Wrong Name in Abubakar’s Diploma & more – 19th Oct 2023

Kedu from BA! This is the Rorshok Nigeria Update from the 19th of October twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Nigeria.

Let’s kick off this episode with some news on politics. Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the opposition party who took President Tinubu to a U.S. court for certificate forgery, is now at the heart of a new case of certificate controversy. Reportedly, Abubakar had presented its high school certificate to the Electoral body. However, rivals and the media have been scrutinizing politicians' academic documents and found out that the name Sadiq features in Abubakar’s high school diploma but it is not in the politician’s official documents. Despite saying he had signed an affidavit to change his name, on Monday, the 16th, several media outlets reported that the date on his affidavit showed that he signed the document on a Saturday, which is a non-working day in the country. The name brought up questions, as the high school certificate might belong to someone else.

In the trending news that has taken the public by storm…

In the past couple of weeks, viral news about genital shrinking has caused panic attacks in some states in the country, and men fear that they may become permanently impotent. On Friday, the 13th, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command received sixty-two cases of manhood disappearance in the region. Nasarawa and Kogi states police divisions also received reports of genital disappearance among residents. Medical experts have said that the victims might have been suffering from Koro syndrome. Reportedly, the Koro syndrome is a condition in which people who believe in sex-related myths, develop anxiety or psychosis that affects how they feel about their private organs. However, large sections of the public are convinced that genital shrinkage is real and that ritualists cause it by having contact with their victims.

Another hot topic this week was the report from the World Population Review, which revealed that twenty-four million people are currently homeless. Although the report also affirmed that Nigeria is the most populous black country in the world, it further said that several millions of Nigerians do not have access to a decent home with basic amenities. According to the report, Nigeria ranked number one on the homelessness list among eighty-five other nations. Pakistan follows with twenty million homeless people and in Egypt twelve million citizens don’t have a house.

On Saturday, the 14th, the Kano State government conducted a mass wedding for one thousand, eight hundred couples. The state government sponsored the wedding and paid sixty-five dollars in bride price on behalf of each of the grooms. This was part of the government’s effort to reduce the number of unmarried residents in Kano. The state government also gave bedding, clothes, and food to the couples. However, the beneficiaries of the mass weddings were widows and divorcees—since it's harder for these women to get married for a second time. Interestingly, the government has asked the couples to return all gifted items if they get a divorce. Meanwhile, in the middle of the event, thirty people were arrested for trying to disrupt the event. The state police said that some of the criminals caught went to the venue of the wedding to rub unsuspecting victims.

In other news, President Tinubu has said that the country would stop exporting raw minerals. On Tuesday, the 17th, he announced that gold, lithium, and other minerals that were previously exported in their crude nature will be processed locally to allow the country to gain more from its natural resources. Local mining companies have been asked to adjust their policies to the new initiative. Tinubu also said that processing the raw materials locally will create more jobs in the country and increase revenue to the federal government purse.

Still on politics, On Tuesday, the 17th, the Federal Government announced that it would begin the assessment of ministers' performance starting from January twenty twenty-four. Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, announced that all ministers will sign a performance bond detailing what they are expected to achieve within twenty twenty-four. Reportedly, a software would be developed to allow citizens to submit their opinions regarding the performance of each ministry.

Moving on, the Federal Government of Nigeria will submit a budget of thirty-four billion dollars to the National Assembly before the end of the year. On Monday, the 16th, Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Planning, said that the budget will address key sectors like Education, Mining, Health, and Economy. Before the 31st of December, the Senate and the House of Representatives will scrutinize the budget. Reportedly, over 60% of the new budget will be spent on debt servicing and pension payments. The country's spending on loan repayment and pension will probably exceed its annual revenue.

Shifting our focus to substance abuse, the Senate has asked the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency regarding narcotics and drug usage. On Tuesday, the 17th, the lawmaking body instructed the Committee on Food and Drugs to work with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administrative Control to address substance abuse. Issues of Drug abuse have been on the rise in the country with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency raiding many hard drugs warehouses recently. Some sellers of hard drugs like cocaine have also been caught at the Muritala Muhammed Airport in Lagos in the past months.

Also in the news this week, on Wednesday, the 18th, the organized labor unions, the Labor Congress, and the Trade Union Congress have issued a two-week deadline to state governors across the country urging them to comply with the forty-three-dollar wage award that Tinubu had promised to pay. The two labor unions said that the state workers would go on strike if the government didn’t fulfill their demand.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has fulfilled one of its major promises to the labor unions by making cash transfers to fifteen million poor households. The move is to caution the economic hardship in the country. A total of one billion, two hundred thousand dollars will be shared with the fifteen million beneficiaries.

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, has said that he would increase the electricity generation capacity in the country in a bid to boost Nigeria's economy. Reportedly, Dangote's Numan Sugar Refinery would supply electricity to the National Grid, which will increase the current capacity. Dangote's company makes use of an independent power system, so the company plans to direct its excess power to the national carrier.

On Wednesday, the 18th, the Nigerian Police removed the Divisional Police Officer attached to Meiran Police Station in Lagos State over allegations of extortion. Allegedly, the Divisional Police Officer along with some other police officers seized two iPhones belonging to Ibrahim Saliu, and accused him of stealing the phones. Officers demanded six hundred and forty dollars from Sailu to skip jail time. After pleading with the police for a reduced fee, he paid two hundred fifty-eight dollars. Social media users have praised the firing of the Divisional Police Officer citing incidences of police extortions in the Meiran area that have gone unpunished.

Ending with sports. The Super Eagles of Nigeria, the national men's football team, has broken a four-year friendly match jinx by defeating Mozambique. The team didn't win any of its last sixteen friendly matches. However, on Monday, the 16th, the Super Eagles won by three goals to two despite Victor Osimhen, the team's star striker, not playing since he pulled out due to an injury. The Super Eagles had earlier played Saudi Arabia on Friday, the 13th. The team was on course to break its poor friendly match run as they led the game by two goals to one when Saudi Arabia scored an equalizing goal in the closing stage of the match.

And that’s it for this week! But don’t leave yet, there’s something important we need to tell you.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of growth in audience and revenue, we are forced to cancel the show. The next episode will be the last one. Still, we are hopeful, that one day we'll bring the show back, and when we do, we'll let you know via social media and our website.

All the old episodes will still be available on our website and the podcast listening platforms as usual. If there's anything you'd like to share with us, please email us at podcast@rorshok.com

Sorry for the bad news.

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