Emmanuel Akinwotu
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Hi, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, for many people in the country, it's been just a brutal year. The central bank puts inflation at 34%. You know, the cost of food, energy, just basic necessities have become so expensive. And then in the last few weeks, there have been these series of shocking events that have really crystallized the struggles people are facing.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Local police say about 60 people have died in three stampedes, different charity events around the country, where people were giving out food and cash donations. One of those events was for children in Ibadan. It's a city just outside Lagos. And thousands of people arrived there with their kids, many of them arriving a day before the event even started.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
But then this charity event just became a tragedy. About 35 children died. And on local media, there were these just tragic scenes of mothers weeping, looking for their children. The organizers of the Ibadan event have been arrested and have come under a lot of scrutiny. But these incidents, three incidents in a short space of time, have just really demonstrated the struggles people are facing.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, the government introduced a string of reforms that were largely praised by Western institutions like the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, and by the US government. But they've had a major impact on people's lives. The government devalued the currency, they cut an electricity subsidy, but really the most important one was the end of a fuel subsidy.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
which was one of the few benefits that Nigerians receive. Previous governments tried to end it, but they backed down because of huge protests. But it was also a really expensive subsidy for the government. And the effects of cutting it were just swift. The price of fuel soared. We just had this huge domino effect. And the price of transportation has shot up.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
And people rely on generators for electricity because of power cuts. So the cost of that went up too. And... People expected that the subsidy might go, but they didn't think it would go as quickly as it did, especially with so little put in place by the government to soften the blow.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, they've largely called for patience. The government says it's aware of the economic pain, but that it's necessary and temporary. They've also almost doubled the minimum wage, although in real terms, a lot of that raise has been wiped out by inflation. And they've started these cash grants, but just to the poorest people.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
But really, the feeling I hear day to day is this sense that the political class in Nigeria still don't truly grasp just how challenging a time things are for people.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Thank you.