Good morning,
A woman on Agunlejika Street, Ijeha, Surulere, has not slept properly in three years. Between the church next door, the mosque across the road, the club that opens at midnight and the generator in her compound, her nights have become a war. She is not alone. Lagos ranks among the noisiest cities in the world, and residents are paying for it with their health. Audiologists warn of hearing loss, hypertension and chronic sleep deprivation. The state has a noise regulation law. Enforcement is another matter entirely.
Speaking of enforcement, the Inspector-General of Police has declared that recording police officers threatens national security. Let that settle for a moment. In a country where officers carry phones with cameras, where some checkpoints have surveillance equipment, and where the state has cameras on street corners, the citizen’s phone is apparently the only recording device that constitutes a danger. The same institution that advises Nigerians to report misconduct now suggests the evidence of that misconduct should not be captured. There is a certain logic at work here. It is the logic of a man who wants his conversation kept private while insisting the door stay open. Perhaps the IGP should consider that for many Nigerians, the phone is not a weapon. It is the only witness they have left.
Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery has been valued at ₦625 billion ahead of its planned IPO, with 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each. Ordinary Nigerians, from drivers to market traders, are being invited to own a piece of Africa’s largest refinery. Strategic investors are also circling. The question is whether the offer will be as open as advertised or whether the big money will take the lion’s share.
Atiku Abubakar has warned that higher FAAC allocations are not translating into development. States are receiving record revenues, yet roads, hospitals and schools remain in ruins. He has a point. Money is rarely the problem. What happens to it after it arrives is the problem.
And fuel prices have risen again as marketers adjust to global crude above $95 per barrel. Depot prices have climbed to ₦1,290 per litre. For the commercial driver in Lagos, the cost goes to the passenger. For the family in Kano, it goes to the food basket. The pump is not just a pump. It is the pulse of the economy.
A sleepless city. A police force wary of cameras. A refinery opening its doors. A politician warning about wasted allocations. A pump price climbing. These are not separate stories. They are the same story: a country where noise is ignored, accountability is discouraged, wealth is concentrated, public money is squandered, and ordinary Nigerians pay for it all. The question is whether we will build a country that works, or simply keep the door open and hope no one is watching.
Warmly,
Lolade