This is Nigeria”. We hope this email finds you in bed so you can scream into your pillow when we tell you about the food crisis rising on the horizon.
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Let’s get into today’s edition:
FG considers pegging the minimum entry age into tertiary institutions at 18 years
Weather experts predict that 50 million people in West Africa will be affected by food crisis
The Big Deal:
FG considers pegging the minimum entry age into tertiary institutions at 18 years
If you know an underaged teenager trying to get admitted into a Nigerian university, hug them tight because they might need it after hearing the admission age rule speculations.
On Monday, the Minister of Education in Nigeria, Tahir Mamman, announced that the federal government is considering setting 18 years to be the minimum age for university admission.
Why? Some people are too cool young for school
In his actual words, "They're too young to understand what the whole university education is all about.” The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, seems to be in support of the proposition by the Federal Government, he calls it the “correct thing”.
And of course, Nigerians are not happy with it.
Why does it matter?
The average Nigerian knows at least one underaged person who has hopes of getting admitted into uni. If this new age rule takes effect, your 14-17-year-old cousins or children will be forced to take gap years until they turn 18 – which, according to Deborah Tolu-Kolawole, an education analyst, is the real problem. In her opinion, if the government were to enforce this regulation, then it needs to start at the primary school level. “The best thing would be to reintroduce strict enforcement of the six-year old entry age for primary schools. With this, you start primary school at six, and after spending six years, you head over to secondary school at 12. This means by the time you’re done with secondary school, you’re 18.”
If the regulation is passed, parents and legal guardians need to figure out the best way to protect the future of their wards while they await admission. Education advocates are predict that the age rule may contribute to an increased loss of interest in formal education for minors. As always, we’ll keep you in the loop on this one.
Weather experts predict that 50 million people in West Africa will be affected by food crisis
Weather experts have warned that over 50 million people in West Africa and the Sahel region may experience a food crisis between June and October 2024. This comes off as no surprise; just months ago, the World Food Programme predicted that “26.5 million people across Nigeria are projected to face acute hunger in the June-August 2024 lean season.”
Why this?
In March, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, mentioned that one of the leading causes of the increased food scarcity is the smuggling of food out of Nigeria to neighboring countries. A representative of the Agriculture, Hydrology, and Meteorology Research Centre, Abdou Ali, also suggested that the anticipated food crisis is due to factors like insecurity, inadequate food production, and a delayed start to the rainy season.
Why should you care?
Combined with the already increased cost of food prices plaguing the country, this news is enough to shout SOS. Food crises typically drive up the prices of basic commodities. This makes daily sustenance more expensive. Imagine prices further skyrocketing thanks to a food crisis? That's definitely not a boat you want to rock. In the near future, concerns about widespread malnutrition and other health concerns are likely to increase. This will affect cognitive development in young people and can lead to social unrest.
What is the government doing about this?
In July 2023, President Tinubu declared the first state of emergency over the food crisis in his administration. In February 2024, the government decided to release over 102,000 metric tons of different grains from the National Food Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria. This was a quick move to help with the food crisis and rising prices. But since then, the federal government has either been moving in silence or not moving at all to control the looming food crisis. The weather experts’s predictions are expected to inspire some sort of action from the government.
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