When Bola Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria's president, he pledged to break the country’s reliance on borrowing for public spending. This commitment, made on August 8, 2023, during the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, raised hopes for fiscal prudence and economic stability. However, less than a year later, Nigeria's borrowing has surged dramatically, with over $8 billion borrowed from external sources and N20 trillion from the domestic debt market. This stark deviation from Tinubu's vow not only undermines his credibility but also poses severe implications for Nigeria’s economic future.

The Legacy of Debt

Under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria achieved a significant milestone by exiting a crippling international debt burden. Through strategic negotiations and repayments, Obasanjo managed to secure debt relief, providing Nigeria with a much-needed fiscal breathing space. This achievement was a beacon of hope, suggesting a path toward sustainable economic management and growth.

However, the administrations that followed have steadily reversed this progress. Former President Muhammadu Buhari's tenure saw a resurgence in borrowing, and now, under Tinubu, the situation has escalated alarmingly. The World Bank loans alone, totaling $4.95 billion, cover sectors ranging from power and women’s empowerment to education and renewable energy. Additionally, an oil-backed loan of $3.3 billion from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has further swollen Nigeria’s external debt profile.

Domestic Borrowing Surge

Domestically, the scenario is equally concerning. The Federal Government’s borrowing from local investors has skyrocketed to N20.1 trillion, marking a 117% increase from the previous year. This borrowing, facilitated through instruments such as FGN Bonds and Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTBs), has been driven by a high-interest rate environment. The average interest rate on NTBs rose to 9.1%, and on FGN Savings Bonds, it climbed to 17.91%. Such rates indicate a heavy burden on the nation's finances, exacerbating the cost of debt servicing.

Economic Implications

The implications of this borrowing spree are dire. Nigeria's external debt servicing payments nearly doubled to $2.19 billion in the first five months of 2024, compared to $1.12 billion in the same period in 2023. This rising debt burden could divert critical resources from essential sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure, worsening socio-economic conditions.

Moreover, the increased borrowing costs are likely to fuel inflationary pressures, prompting further interest rate hikes by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This cycle of rising costs and interest rates can stifle private sector investment, making it more expensive for businesses to access credit. Consequently, economic growth could be stunted, and unemployment may rise, intensifying social unrest.

The Path Forward

President Tinubu’s administration must urgently reassess its fiscal strategy. Instead of resorting to borrowing, the government should focus on enhancing revenue generation through robust tax reforms and efficient public spending. The Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, tasked with achieving an 18% tax-to-GDP ratio within three years, must deliver tangible results. Strengthening tax collection mechanisms and broadening the tax base (not imposing new taxes) can provide sustainable revenue streams, reducing the need for excessive borrowing.

The government also needs to reduce to the barest minimum the oil thefts in the Niger Delta that have made it impossible to meet Nigeria’s OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million barrels per day. This huge revenue leakage must be blocked.

Additionally, transparency and accountability in managing borrowed funds are crucial. Ensuring that loans are utilized effectively for development projects can mitigate some of the adverse impacts. However, without a strategic shift away from borrowing, Nigeria risks falling into a debt trap that could take decades to escape.

Conclusion

Tinubu’s broken promise on borrowing highlights the urgent need for a disciplined and sustainable fiscal policy. The current trajectory of mounting debt threatens Nigeria’s economic stability and future prosperity. It is imperative for the government to chart a new course that prioritizes revenue generation, prudent spending, and long-term economic planning. Only then can Nigeria hope to avoid the pitfalls of perpetual debt and build a resilient economy that benefits all its citizens.

“I have slaughtered a ram every year starting from 1976 but this year I can't, I just can't.”

Like many of the estimated 100 million Muslims in Nigeria, 78-year-old Kabiru Tudun Wada is not celebrating Eid al-Adha as he normally would because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Muslims around the world traditionally slaughter a ram or another animal on Eid al-Adha, in memory of the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his own son when God ordered him to.

The meat is used to prepare a huge feast for the entire family, while friends and neighbours visit each other and eat the food each family has prepared.

Clerics also recommend that some of the meat is distributed to the poor and needy.

“In years gone by I could afford at least one ram but things have never been tighter,” Wada told the BBC in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, where the vast majority of people are Muslim.

Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, leading to widespread hardship and anger.

Annual inflation - the average rate at which prices go up - is now over 30%, the highest figure in nearly three decades. The cost of food has risen even more - by 50%.

An average ram now sells for 100,000 naira (£50; $63) which is beyond the reach of many.

Another Nigerian, Auwal Yakasai, 66, said the only way he could afford to slaughter an animal for Eid this year was to find a friend and share the cost.

“We got a camel so the two of us can slaughter together.

“Things are so tight for many people and for some, an arrangement like this is the only way they can make the sacrifice.”

Muslim cleric Idris Garba Sokoto told the BBC that slaughtering a ram, goat or camel on Eid is one of the most beloved deeds a Muslim can perform for Allah.

“Islam traces the origin of the animal slaughtering on Eid to the prophet Ibrahim, who had a dream and was about to sacrifice his son before God intervened with a ram which he slaughtered instead. Since then it has become a religious practice.”

“For cows and camels, up to seven persons can put money together, buy and slaughter together - Islam permits that,” the cleric said.

But for many Muslims, and other Nigerians, basic food is their top priority at the moment - not an animal which some consider a luxury.

Shamsu Mohammed, 54, said that even if someone gave him the money to buy an animal, he would be more inclined to buy cheaper food to stock up his home.

“Slaughtering is not compulsory, as Islam says it is for those who have the means. For those who can't afford it, it’s not necessary.”

Ahead of Eid, the ram markets are normally full of people choosing which animal to buy and take home to their family. Normally, people take great pride in choosing the biggest and most impressive animal.

But this year is very different.

Ibrahim Balarabe Wambai makes his living selling rams and his whole year is normally geared around Eid.

He says the market is very different this year.

"Last year I sold 15 rams but this year, I have sold only seven."

The government say it is doing all it could to turn the economy around.

Around 15 million poor households are receiving a cash transfer of 25,000 naira ($16; £13) a month but these days that doesn't go very far.

As millions of Nigerian Muslims return from visiting the mosques, the prayer on the lips of many will be that things improve so that by next year, they can not only slaughter an animals but buy new clothes as well.

BBC

Netanyahu denounces tactical pauses in Gaza fighting to get in aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized plans announced by the military on Sunday to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate aid delivery into the Palestinian enclave.

The military had announced the daily pauses from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.

"When the prime minister heard the reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him," an Israeli official said.

The military clarified that normal operations would continue in Rafah, the main focus of its operation in southern Gaza, where eight soldiers were killed on Saturday.

The reaction from Netanyahu underlined political tensions over the issue of aid coming into Gaza, where international organisations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads one of the nationalist religious parties in Netanyahu's ruling coalition, denounced the idea of a tactical pause, saying whoever decided it was a "fool" who should lose their job.

DIVISIONS BETWEEN COALITION, ARMY

The spat was the latest in a series of clashes between members of the coalition and the military over the conduct of the war, now in its ninth month.

It came a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing Netanyahu of having no effective strategy in Gaza.

The divisions were laid bare last week in a parliamentary vote on a law on conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant voting against it in defiance of party orders, saying it was insufficient for the needs of the military.

Religious parties in the coalition have strongly opposed conscription for the ultra-Orthodox, drawing widespread anger from many Israelis, which has deepened as the war has gone on.

Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, the head of the military, said on Sunday there was a "definite need" to recruit more soldiers from the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox community.

RESERVISTS UNDER STRAIN

Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel triggered a ground assault on the enclave by Israeli forces.

Since the attack, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners in Israeli communities, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health ministry figures, and destroyed much of Gaza.

Although opinion polls suggest most Israelis support the government's aim of destroying Hamas, there have been widespread protests attacking the government for not doing more to bring home around 120 hostages who are still in Gaza after being taken hostage on Oct. 7.

Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said seven Palestinians were killed in two air strikes on two houses in Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

As fighting in Gaza has continued, a lower level conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border is now threatening to spiral into a wider war as near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia have escalated.

In a further sign that fighting in Gaza could drag on, Netanyahu's government said on Sunday it was extending until Aug. 15 the period it would fund hotels and guest houses for residents evacuated from southern Israeli border towns.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Swiss right-wing leader calls Ukraine summit an 'embarrassment'

A leading Swiss right-wing nationalist panned a summit his country was hosting in a bid to pressure Russia to end its war on Ukraine as an "embarrassment", reflecting the view that the talks are damaging for Switzerland's traditional neutrality.

The right-wing Swiss Peoples' Party (SVP), the biggest group in the lower house of parliament, says neutrality is an integral part of Switzerland's prosperity, and it has initiated a referendum to embed the principle in the constitution.

Leading figures in the party have argued Switzerland should not have hosted this weekend's summit without Russia, and Nils Fiechter, chief of the SVP's youth wing, delivered a damning verdict on the talks to Russian broadcaster RT.

"The conference will achieve nothing," Fiechter told RT on the eve of the talks, in comments picked up by Swiss media on Sunday. "The whole thing is an absolute farce and an embarrassment for our country."

The summit being held at the Buergenstock luxury resort has sparked heated debate over whether Switzerland should abandon its neutrality, a position deeply rooted in the Swiss psyche.

Western powers and other nations at the conference were on Sunday seeking consensus on condemning Russia's invasion and underscoring the war's human cost.

Fiechter said the Swiss government had "blindly" bowed to international pressure by not inviting Russia.

"Switzerland is ... allowing Ukraine to dictate who may or may not be invited to this conference and it is allowing it to turn into a Zelenskiy show," he told RT.

"Now we are in danger, and it's a great danger, of Switzerland allowing itself to be drawn into a world war."

Switzerland agreed to host the conference at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Bern says Russia must be involved in the process but justified not inviting it on the grounds that Moscow had repeatedly said it had no interest in taking part.

The Kremlin has described Switzerland as "openly hostile" and unfit to mediate in peace-building efforts, in particular because of its adoption of EU sanctions against Moscow.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, two of Europe's other historically neutral states, Sweden and Finland, have both joined NATO.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

No more ‘endless’ payments to Zelensky – Trump

Former US President Donald Trump has said that he would stop handing over tens of billions of dollars to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, promising to have the situation in Ukraine “settled” if he is re-elected this year.

“I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived,”Trump told supporters at ‘The People’s Convention’, a conservative conference held by Turning Point Action in Michigan on Saturday.

“Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion,” Trump said of the Ukrainian leader. “So now here’s the beauty. He just left four days ago with $60 billion, and he gets home and he announces that he needs another $60 billion or else it never ends, it never ends.”

The US and other G7 nations on Thursday announced a $50 billion loan for Ukraine, which would be backed by revenue generated by roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. While Zelensky did not ask for “another $60 billion” after leaving the G7 gathering in Italy, he has repeatedly chided his Western backers for not handing over sufficient quantities of cash and weapons, and intensely lobbied Republican lawmakers in Washington to approve a $61 billion military aid package in April.

“I will have that settled prior to taking the White House,” Trump told the crowd in Michigan. “As president-elect, I will have that settled.”Trump then reiterated, as he has on numerous occasions since 2022, that the Ukraine conflict “never would have happened” had he been president.

Trump has repeatedly argued that US President Joe Biden’s policy of open-ended military support for Ukraine is leading the US toward a “third world war,” and has promised that he would end the conflict “in 24 hours” if he defeats Biden in this November’s presidential election.

Trump has never fully elaborated on how he would do this, save for forcing Zelensky to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but recent reports by Bloomberg and the Washington Post suggest that he would leverage the US’ massive military assistance to Kiev to pressure Zelensky into accepting the loss of some of Ukraine’s pre-conflict territory.

However, Trump did not lobby his Congressional allies to block the $61 billion aid package in April, and said at the time that he would support lending, rather than gifting, money to Zelensky in future.

Reuters/RT

Less than a decade ago, the detention centre of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in Scheveningen on the outskirts of The Hague could easily have been mistaken for a committee meeting of leaders of the African Union. One of its long-term guests was Laurent Gbagbo, a former president of Côte d’Ivoire. From neighbouring Liberia, Gbagbo’s contemporary, Charles Taylor, kept up a punishing schedule on the tennis courts of the facility. With them there also was former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Jean-Pierre Bemba. 

At about the same time, Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta; and his Deputy and future successor, William Ruto, were suspects on trial before the ICC. For over five years before that, since 2009, the Court had an arrest warrant still outstanding for Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir. 

Even as the ICC advanced towards an arrest warrant for Sudan’s then dictator, the African Union, AU, complained somewhat vainly that “abuse and misuse of indictments against African leaders have a destabilizing effect that will negatively impact on the political, social and economic development of States and their ability to conduct international relations.” 

The month before the ICC authorized the arrest warrant against Omar Al-Bashir, in February 2009, the summit of the African Union’s Heads of State and Government requested the Commission of the African Union “in consultation with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to examine the implications of the Court being empowered to try international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and report thereon to the Assembly in 2010.” In the wake of the onset of the crisis in Libya, the African Union decided that the ICC’s focus on the African continent was “discriminatory.” In Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, in June 2014, the AU adopted a treaty to confer on the court jurisdiction over international crimes. This treaty is known as “the Malabo Protocol”, after the city where it was adopted. 

It was the assessment of the AU then that the Bashir arrest warrant would “seriously undermine the ongoing efforts aimed at facilitating the early resolution of the conflict in Darfur.” More than five years after Omar Al-Bashir’s ouster and one and a half decades after the ICC’s arrest warrant for him, the current metastasis of atrocities in Darfur provides reason to reassess the African Union’s fears. 

At the time when the AU first voiced its fears and suspicions about the ICC in the first decade of this millennium, they were largely greeted with derision. This attitude was foundational to the existence of the ICC. At the adoption of the statute establishing the court in 1998, then UK Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, infamously sniffed that “this is not a court set up to bring to book Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom or Presidents of the United States.” 

This colonial superciliousness did not preclude African countries from recognizing the opportunities in the ICC. The continent was the single largest source of resilient support to the project and process that culminated in the creation of the Court. With 33 of the 124 member states of the ICC, Africa provides over 26.6% of the signatories to the Statute establishing the Court, the largest single bloc of any continent. In January 2004, when few trusted the Court to exercise its functions with skill or responsibility, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni voluntarily referred the situation in the country to the court, yielding up the first case received by it. By the end of the first decade of its operations, the prosecutorial docket of the ICC read like a political geography of Africa: Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Uganda. 

A senior lawyer practising at the ICC accused it of being “a vehicle for its primarily European funders, of which the UK is one of the largest, to exert their influence and, particularly, in Africa.” For a long time, fundamentalists of the ICC dismissed this view as lacking in credibility.

As the current prosecutor of the Court, Karim Khan, prepared to turn his attentions to the atrocities in the ongoing crisis in Gaza earlier this year, however, all the suspicions about the targeting of Africa by the court were confirmed. In a high profile interview with the Cable News Network, CNN, last month, Khan disclosed that an un-named senior Western official seeking to dissuade him from seeking an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister, had told him that the ICC was “built for Africa and for thugs like Putin.” 

At about the same time, it emerged that the head of Israel’s much feared foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, had “allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation.” According to The Guardian in London, this was part of “an almost decade-long campaign by the country (Israel) to undermine the court (ICC).” In the wake of these disclosures, those who issue gratuitous lectures to Africa about the impunity and accountability have seen nothing and said even less.

The Prosecutor whom they threatened was Fatou Bensouda, Gambia’s current High Commissioner to the United Kingdom whose courage in defending the independence of her office as the second Prosecutor of the ICC made her the subject of punitive sanctions by the United States.

In the Malabo Protocol, the African Union, tired of protesting the pigmented project of the ICC, decided to endow an African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights with jurisdiction over 14 crimes of an international or transboundary nature on the continent. These include aggression; war crimes; crimes against humanity; genocide; trafficking in persons, in hazardous wastes or in drugs; terrorism, corruption; money laundering; mercenarism; piracy; illicit exploitation of natural resources; and unconstitutional changes in government. 

Despite the truly capacious scope contemplated by this treaty, a sustained international campaign frightened most African states into losing their sovereign nerves about the establishment of the court. The current scandal around the skullduggery and double standards in relation to the ICC’s efforts to address Afghanistan and Palestine have finally persuaded African countries to return attention to the project of an African competence on international crimes. 

On 31 May, Angola became the first country to ratify the Malabo Protocol. That leaves 14 more to do so before the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights can be established. That cannot happen too soon. When it does, the new court will have 15 judges who will sit in three sections. The General Affairs section will handle cases on mostly trade, regional integration and continental institutions. The section on Human and Peoples’ Rights will focus on human rights cases. There will also be a section on International Criminal Law which will have a pre-trial, trial and appellate chamber. The new Court will house one prosecutor and also one registrar. 

Fundamentalists of the ICC mock the idea of an international crimes instance for Africa. In truth, in the period of just over two decades of its operations, the record of the ICC has been largely underwhelming. It can do with all the help that it can get. The continental criminal instance proposed by the AU should be seen as a paydown by Africa on precisely that kind of assistance. Ten years after its adoption, there is no longer time to wait; Angola’s leadership in the push to bring the Malabo Protocol into force deserves to be quickly complemented by other African countries.

A Professor of law, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Just the mention of budgeting can conjure up thoughts of scarcity and cutting out fun, enough to have even the most seasoned entrepreneurs shaking in their boots. But it's time to reframe how you think about budgeting for your business.

Your financial numbers represent the reality of your company's performance, regardless of whether you know them or monitor them. Can you confidently answer if you have sufficient funds to expand into a new office space, hire additional staff or launch a new product line? How can you make informed decisions if you don't know your numbers? Without a clear understanding, decision-making becomes guesswork.

And what if you have a lot more money going out than coming in? There's a real danger in not knowing. As you run the daily operations, it's easy to take your eye off the proverbial financial ball. As I experienced firsthand, things like a runaway train can quickly get out of control. Overspending, missed opportunities and potential financial distress can quickly derail even the most promising ventures.

One of the first things I do with my clients is review their finances. By reviewing their financial situation in detail, we can identify problem areas, set realistic goals, and create a budget that aligns with their business priorities.

Budgeting doesn't mean cutting everything out or sacrificing growth. Rather than focusing on limitations, consider it a roadmap to financial freedom, enabling you to align expenses with your business priorities. Yes, sometimes you may need to run lean, but it's not permanent; it's "just for now." View it as a temporary strategic phase that allows you to gain control over your finances and allocate resources intentionally for future opportunities and growth.

It is not just about controlling spending but also figuring out how to increase sales and revenue. How can you make more money? Start by identifying new market opportunities or untapped customer segments. Innovate your product or service offerings to meet market demands. Improve your sales strategies through targeted marketing campaigns and leveraging social media/digital platforms to reach a broader audience. Consider partnerships or collaborations that can open new revenue streams. By focusing on these aspects, you can create a proactive plan that manages expenses and drives growth and profitability.

A crucial aspect of effective budgeting is comparing your budget to your actual spending. Regularly reviewing this comparison helps ensure that your spending aligns with your budget and highlights areas you might need to adjust. For example, if certain expenses are consistently higher than anticipated, you may need to revise your budget or find ways to reduce those costs.

Additionally, income and expenses can fluctuate, so it's important to tweak and adjust your budget monthly. This flexibility allows you to respond to changes in your business environment and ensures that your budget remains a useful tool for financial planning.

I personally experienced how important it is to have a budget. Even with my background as a CPA, I didn't take my own advice, and as I rapidly expanded my restaurants, opening one a year, I became heavily involved in the openings and didn't pay close attention to the financial details. When I finally took a moment to slow down and look, it became apparent that we were spending more money than we were making, despite being busy and having high sales.

By implementing a detailed budget and reviewing it month to month, I was able to identify discrepancies and areas where we were overspending. This regular review allowed me to make necessary adjustments and turn around most of the locations, getting them in line and operating successfully. This experience brought forward the importance of diligent budgeting and financial monitoring.

Practical tips for effective budgeting

1. Set Clear Goals: Define what you want to achieve with your budget. Whether it's saving for expansion, reducing debt, or increasing profits, having clear goals will guide your budgeting decisions.
2. Track Expenses Diligently: Monitor every expense using accounting software or budgeting apps. If you prefer, use a spreadsheet. Whatever the choice, make sure you are tracking.
3. Regularly Review Your Spending:Ensure it aligns with your budget.
4. Adjust as Needed: Budgets are not set in stone. If you notice certain strategies aren't working, don't hesitate to make adjustments.
5. Involve Your Team: Ensure that key team members understand the budget and their role in adhering to it.

Entrepreneur

Nigeria's inflation rate increased to 33.95% in May, driven primarily by surging prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Saturday. This marks a slight rise from April's inflation rate of 33.69%.

"Comparing month-over-month data, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 increased by 0.26 percentage points from April 2024," stated the NBS. "Year-over-year, the headline inflation rate was 11.54 percentage points higher than the 22.41% recorded in May 2023."

The report further highlighted that on a month-to-month basis, May's headline inflation rate was 2.14%, a slight decrease from April's 2.29%. This indicates that while prices are still rising, the pace of increase slowed compared to the previous month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the top contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 17.59%. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels followed with 5.68%, while clothing and footwear (2.60%), transport (2.21%), and furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance (1.71%) rounded out the top five contributors.

The NBS reported that urban inflation rose to 36.34% in May, up 12.61 percentage points from 23.74% in May 2023. Month-to-month, urban inflation was 2.35% in May, down 0.32 percentage points from April’s 2.67%.

Rural inflation was reported at 31.82% year-over-year in May, an increase of 10.63 percentage points from the 21.19% recorded in May 2023.

Food inflation specifically soared to 40.66% in May, up from 24.82% in the same month last year—a rise of 15.84 percentage points. The NBS attributed this increase to higher prices of staple foods such as semovita, oatflake, yam flour, garri, beans, Irish potatoes, yam, water yam, palm oil, vegetable oil, stockfish, mudfish, crayfish, beef head, live chicken, pork head, and bush meat.

On a month-to-month basis, food inflation was 2.28% in May, down from 2.50% in April.

Three people travelling on boat have been abducted by gunmen in Lagos.

The trio were reportedly whisked away while travelling by boat around Falomo Bridge from Apapa in Lagos.

While names of the abducted victims have not been ascertained, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said that the marine unit of the command got a report of three persons being kidnapped on water.

“We also got the report and we have started looking into it. Our marine department got that report.

“It was reported to them that three people were kidnapped. Their boat was found somewhere in Ikorodu and we have started looking into that,” Hundeyin said when contacted by Channels Television.

According to him, the police got the report just like every other person but have already swung into action to ascertain what happened, where it happened and how.

CTV

In the latest thrilling episode of Nigeria’s burgeoning kidnapping drama, we have witnessed yet another remarkable innovation: abductions on water. Yes, indeed, three unsuspecting boat passengers found themselves unwilling participants in this aquatic adventure, whisked away by gunmen near Falomo Bridge, Lagos on Saturday, June 15. The Lagos State Police, always a beacon of swift action and effectiveness, have of course “started looking into it.” Bravo!

One can only admire the creativity of Nigeria's criminal masterminds. With thousands already abducted by land, it was high time our intrepid kidnappers took to the seas. President Bola Tinubu must be proud. After all, when he promised to tackle insecurity, who could have guessed he meant giving kidnappers the confidence to diversify their portfolios?

But why stop at the sea? With over 7,000 abductions in Tinubu’s first year, and the daring recent boat heist, it’s only a matter of time before the skies become the next frontier. Imagine the headlines: "Passengers Abducted Mid-Flight in Nigerian Airspace!" It’s the logical next step, isn't it? Given the current trend, passengers may soon need to choose their airlines based not just on comfort and price, but on the likelihood of being hijacked.

Let’s not forget President Tinubu’s stirring inaugural promises. “Security shall be the top priority of our administration,” he declared with conviction. And yet, the numbers tell a different story. With over 4,500 fatalities and 7,000 kidnappings in his first year alone, perhaps the President is redefining what “security” means. Maybe, just maybe, he’s aiming for a record-breaking performance, ensuring Nigeria tops global abduction statistics.

In all seriousness, the tragic reality behind this lighthearted lamentation is a nation gripped by fear, where safety is a luxury few can afford. The government's response has been tepid at best, with grand promises and little to show for them. The recent marine abduction is not just a bizarre twist; it's a damning indictment of an administration that has failed to protect its citizens, whether on land, sea, or potentially soon, in the air.

So here’s to the brave Nigerian travelers, who might soon need parachutes as part of their standard travel gear. Fly safe, if you dare!

Eight Israeli soldiers killed as fighting continues in Rafah

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians.

The soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armoured carrier that was hit by an explosion that detonated engineering materials being carried on the vehicle, apparently in contravention of standard practice, the military said. It said the early morning incident, in the Tel al-Sultan area in the west of Rafah, was being investigated.

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said the vehicle had been trapped in a prepared minefield that set off the explosion.

Israeli tanks advanced in Tel al-Sultan and shells landed in the coastal area, where thousands of Palestinians, many of them displaced several times already, have sought refuge.

Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the start of the war in October, with the near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah militia fighters in southern Lebanon intensifying.

In Israeli airstrikes on two houses in Gaza City suburbs, residents said at least 15 people were killed. Four others were killed in separate attacks in the south, medics said.

The Israeli military on Saturday said its forces in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, close to the border with Egypt, had captured large quantities of weapons, both above ground and concealed in the extensive tunnel network built by Hamas.

It said militants had on Friday fired five rockets from the humanitarian area in central Gaza, two of which fell in open areas in Israel and three fell short in Gaza.

"This is a further example of the cynical exploitation of humanitarian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip for their terrorist attacks," the military said.

PROTESTS

The deaths of the soldiers may complicate the political situation facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing Netanyahu of having no proper strategy for Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday in the latest of the now weekly protests by families and supporters of hostages still held by Hamas, demanding an agreement to bring them home.

In a video statement issued late on Saturday, Netanyahu said there was no alternative but to stick to the goals of the war to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages back.

Although surveys show solid support among the Israeli public for continuing the war against Hamas, the protests underscore the divisions in Israeli society that have reopened following a period of unity at the start of the war.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, said on Saturday Israel could only regain its hostages in Gaza if it ended the war and pulled out forces from the enclave.

Islamic Jihad is a smaller ally of Hamas, which led a rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, although at least 40 have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.

Since a week-long truce in November, repeated attempts to arrange a ceasefire have failed, with Hamas insisting on a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu refuses to end the war before Hamas is eradicated.

At least 37,296 Palestinians, at least 30 of them in the past 24 hours, have been killed in Israel's military campaign to eliminate Hamas, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Reuters