TELL Magazine

From the editor

Events move with so much drama and speed in Nigeria that reports at the beginning of the week may not be a defining factor by the time the week is rolling off. Perhaps the constant rests in the areas of insecurity, a coughing economy, and tattered welfare for the citizenry.

While producing this edition, Nigerians were assailed with reports of the escape of Binance chief executive from detention in Nigeria, the abduction and release of 387 victims, 287 of them pupils in a school in Kaduna; the burial of 17 men of the Nigerian Army, killed by persons still at large, in Okuama community in Delta State, and the attack on a local government headquarters and a police formation in Anambra State.

Scores of such blights in our national life, even where they were reported in the media, did not make headlines but were equally devastating depending on who is affected.

In the midst of all these, there is the unending wrestling match between the national currency and its foreign counterparts.

This is of interest to many people because, being a consumer nation, the duel in the Forex market echoes in the grains and vegetables market thus creating rumpus on the dining table. Rice is a staple food in Nigeria; but as local production increases, so do our longing for foreign species grow astronomically. The campaign for cassava bread championed during the administration of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, sounds like the echo of the tale of pre-1914 Nigeria. It is not imported, so won’t suit our taste buds. Yet the more we import the pressure we place on the Naira.

If you think that Nigeria’s problem is just about the value of the naira, engage the few people who still go to the farm. They tell tales of occupation by criminal herders or other militant groups who block their way to the farms or tax them to gain access. Whereas, if we have the means to live on imported foods, we must produce locally to be able to tackle hunger adequately. To get that done, the daring farmer is the one who carries the can.

Where do we start from? What do we give preference to? The editorial board debated hard on this and resolved that the fate of the Naira be treated as a symbol of the paralytic economy. The story, THE KILLING OF THE NAIRA, is written by Anayochukwu Agbo, general editor and our Abuja Bureau Chief. Apart from the story, we serve you a professorial analysis on the economy by Akpan Ekpo, former vice chancellor of the University of Uyo and chairman, Lagos-based Foundation for Economic Research and Training.

The crisis in the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS is the focus of Wale Suleiman’s story, THE HUMBLING OF NIGERIA. The second special report, DARKNESS WITHOUT END, written by James Orode, looks at the sorry state of power generation and distribution in Nigeria despite the humongous funds that have been sunk into it.

These stories are supported by other stories and opinions, particularly from the masters: Nosa Igiebor, editor-in-chief; Dele Omotunde and Onome Osifo-Whiskey, deputy editors-in-chief; and Ayodele Akinkuotu, on the platform of Random Jottings.

There is a pull-out, which is a special publication on the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. It is a report of the exploits of Muhammad Mamman Nami, former chairman and chief executive officer of the Service. The man who raised the bar of tax administration and revenue collection in Nigeria to an enviable level.

Do have a blessed week!