September 2021

29 September 2021
Legit
Analysis Shows Family of Four now Needs at Least ₦10,000 to Prepare a Pot of Jollof Rice
Poor Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of rising food costs, with a pot of one of the country’s most famous dishes, Jollof rice, now costing at least ₦10,00 to prepare for a family of four…

Premium Times
Ebonyi worst affected by IPOB sit-at-home order
Sit-at-home orders enforced by the pro-Biafra group, IPOB, have had more negative economic impacts on Ebonyi State than other states in the South-east region, a report says…

Sahara Reporters
Ex-Minister Fani-Kayode Shares Unrelated Photos To Depict Military Onslaught On Bandits In Zamfara
On September 7, 2021, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, took to social media handles to celebrate the victory of the Nigerian Army over bandits in the northern states, particularly Zamfara where the government had declared a shutdown of telecommunications services…

28 September 2021
The Africa Report
Nigeria digital economy bill risks killing the golden goose
A Nigerian bill proposing to tax and regulate the digital economy risks stunting the development of one of the country’s only engines of growth…

The Cable
How telecoms shutdown is affecting businesses in north-west
Businesses are currently bearing the brunt of the decision to shut down telecommunications services in some states in north-west region of the country, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence.

Guardian Nigeria
Zamfara residents lament indefinite telecoms shutdown amid rise in bandits’ activities
About 9.2 million Zamfara State residents looking forward to the expiration of the two weeks telecoms service shutdown will have to endure a tortuous, indefinite wait, as the pangs of ‘no network’ continue to bite harder across all segments of the economy…

27 September 2021
Sahara Reporters
How Shutdown Of Mobile Phone Services In Zamfara, Katsina Is Silently Killing Residents
A recent report by SB Morgen Intelligence has revealed that the incomes of residents of Zamfara and Katsina have been affected drastically by the ban on mobile phone services in the states, particularly Zamfara residents…

26 September 2021
Leadership
Concerns Over Federal Highways
Aside from the speaker’s regular but unjustifiable tirade against the media, the House On Wednesday recorded a commendable feat by calling on the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently carry out repairs on all federal government highways that have been affected by heavy downpour to ease the untold hardship of travelers…

23 September 2021
Legit
Take Over the Streets of Abuja, Ohanaeze Worldwide Tells IPOB
A message has been sent to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide…

The Nation
Nigeria’s greatest problem (2)
The boy bandit or insurgent is our reality check; the frightful glimpse into our infernal core. Aliyu Jatau, for instance, is a spear of consequence impaled into Nigeria’s northwest. In my encounter with him in Zamfara, the 17-year-old’s face spooled the mathematical grid of our defeat by chthonic lust and Nigeria’s retreat into bestial nature…

ThisDay
2023 and the Familiar Song
With the way we are running our country, I said in my Platform Nigeria 1st May 2019 presentation, ‘An Economy on Life Support: Time to Pull the Plug’, a convulsion was inevitable at some point…

22 September 2021
BluePrint
Global Rights, CSOs lament Twitter ban, demand conducive environment for businesses to thrive
An international organisation, Global Rights, has lamented the ban on microblogging site, Twitter, saying that the losses necessitated by the ban are unquantifiable and not restricted to finance alone as lack of information has also led to loss of lives and property…

21 September 2021
BusinessDay
Report reveals Nigerians paying multiple taxes
A new report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical risk analysis has confirmed that Nigerians are paying multiple taxes…

20 September 2021
CNBC Africa
Understanding Nigeria’s Fx challenges & CBN’s policies
The drop in crude oil prices in the first quarter of 2020, exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other sources of foreign exchange earnings, has fueled the volatility in Nigeria’s fx market.

Hallmark News
Emefiele’s headache: Naira. Inflation. Debt
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor Godwin Emefiele, is an unusual technocrat for many reasons…

Legit
Sit-at-Home Fails in Imo, Abia As Residents Go About Their Duties
Commercial activities returned to major parts of Owerri, the capital of Imo state, on Monday, September 20 after weeks of compliance to the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)…

News Central
CBN Clamps Down on Currency Exchange Website
SBM Intelligence’s Head of Research, Ikemesit Effiong spoke with News Central TV about the latest developments concerning abokiFX, a popular mobile and web-based platform which has been accused by the Central Bank of Nigeria of currency manipulation and publishing illegal rates…

RFI
Les journées «villes mortes» dans le Biafra portent un coup à l’économie nigériane
Des journées « villes mortes » dans le sud-est du Nigeria à l’appel des séparatistes ont coûté plusieurs millions de Nairas à l’économie…

The Sun
Grazing routes and matters arising
Earlier this month, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the collection of field data on the grazing routes to assess levels of encroachment, stakeholder engagements, and sensitization, based on the recommendations of a committee chaired by Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the president…

19 September 2021
Naija Times
TRIBUTE: The power of positive difference: Dr. Obadiah Mailafia and his Nigeria
Nigeria is a country that has been outfitted with severe cases of threatened sovereignty, economic fluctuations, unending internal strife, loss of faith in the government and governing process, general disappointment and dissent, political malaise, malignant corruption, but to mention a few…

ThisDay
Understanding Land Use Act in Establishing Grazing Routes
Going by the express provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, which gives governors the powers to administer control over the ownership, use, development and administration of land in their states, Ademola Orunbon writes that the federal government cannot hide under anachronistic policies to take over lands from the states…

17 September 2021
BusinessDay
Nigerians paying multiple taxes despite FG’s claims – Report
The Federal government has been trying to dispel the notion that Nigerians are paying multiple taxes but findings from a new report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical risk analysis firm, disputes this claim…

Nairametrics
Media reported killings: Top 5 states in Nigeria for H1 2021
The state of insecurity in Nigeria witnessed a total number of 5,814 casualties under media-reported killings, with the North East, North West and North Central accounting for most of the media reported killings…

16 September 2021
Financial Times
Nigerian businesses at risk of double taxation
Businesses in Nigeria are at risk of double taxation as state and federal governments clash over the right to collect value added tax in Africa’s biggest economy, adding to uncertainty in a tough financial climate…

15 September 2021
Bloomberg
African Central Banks Seen Holding Rates on GDP Growth Concerns
Central bankers in eight key African countries are likely to leave borrowing costs unchanged this month to support the recovery of economies that remain vulnerable to coronavirus-induced shocks…

14 September 2021
Avvenire
Liberati i 70 studenti rapiti a inizio settembre nello Zamfara
Le autorità dello Stato di Zamfara, nel Nord-ovest della Nigeria, hanno annunciato la liberazione di più di 70 studenti che erano stati rapiti a inizio settembre in un liceo di Kaya-Maradun…

BusinessPost
South East Economy Under Threat as IPOB Declares Tuesday Work-Free
Economic activities in the southeastern part of Nigeria will likely be halted on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, as the outlawed secessionist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has asked residents of the region to observe a sit-at-home order to commemorate victims of the invasion of the compound of its leader, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, at Afaraukwu Ibeku Umuahia, Abia State, by the Nigerian Army in 2017…

The Cable
Umahi: Sit-at-home not biting south-east governors — we have food to eat
David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi state, says the sit-at-home trend in the south-east affects the residents and not the governors. He described the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as “war brought by the people upon themselves”…

Franceinfo
Au Nigeria, le kidnapping de masse vise principalement les établissements scolaires
Des dizaines d’élèves enlevés début septembre ont été libérés par leurs ravisseurs dans l’Etat de Zamfara, dans le nord du Nigeria. Le rapt d’élèves et d’étudiants est devenu un fléau…

Legit
Frank Nweke Speaks on IPOB’s Sit-at-Home Orders in Southeast
Frank Nweke II, a former minister of information has stated that the decision of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) to shut down the economy of the southeast through its Mondays’ sit-at-home orders is unwise…

Sit-at-Home: Research Group Says IPOB’s Action Is Losing Steam
A new report by the SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence has shown that the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) is gradually losing steam…

The New Humanitarian
Why support for secession is growing in southeast Nigeria
When President Muhammadu Buhari flew into southeastern Imo State last week to commission a handful of development projects, he was greeted by deserted streets and shuttered businesses: Residents were demonstrating against his leadership by staying at home…

NewsWireNGR
IPOB’s sit-at-home mostly supported by people older than 50 — Survey
People older than 50 years showed the largest support for the sit-at-home order in South-East by a proscribed group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)…

13 September 2021
Thisday
Nnamdi Kanu’s Abia State Least Affected by IPOB Activities in South-east
Abia State has emerged the least impacted by the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), despite the fact that its founder, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, hails from the state, a new report by the SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence has shown…

12 September 2021
La Vanguardia
África, la maldición de los golpes de Estado
El continente suma más de 200 alzamientos desde las independencias, la mitad con éxito. Este año la cosecha ha sido alta: Mali, Níger, Chad y Guinea…

The Eagle Online
Understanding Land Use Act in establishing grazing routes
The farmer-herder attacks in Nigeria entered a new phase of policy direction between the federal government and state governors as the Presidency revealed it is reviewing the grazing routes across the country to reduce trespassing on plantations by herders which have greatly affected Nigeria’s food production capacity as more farmers keep away from their farms to protect themselves from marauding herdsmen attacks…

Thisday
THE RUMBLINGS OVER VAT JUDGEMENT
The recent judgement of the Federal High Court (FHC) in Port Harcourt on the rightful authorities to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) has continued to raise fundamental questions in our polity…

10 September 2021
Nairametrics
IPOB sit at home: Only 37% of youths support sit at home
A report revealed that the sit at home order issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has only 37% of people aged 18-30 years support the sit at home…

Quartz Africa
Millions of Nigerians can’t make a phone call because of abduction gangs
Two states in northern Nigeria have shut down telecoms operations as part of a scramble by security agencies to combat escalating criminal activity and, in particular, gangs who specialize in abduction and extortion…

Sahara Reporters
REVEALED: Categories Of Workers Hardest Hit By IPOB’s Sit-at-home In South-East Nigeria
A recent report by SB Morgen Intelligence has revealed that residents of the South-East adhere to the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the region due to fear of attacks and sympathy for the group’s cause…

9 September 2021
The Cable
Fear of attacks, sympathy for IPOB’s cause making sit-at-home order effective
The sit-at-home order of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the south-east has been effective due to fear of attacks and sympathy for the group’s cause, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence…

8 September 2021
Guardian Nigeria
‘1409 students abducted in 19 Months’
No fewer than 1409 students were abducted in Nigeria in the past 19 months. This was contained in a report released by SBM Intelligence. SBM is Nigeria’s geopolitical intelligence platform…

Punch
Abductions, lack of funds hamper safe school initiative
The Federal Government has identified lack of funds and logistics as among factors hampering the implementation of the nation’s Safe School Initiative…

7 September 2021
Epoch Times
In Nigeria, Sectarian Killings Spark Protests for Right to Bear Arms
The years-long clamor by Nigerian citizens for the right to bear arms has begun to sound like a roar…

Guardian Nigeria
About 5,000 refinery, steel workers receive salaries despite zero production
Despite producing nothing and adding zero value to the nation’s economy, the Federal Government has continued to pay the salaries of about 5,000 workers operating in the nation’s ailing refineries and Ajaokuta Steel Complex…

6 September 2021
The Cable
Report: 1409 students kidnapped in Nigeria in 19 months
A new report by SBM Intelligence, Nigeria’s geopolitical intelligence platform, says at least 1409 students have been abducted in Nigeria in the past 19 months…

The Economist’s hagiography of el-Rufai
“He banned political meetings and free speech. He detained thousands, used secret tribunals, and executed people for crimes that were not capital offences…

Channels Television
Nigeria’s Tax System: Is The Informal Sector Paying More?
Joachim MacEbong, a senior analyst with SBM Intelligence spoke with Channels TV about the recently released report on Nigeria’s tax system to answer the question, “Is the informal sector paying more?”…

Financial Times
‘Dramatic’ Nigerian oil reforms hit slow start
Drivers in Lagos last week were paying N162 ($0.40) per litre of petrol, among the lowest rates in Africa — beneficiaries of a fuel subsidy that costs the continent’s biggest crude producer billions of dollars a year…

Reliefweb
School abductions in Nigeria
At least 1409 students have been kidnapped from their schools in Nigeria since the first incident in the country’s latest school abduction epidemic which started in March 2020…

5 September 2021
The Nation
‘WE NEED GUNS NOT BOOKS’
Aliyu, 17, wanted to be a legend. So, he burned his father’s cat to a charred skull to create his legend out of rage. His father, Jatau, railed at him for killing the cat (mage) and Aliyu charged back at him, daring him to retaliate. After burning the cat, he pounded its charred remains into dust and made an amulet from it. “Whenever it is around my neck, no bullet can kill me,” he said, fingering the talisman made of animal hide and bone fragments…

3 September 2021
The Africa Report
Rivalries within Nigeria’s ruling party raise spectre of electoral
Two years ahead of national elections in Nigeria, and its two main parties are in disarray. Activists in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are spending time attacking their fellow party loyalists, rather than those in the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP)…

ThisDay
Constitution Review: Tackling Sexual Abuse Through Gender Equality
Nigerians are fond of referencing the United States when discussing governance. Probably because our democratic system was borrowed from the U.S., and our constitution, whose ongoing review is the focus of this opinion, is a poor imitation of that of the U.S…

TRT World
Community elders unite to end deadly Christian-Muslim clashes in Nigeria
Tit-for-tat killings between Muslims and Christians of northern Nigeria have renewed but local elders are trying to resolve the differences as the government is playing a fencesitter role…

2 September 2021
BusinessDay
Nigeria’s Northern governors run out of ideas to tackle insecurity
Some governors in Nigeria’s troubled Northern region are closing markets, shuttering highways, prohibiting sale of petrol in cans, restricting movement of cattle and urging people to defend themselves to curb banditry and terrorism plaguing their states, measures indicating they are at their wit’s end…

Stears Business
What inflation looks like across Nigeria
The former Prime Minister of the UK, Margaret Thatcher, once said that “Inflation devalues us all”. And I couldn’t agree more. I thought of an inflation example to show how far the naira’s value has eroded over the years, and I remembered the banknotes. When I was still very young, the ₦5 note was still widely used. There were items you could buy for less than ₦5, they might not have been high-quality items, but they existed…

1 September 2021
CNN
Schools in Nigerian state shut after mass kidnapping of students by gunmen
Schools in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara State have been ordered closed after scores of students were kidnapped by gunmen on Wednesday…

Nairametrics
Police confirm kidnap of 73 students from Zamfara school
The Nigerian Police Force has confirmed another case of school kidnappings in Northern Nigeria, as 73 students of the Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, Maradun Local Government Area (LGA), were confirmed kidnapped by armed men…