Possible Military Action on Niger Upon the Coup & more –10th Aug 2023

th of August: 2023

The coup in Niger is creating a lot of tension in Nigeria. For those who are not aware, two weeks ago, Niger’s military overthrew the president in the country over claims of bad governance and worsening insecurity.

Now, President Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (best known as ECOWAS) which Niger also belongs to, had said that ECOWAS would not tolerate anti-democratic acts. The Community had also given the military in Niger a week to restore democracy or face military action. This caused a lot of tension because Nigeria’s army would have to intervene, and that might lead to a full-scale war. Nigeria has a common border with Niger, and both countries are so close that they even share some languages.

However, the ECOWAS deadline expired on Sunday the 6th and there has been no military action.

On Monday the 7th, Tinubu ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to impose financial sanctions on individuals believed to be supporting the military junta. However, the bank did not disclose the sanctions imposed or the people who received the sanctions. On Tuesday the 8th, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s spokesman, said that ECOWAS wants to adopt all diplomatic measures before taking military action. So far, electricity supply from Nigeria to Niger has been cut off, commercial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger have been suspended, and Nigeria’s borders with Niger have also been closed.

In other news, on Thursday the 3rd, GlaxoSmithKline (best known as GSK) Consumer Nigeria Plc announced plans to cease operations in the country. The company is well-known for its products such as Augmentin, Panadol, Sensodyne, Ventolin, Theraflu, among others. GSK might return capital to its investors except for its parent company, GSK UK. The company, which employs over 290 people, assured employees and shareholders that all necessary legal steps would be met.

Moving on, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (or NARD) suspended its nationwide protest before it took place. The protest was scheduled to begin on Wednesday the 9th.

However, on Tuesday the 8th, the federal government representatives and NARD’s president held a meeting. NARD’s head said that “the outcome of the meeting would determine if the protest would go on.” The meeting seemed to have been positive, as the protest was suspended.

Parts of NARD’s demands include payment of the twenty twenty-three medical residency training fund, an upward review of the consolidated medical salary structure, among others.

Next, Siemens Energy has announced that it will take five more years than originally planned to complete the revamping of Nigeria’s power infrastructure. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday the 7th, Oladayo Orolu, head of business development and government relations at Siemens Energy, said that the delays were caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (or ABCON) said that Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange company, is one of the main factors putting pressure on the naira and must stop operating in the country. Recall that the Securities and Exchange Commission had already banned Binance from operating in Nigeria and said that its activities are illegal. On Tuesday the 8th, ABCON said that despite the suspension, Binance is becoming a go-to spot for investors, exporters and the black market because it is very liquid. ABCON asked the government to intensify its efforts to ban Binance so that the naira can be strengthened.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the 8th, the Osun government said that it will begin the second phase of free medical care and palliative surgeries for the residents of the state as part of efforts to reduce the effects of the petrol subsidy removal. The state’s commissioner for health said that the first phase of the medical care program was carried out between February and March and catered to 22,000 people. According to the commissioner, the second phase of the program will be flagged off on the 16th of August at the Ilesa general hospital and would include free services such as general surgical care, eye surgery, and the giving out of eyeglasses.

History has been made in Kano state! On Monday the 7th, Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, swore in Dije Audu Aboki as the first female chief judge of the state. Yusuf congratulated the new judge on her role and asked her to improve the speed of dispensing justice which was a problem in the state. In her response, the chief judge expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the state and pledged to uphold integrity, honesty, and justice in her role.

In the sports world, Nigeria’s Super Falcons have been eliminated from the twenty twenty-three Women’s World Cup. The Falcons were defeated on Monday the 7th after losing in the penalties shootouts to England at the Suncorp Stadium in Australia. Reacting to the loss on Monday the 7th, Remi Tinubu, the country’s first lady, said that Falcons made the country proud and that England’s triumph was simply luck. She said that the Falcons would be given a heroic welcome back home despite their loss.

Meanwhile, the National Information Technology Development Agency (best known as NITDA) said that the organization is developing blockchain technology to authenticate National Youth Service Corps (or NYSC) certificates. Speaking on Wednesday the 9th, Yusuf Kashafu, director-general of NITDA, said that the agency has already contacted the director-general of NYSC to begin the development of the advanced blockchain-based certificate authentication system. He said that the initiative is crucial to address growing concerns over fraudulent issuance and forgery of NYSC certificates. Recall that recently some politicians have been entangled with the law over the authenticity of their NYSC certificates. NITDA said that technology will help to address these recurring concerns. Kashafu asked other institutions in the country to also consider blockchain technology as a tool for a certificate verification process.

Moving on, the National Population Commission (best known as NPC) said that it is ready to conduct the twenty twenty-three population and housing census. On Wednesday the 9th, Clifford Zirra, NPC federal commissioner in Adamawa, said that the commission is waiting for instruction from President Tinubu to start the exercise. Recall that the federal government postponed the census in April over the instability in the country caused by the results of the presidential elections. Zirra said that the postponement has also given the commission the opportunity to improve its processes and systems for the conduct of the first-ever digital census..

In some sad news, on Thursday the 3rd, Nigerian Breweries announced that there would be an increase in the prices of their products. The Nigerian Breweries is the producer of major alcoholic products like Star Lager, Gulder, Legend Extra Stout, Heineken, Goldberg, Life, Star Radler, among others. Some alcohol-free drinks under the company include Maltina, Amstel Malta, Fayrouz, Climax Energy drink, and Malta Gold - all very popular drinks. Although the company did not specify which of the products would be affected, the price adjustments are expected to take effect from the 10th of August.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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O dabo!