We are not making it out of the trenches
Over 13 million Nigerians are expected to join the country’s poverty race
Good morning, Big Brains. It’s a new week, and I feel brand new because I made smart money decisions and hit my move goal over the weekend. I hope your week is off to a good start, too.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 700
Reading time ~ 3 mins
This Week’s Big Question: ”What would be your first move if you could swap roles with Tinubu?” 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.
Let’s get into the news you missed during the weekend:
13 million Nigerians might get poorer in 2025
Expert wants FG to make paternity tests compulsory
The Big Deal
13 million Nigerians might get poorer in 2025
Remember when we lowkey said this might be Nigeria’s year of financial breakthrough? We take our words back, and we swallow them. That’s because PwC, a multinational professional services group of firms, released a report that cleared the delusion we inherited from President Tinubu over the weekend.
According to the report, 13 million Nigerians might join the country’s poverty race in 2025. The reason is simple and obvious: High inflation, rising interest rates, and a naira that continues to bring stones to a gunfight.
Why is this a big deal?
Nigeria’s population is currently a little over 220 million, and this report says about 129 million people will be in poverty by 2025, which means that more than half of the country’s population will be in poverty. If that doesn’t make you say “God abeg”, nothing else will.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also recently revealed that about 67% of households cannot afford healthy or preferred meals, a figure that’s nearly doubled in the past five years.
The federal government is targeting a 15% inflation rate by 2025. If that is achieved, 2025 might not be as tough as PwC predicts. But we don’t see that happening anytime soon, considering that Tinubu’s twin policies—floating the naira and removing the fuel subsidy—are still in full effect. In 2024, we watched these policies lead Nigeria into economic hardship, causing inflation to skyrocket and worsening living conditions. It’s very unlikely that the same policies will lead us to a financial breakthrough before 2026, but what do we know
If these PWC’s projections hold, 2025 will be less about breakthroughs and more about survival for millions of Nigerians.
Final note: Tinubu, this isn’t you. Be the superstar that you are, and hit your KPIs!
Expert wants FG to make paternity tests compulsory
Paternity fraud sounds like something that only happens in Nollywood movies, but it turns out it's more common than you think. Ademolu Owoyele, the managing director and CEO of DNA-Harley and Rainbow Specialised Laboratories, is shaking tables by suggesting that mandatory DNA paternity tests should be part of Nigeria's birth registration process. And honestly, you might understand where he’s coming from after seeing the stats.
According to 2024 data from Smart DNA, one out of four Nigerian men who took paternity tests discovered that they’re not the biological fathers of their children.
Owoyele believes that making DNA tests mandatory at birth can help reduce paternity fraud and even prevent cases of baby-swapping in hospitals—whether accidental or intentional.
It’s a bold proposal and, if implemented, can potentially change family dynamics in Nigeria.
We’re not sure Owoyele’s advocacy would reach the guys at the National Assembly, but you’d be the first to know if it will.
The Big Picks
From Goats to Ropes: Weird Ways Nigerian Politicians “Empower” Citizens: From “stomach infrastructure” to bleating goats, here’s a list of the weirdest things Nigerian politicians have done in the name of empowerment (warning – prepare to lose two brain cells per paragraph).
Here’s Why the NLC Wants You to Reject the New 50% Hike on Calls and Data Subscriptions: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is dragging the Federal Government (FG) for filth, and here are all the details.