What the helly!
Tinubu is drawing inspo from Trump, and it’s interesting
Good morning, Big Brains. You know how we have platonic soulmates and romantic soulmates? I think we have presidential soulmates too, because Trump and Tinubu seem to have a weird long-distance soul-bonding thingy going on.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Tinubu is drawing inspo from Trump, and it’s interesting
Trump wants to make Hollywood great again
The Big Deal
Tinubu is drawing inspo from Trump, and it’s interesting
Gone are the days when the only thing Tinubu and Trump shared was the “T” in their names; now the presidential duo are twinning on something bigger — a shared obsession with putting their countries “first.”
Trump has been loud and proud about “America First” since forever, and now, it looks like Tinubu is borrowing a few pages from that Make America Great Again (MAGA) playbook. At the latest Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday, May 5, our president hard-launched a shiny new policy framework titled the “Renewed Hope Nigeria First Policy.”
Before you say “What the helly?”, you should know that the policy is kinda cool. According to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, this policy will change how the Nigerian government does business moving forward. The goal is to put Nigeria at the centre of all government spending and activities, reduce our dependence on foreign imports, and finally start investing in the industries and people we’ve been ignoring for decades. He said, “If there are any businesses to be done by anybody, the priority will be Nigeria, first of all. There’s no reason for you to go outside this country to import anything we already produce.”
To make sure this isn't just talk, the Federal Executive Council has handed new powers to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). Government agencies won’t be allowed to buy foreign goods or services that are already available locally unless they get a written waiver from the BPP. Even when foreign contractors are absolutely necessary, they’ll now be required to provide technology transfer, local production or training for Nigerians as part of the deal.
To help you understand why this is a thing, he called out Nigeria’s sugar industry as an example of local capacity being ignored. “We continue to import sugar despite the existence of the Nigerian Sugar Council and several local producers. This policy will change that.”
Why is this a big deal?
President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has had almost two years to renew things for good, yet we’re still keeping our fingers crossed. But this “Nigeria first” policy has some potential; we’ll give him that.
As the minister mentioned, Nigeria still spends millions of dollars importing 98% of its raw sugar. Even basic items like palm oil are imported into the country for at least $600 million annually. And if you’re wondering what got us here, it’s the depressing state of local production. It’s super expensive to produce anything in Nigeria, and with the rising inflation and removal of fuel subsidy, it’s gotten even worse.
Local manufacturers confirm that even Nigerians would rather buy imported products than made-in-Nigeria products because they are cheaper. The rising cost of made-in-Nigeria products is also one reason why our export gains are so low.
Even though President Tinubu has good intentions, it’s not enough to ban the importation of foreign items without plans to reduce the cost of local production. But if the president figures out how to redirect the funds we spend on imports to boost local production, it would be a major win for all of us.
Trump wants to make Hollywood great again
The MAGA king has had a field day deporting illegal immigrants, slamming crazy tariffs on his opps and withholding Ivy League funds, now he’s moving on to more “pressing matters” — making Hollywood great again!
Over the weekend, Donald Trump declared war—not on China this time, but on international cinema. In a dramatic post on Truth Social, the U.S. President announced a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the country, claiming the American film industry is “dying a very fast death” because other countries are tempting filmmakers with cheaper taxes and production deals. He made his new goal clear in full caps: “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
Trump said the Department of Commerce and other agencies would immediately begin enforcing the tariff, but he gave zero details on how any of it would work. Nobody knows if it will affect Netflix films shot in the UK or international blockbusters in U.S. cinemas.
His latest move could potentially affect countries like Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, where Hollywood producers have started exploring due to cheaper production costs.
What an interesting time to be American!
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→We Should All Be Questioning Remi Tinubu: Nigeria has seen all types of First Ladies — the nonchalant, the quiet, and the empathetic-ish — but we’ve never seen anyone quite like Remi Tinubu.
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This Week’s Big Question
“Pick your poison — Atiku or Tinubu for president in 2027”
Tariq’s response - “Tinubu. The devil you know is better or whatever people say.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Tariq’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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The kids are not alright
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results are in, and we wish there were a gentler way to say this, but it’s giving #OlodoCore.