Thursday brief: The dark implication of Kaduna's Okada ban
+ Chike Akunyili's murder & the Andela miracle
* The Naira/Dollar rate was calculated by averaging buying rates from several Nigerian FinTech startups.
Good morning.
Welcome to the Thursday briefing. This newsletter keeps you updated with the latest news from Nigeria. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive it in your email before 7 am (WAT) every weekday.
As Kaduna bans Okada, restricts telecoms service . . .
Kaduna is the latest state to ban okada as efforts to clamp down on bandit activities in the North-West tightens.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kaduna’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said the government had also shut down communication networks in some parts of the state.
Similar measures are already in place in neighboring Zamfara and Sokoto states.
But there are fears that an outright ban on okada will increase unemployment among young people, which can widen the recruitment pool for bandits and other like-minded criminals. “It is not the okada that makes crime increase, it is the lack of proper intelligence-based policing,” one security expert told Punch, although there is some evidence that a proliferation of okada riders can be linked to an increase in crime rates in Nigerian communities.
Push south: The shut down of telecom services in Zamfara and Sokoto states, along with an aggressive military approach has raised fears that the bandits may be forced to seek shelter deeper south. Security experts have called for proactive measures across the South to deal with the looming wave.
Senate: The upper legislative chamber has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the bandits as terrorists.
Chike Akunyili murdered by gunmen in Anambra
Dr. Chike Akunyili was travelling from Enugu when his vehicle was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in Nkpor, Anambra State on Tuesday.
He had been attending a conference at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, hosted in honour of his late wife and perhaps Nigeria's most memorable drug czar, Dr. Dora Akunyili.
The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle and shot Dr. Chike in the face. His driver and a police officer assigned to him also died in the shooting.
Reactions: The cold-blooded murder has drawn condemnation from every corner, including the Presidency. A coalition of South-East Governors said, “It is not only barbaric, but it is also unbecoming how much human lives no longer matter in our society.” The Senate observed a one-minute silence in his memory. Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has placed a N20 million bounty on the killers.
Who’s responsible: The short answer is, no one knows yet. Some have pointed fingers at the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Department of State Services, without any tangible evidence. IPOB has denied responsibility. “There was no basis for the DSS to kill the medical doctor and/or fellow law enforcement agents,” the DSS said in a statement.
Andela is Africa’s latest unicorn
After securing $200 million in a Series E funding led by Softbank, Andela is now estimated to be worth $1.5 billion, cementing its place in the league of tech unicorns crafted out of Africa.
Launched in Nigeria in 2014 by tech entrepreneurs including Iyin Aboyeji and Jeremy Johnson, Andela has evolved from being a school for aspiring software developers into a global engineering talent outsourcing company
Jeremy Johnson: “For those just joining the conversation, Andela is a marketplace for remote technical talent,” the Andela CEO said in a blog post. “That’s different from where we started . . . We started Andela in 2014 because we believe that brilliance is evenly distributed, but artificially constrained by borders, real and imagined. We are doing more to reduce those barriers today than ever before.”
What else is happening?
Father’s time: The federal government has approved 14-day paternity leave for civil servants. The rule for mothers is four months.
Orji Kalu: The Federal High Court in Abuja has barred the federal government from retrying the serving Senator and former Abia State Governor over a N7.1 billion money laundering case. But the EFCC has vowed to appeal the ruling.
VAT dispute: Oyo State has filed an application to join Rivers State in its suit against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at the Court of Appeal. The states are seeking legal backing for the collection of Value Added Taxes in their respective states, instead of the federal government.
Nasir El-Rufai: The Kaduna State Governor says Northern Governors are not opposed to a Southern Presidency in 2023 but are against the language of compulsion used by their southern colleagues.
Friendly fire: The Air Force says it is still investigating the “accidental” aistrike that hit Buhari village in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State.
October 1: The federal government has declared Friday a public holiday to celebrate Independence Day.
Forex: A member of the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Obanikoro, has suggested that the Central Bank of Nigeria close all domiciliary accounts for the next one year. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you the suggestion is a foolish idea
And that’s it for today. The weekend is almost upon us. Stay winning.