Nigerian inflation rises for fourth straight month in December

Nigeria's inflation rate rose for the fourth straight month in December, advancing to 34.80% in annual terms (NGCPIY=ECI) from 34.60% in November, data from the statistics agency showed on Wednesday.

The agency said in a report that the uptick in December was due to increased demand associated with the festive period. Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the most to price pressures.

Inflation rose sharply after President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira currency and cut subsidies in 2023 to try to lift economic growth and shore up public finances.

It started to ease in July last year as the impact of the naira devaluation began to fade, before a series of petrol price increases again spurred inflationary pressures, exacerbating the worst cost of living crisis in decades in Africa's most populous nation.

Food inflation was 39.84% year-on-year in December, compared with 39.93% the previous month (NGFINF=ECI), due to price rises for items such as yam, sweet potatoes, beer, corn, rice and fish, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The central bank hiked interest rates six times last year to try to get inflation under control.

Nigeria's government expects inflation to fall to 15% this year, helped by lower imports of petroleum products, Tinubu said during a budget speech in December.

By Chijioke Ohuocha and Mohd Shamsuddin, Reuters

New Nigeria coach Éric Sékou Chelle promises attacking football

Éric Sékou Chelle has begun his tenure as coach of Nigeria's men's national team with a promise to play an attacking style of football as he works towards pulling the Super Eagles' World Cup chestnuts from the fire.

The Franco-Malian, who was officially presented by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday, says he is aware of the expectations of Nigerians -- and is prepared for them.

"Football is about scoring goals, I love attacking football, this is my philosophy," Sékou Chelle said at Monday's ceremony. "I know the expectations of Nigerians, and I will settle down and work diligently with assistants towards the goal of qualifying the Super Eagles to the FIFA World Cup."

"I want to thank my agent, the NFF, and indeed all Nigerians, for this big opportunity. Coaching the Super Eagles of Nigeria is an amazing job; I do not take this appointment for granted.

"To coach the most populous Black nation in the world is an honour. For me, it is the best nation in Africa. I am elated and will do my utmost best. I believe Nigeria can qualify for the World Cup."

Sékou Chelle, who has a French father but played for Mali at international level, making five appearances, said that he had always had a soft spot for the Super Eagles, whose chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup are teetering after poor early qualifying results.

The Super Eagles need to win all six of their remaining games to guarantee qualification, and hope other teams in the group stumble. Sékou Chelle says they need to play high-pressure football.

"When I was growing up, this was my favourite team," he said. "I want to be the best. I need to talk to the players. We need to work harder and play high-pressure football. Time is not the best friend of every coach, but if you accept the risk you need to take responsibility."

NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau said the coach had signed a two-year contract, with the option of another year if he qualified the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals

"I see in the new head coach the right spirit and the right attitude, and I have faith that he will take the Super Eagles to the next level," Gusau said. "He sees the job of leading the Super Eagles as his dream job, and that is a huge motivation in itself.

"Coach [Sékou Chelle] recognizes and appreciates what is ahead of him, and he says he loves the challenge. We will be there giving him the necessary support all the way."

Despite the vote of confidence from the NFF, Sékou Chelle's appointment has been met with a rash of criticism from some former Nigeria internationals, including high-profile names such as two-time African Player of the Year Nwankwo Kanu and Austin Okocha.

The major arguments are that if the NFF could not hire a high-profile foreign coach they should have left Austin Eguavoen in the role or hired a Nigerian.

In response, 1997 African Player of the Year Victor Ikpeba, a member of the NFF's technical committee that recommended Sékou Chelle, said that no process would have been perfect.

"The appointment of a coach for the Super Eagles will always generate a lot of interest," Ikpeba said. "This is one of the biggest countries in Africa, and that's the passion that comes with the national team.

"Even if we had appointed Pep Guardiola, there would still be complaints. If there are no arguments, there won't be success."

Ikpeba also had some broadsides for his former teammates over their criticism of the appointment

"When Finidi George had his issues in the Super Eagles, how many ex-internationals came out to support him? Eguavoen did a remarkable job to qualify us for the [Africa Cup of Nations] but now a decision has been made and we have to support the new man.

"Eric Chelle is a young coach who will succeed with our support. We're in a tight corner in the World Cup qualifying campaign, and we must back him to get the best out of the players, who are the main actors in this situation."

Sékou Chelle, who becomes the 36th man to coach the Super Eagles, and the first non-Nigerian African, has already begun work, taking a supervisory role in the Super Eagles' African Nations Championship team preparing for the 2016 tournament in Rwanda.

By Colin Udoh, ESPN

Related story: Nigeria make historic hire of Sékou Chelle to manage Super Eagles

Islamic police in Nigeria round up children living on streets to put them in camp "for their rehabilitation"

Authorities in northern Nigeria's largest city have begun evacuating more than 5,000 street children seen as a "security threat" and a growing concern as an economic crisis forces more to fend for themselves. The Hisbah, a regional police force tasked with enforcing Islamic Sharia law, have carried out midnight raids on motor parks, markets and street corners in the regional capital, Kano, since the beginning of the year, evacuating children as they sleep.

"We have so far mopped up 300 of these boys from the streets and taken them into a camp provided for their rehabilitation," Hisbah's director-general Abba Sufi told AFP. "Their continued living on the streets is a huge social and security threat because they are potential criminal recruits."

"They are a ticking time bomb that needs to be urgently defused with tact and care," said Sufi.

In November, Kano State governor Abba Kabir Yusuf set up a committee to rid the city of the street children, most of whom are boys. Many sleep in the open and have no access to education or parental care.
With the highest divorce rate in Nigeria, according to official figures, Kano is dealing with a surge in children from broken homes.

Largely left to fend for themselves, the boys roam the city, begging, selling items at traffic lights and scavenging for scrap metal to sell to get money to feed themselves.

The west African economic powerhouse faces its worst economic crisis in decades, with inflation soaring to 34.6 percent in November, leaving many struggling to eat.

Nigeria has 18.5 million out-of-school children, with Kano State accounting for 1.9 million, the highest rate in the country, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in a 2022 survey.

The Kano figure accounts for 39% of the total number of children living in the state, the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty survey said.

Officials told AFP that many of the children in Kano city came from neighboring states.

"Some of them are from Kano, while others are from other states," said Hisbah commander Aminu Daurawa. "The first step is profiling them and identifying where they came from."

Some were sent from villages to learn how to read the Koran at informal Islamic religious schools called almajiri. Residents said many students of the Koranic schools beg for food and alms between classes.

Attempts by authorities and local groups to intervene and support the age-old almajiri system have faced opposition from traditional clerics.

The Hisbah police plan to provide "psychosocial" support and counselling to the children before enrolling those who show interest in school, Sufi said, adding that others will be given seed money to start a trade of their choice.

Daurawa told AFP that out-of-state children will be repatriated after their rehabilitation.

Previous attempts to clear the city of street children have failed.

Between 2017 and 2018, the Hisbah evacuated some 26,000 children and reunited them with their parents in and outside Kano, but they returned to the streets after a lull, according to Daurawa.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities in Kano shut almajiri schools and transported the pupils to their states, but they returned when the schools reopened.

"We want to avoid a repeat of the past experience, which is why we changed approach by camping the children and rehabilitating them before sending them back into the society," Sufi said.

AFP

Crazy rich Nigerians rain dollars amid naira abuse crackdown

As Nigerian authorities crack down on party goers abusing the naira, the super-rich are now spraying dollars to avoid breaking the law.

As thousands converged on Nnewi in southeast Nigeria to mark the funeral of Margaret Egwuoyibo Oragwa, the event soon transformed from a burial ceremony to a carnival. Music stars Davido, Flavour, Phyno and a host of others entertained guests with their hit songs.

However, unlike in the past, when wads of naira notes were thrown into the air to celebrate, dollar bills dominated the dance floor this time around.

Oragwa’s son, the well-known entrepreneur Cletus Oragwa, could be seen in viral videos throwing $100 bills at Davido. In subsequent videos, Cletus, who goes by the nickname Zenco, is seen dancing as his friends put $100 bills on his head.

In June, there was a similar dollar rain when Davido married his sweetheart, Chioma, at a lavish wedding in Lagos attended by six governors, top CEOs, scores of entertainers and other dignitaries.

“It has become common for celebrants to tell their guests to only throw dollars at them instead of naira,” says Chukwudi Iwuchukwu, a social media influencer and public relations expert.

This is despite the limited inflow of forex to the country amid the ongoing economic crisis.

Naira vs. dollar problems

Although the naira still features at celebrations, it is no longer “thrown around” but handed over to celebrants in bundles. The ‘crazy rich’, however, opt for throwing dollars instead. This change in behaviour can be traced to a renewed crackdown on naira abuse by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s anti-corruption watchdog.

Nigerian law forbids the defacing, mutilation or throwing around of the naira, known as “spraying”. According to Section 21 of the Act, the Central Bank of Nigeria will impose a fine of N50,000 ($30), six months in prison, or both, if a person is found guilty of naira abuse.

For years the law only existed on paper and was hardly ever enforced. However, this changed in April 2024 when transgender social media influencer Bobrisky was prosecuted and jailed in Lagos for abuse of the naira.

“The act of mutilating the naira notes has become a menace, which has continued to damage the country’s image. Enough of people mutilating and tampering with our currencies. It has to stop. This will serve as a deterrent to others,” said Justice Abimbola Awogboro in his judgment.

Weeks later, socialite Pascal Okechukwu, who goes by the name Cubana Chief Priest, was also prosecuted for “spraying naira” but escaped jail after paying a hefty fine.

This forced the rich to change their ways, but not in a manner that the authorities imagined.

“Spraying of money at parties is a cultural issue. It is a reflection of who we are and how we express love at parties,” says Iwuchukwu, who is also the CEO of Visage Media. He tells The Africa Report that the practice has become prevalent in the southeast and has led to unhealthy competition among peers which forces some to take to crime.

“It encourages the get-rich-quick syndrome and fuels crime. The government cannot crack down on it because their relatives are also culprits,” he says, adding that using dollars has become more common to avoid arrest.

Legal barrier to stop dollar rain

However, dollars, pounds and euros being sprayed instead of the naira presents a legal dilemma for the authorities and defeats the purpose of the law, says EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale.

“The EFCC is opposed to the culture of impunity but unfortunately it is the naira that is specifically stated in the law. So, the commission will have to devise a means of stopping this disobedience by those circumventing the law. We will look into it,” he tells The Africa Report.

Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist Inibehe Effiong says there is little the government can do. “Spraying dollars and pounds cannot be criminalised in Nigeria because they are not legal tender,” he says.

“The EFCC are selective in administering justice. Politicians still spray naira and the EFCC looks the other way. Even the president’s relatives have been seen spraying money without consequence.”

By Eniola Akinkuotu, the africa report

Nigeria to expand fibre optic network by 90,000 km with $2 million US grant

Nigeria is set to witness a significant boost in its digital infrastructure as the U.S. and Nigerian governments inked a $2 million grant agreement to expand the country’s fibre optic network by 90,000 kilometers.

Funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the initiative underscores growing economic and technological collaboration between the two nations and aligns with Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan for 2020-2025.

The project is designed to improve Internet access, generate jobs, and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy.

With Internet penetration in Nigeria remaining uneven, especially in rural areas, the new fibre optic infrastructure is expected to bridge the digital divide by bringing reliable Internet access to underserved regions. Additionally, the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s broader digital transformation goals, which include creating a sustainable and inclusive economy.

In June 2024, the Nigerian government announced plans to extend the fibre-optic network by 90,000 km to boost digital accessibility and create more jobs.

Additionally, in April 2024, the government revealed plans to criminalize the destruction of broadband fibre cables after MTN and Airtel reported losses of ₦27 billion, indicating a commitment to protecting critical telecom infrastructure.

Private sector contributions have also been significant. In February 2024, IHS Nigeria, through its subsidiary Global Independent Connect Limited (GICL), completed the rollout of over 10,000 km of fibre optic cables across Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, enhancing connectivity nationwide.

Furthermore, in December 2024, Huawei Cloud launched a hyperscale public cloud service in Nigeria, aiming to accelerate digitisation in West Africa with industry AI. This initiative is expected to empower local customers and partners to innovate and expand internationally.

This partnership with the U.S. builds on Nigeria’s track record of prioritising connectivity as a cornerstone for economic development. Expanding the fibre network by such a significant margin is anticipated to unlock opportunities across industries, enabling businesses to thrive in a more connected environment and fostering innovation in critical sectors like education, healthcare, and finance.

As the U.S. and Nigeria strengthen their ties through this project, it also signals a shared vision for leveraging technology to drive sustainable development. By investing in digital infrastructure, Nigeria is positioning itself as a regional leader in Africa’s technology landscape. The collaboration could inspire similar initiatives across the continent, contributing to Africa’s collective digital evolution.

TechPoint Africa