Good morning,
The children of Igbeyin Adun Primary School stood in the rain in Mushin on Wednesday, waiting for school bags from the local government chairman. While they waited, they were made to sing “Mummy, daddy, vote for APC.” Nursery and primary pupils, none of them old enough to vote, were used as campaign props in a downpour. The chairman’s office has not commented. The bags were the excuse. The slogan was the purpose. That is not charity. It is exploitation.
The same week, the Central Bank cut the Monetary Policy Rate to 23% from 26.5%, the largest single reduction in two decades. Business owners in Ikeja and Aba welcomed the news, then remembered the transmission problem. When the CBN raises rates, banks reprice loans almost immediately. When the CBN cuts, banks lag to protect their margins. Manufacturers still borrow at 30%, while their competitors in Egypt and Morocco borrow at far lower rates. Dr Muda Yusuf put it plainly: deposit money banks must recalibrate lending rates downward, or the macroeconomic gains will never reach the real economy. A rate cut on paper is not a cheaper loan at the counter.
Negotiation, it turns out, is still the only thing that moves Nigeria forward. Fuji star Kwam 1 mediated a public reconciliation between MC Oluomo and Tafa Sego, two transport union leaders whose feud had divided Lagos parks and turned violent in 2023. The embrace was public. The peace may be temporary. The competition for revenue continues. On the same day, Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso met to discuss a unified opposition platform. Three leaders, one table, no clear leader. In 2013, four parties merged and defeated an incumbent. In 2019, a unity pact collapsed. In 2023, the opposition split and handed the APC a plurality. Unity wins elections. Egos lose them.
Osun has become the first state assembly to approve the State Police Services Bill, a step that will need 23 more assemblies before it becomes law. The argument for decentralisation is strong. The argument against is stronger: governors with their own police forces. Meanwhile, edible oil tanker drivers suspended their planned strike after Federal Government and DSS intervention, citing food-safety concerns over tankers previously used for petroleum products. A suspension is not a settlement. It is a pause.
On the football front, Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade has announced a podcast with Peter Odemwingie promising an insider breakdown of a decade of administrative friction with the NFF: unpaid bonuses, poor logistics, unclear selection. Active players rarely speak. Ajibade’s profile gives her protection. In Uyo, the Super Eagles arrived for their AFCON qualifier against Madagascar in 2008 Toyota Avalons, with an old Hilux trailing the bus. Fans criticised the optics. The NFF has not responded. Players win matches. Administrators create problems.
Finally, Belgium and Rwanda have resumed diplomatic relations 18 months after expelling each other’s diplomats over the conflict in eastern DRC. Qatar facilitated the talks. Belgium says it maintains its position on DRC’s territorial integrity. Rwanda denies backing the M23 rebels. The embassies will reopen. The war goes on. Diplomacy is useful. It is not peace.
Warmly,
Lolade