American billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates, on Wednesday, remarked that Nigeria’s economy has stagnated, noting that the country’s revenue-to-GDP ratio was better 15 years ago than now.

He advised the Federal Government to prioritise spending on health care as a means to revamp the economy.

Gates, who attended the National Economic Council meeting at the State House in Abuja, highlighted the importance of investing in Nigeria’s most valuable asset—its people—while tackling the country’s economic issues.

He noted that Nigeria is faced with financial constraints but insisted that the health of the populace must be prioritised.

Gates said, “Nigeria’s economy has stagnated. Earlier this year, your debt exceeded 50 per cent of your GDP for the first time since 2001. And while your revenue-to-GDP ratio has grown, it’s still lower than what it was 15 years ago. The result is that Nigeria spends less per-capita on its people than other African countries with a fraction of your wealth.

"I understand this is a politically sensitive area. Nigerians are struggling. Incomes have fallen. Prices have soared. And like in many other countries, people are protesting.

“Taxes are never popular. That’s true in America too. But they’re part of a social compact. People are more likely to pay them when they see the government spending that money to give Nigerians a better life.”

He stressed the need for the government to invest in human capital, beginning with increased healthcare spending.

He said, “After all, priorities without funding are only words. And I know that right now, it’s impossible to give every priority the funding it needs. That’s why it’s more important than ever to focus on the areas you know will make the greatest difference.

"I’ll start with health, because without health, there can be no opportunity.

“Primary care is the first—and sometimes, the only—point of contact most patients have with the health system. Yet Nigeria spends just 3,000 naira on primary health care per person, per year. 70% of your spending goes to secondary and tertiary care, compared to just 30% for primary care. That ratio should be reversed.

"Last year, the Federal Government launched an ambitious HPV vaccination campaign. In one month, Nigeria immunised more girls than 40 other Gavi countries combined did the entire previous year. In total, Nigeria reached more than 12 million girls with this life-saving vaccine.

"That’s genuinely incredible. And I hope you carry the lessons from that campaign to future efforts.”

He said that he had been visiting Nigeria for over two decades, noting that over the years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had invested over $2.8bn in Nigeria, the largest such investment in Africa.

Gates stated, “ I have been coming to Nigeria for over two decades now. In that time, I have seen performances by Afrobeats legends. I have formed friendships with leaders across sectors. And I’ve met with innovators who are changing the world.

"I am also proud to support their work. To date, our foundation has invested over $2.8bn in Nigeria. It’s our largest commitment in all of Africa.”

He stated that while President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was ambitious, it faces resource constraints.

Bill Gates said despite common knowledge that that nutrition is crucial for public health and that agriculture plays a vital role in ensuring proper nutrition, “Nigeria has the second-highest rate of food insecurity on earth.”

"You’ve seen how the problem has grown worse as climate change has accelerated. Arable land has disappeared. Pests have wiped out harvests. And prices for staple foods have soared.

“But there are some ways to address this crisis I hope you’ll consider.

"First, Nigeria needs more funding for extension workers, to advise and support farmers; fertilizers, to make sure the soil is healthy enough to grow more crops; and infrastructure, so that farmers have roads to bring their goods to market.

"One key solution is to embrace the new generation of innovative crop varieties that have shorter growing periods, higher yields, and greater resistance to pests,” the American said.

The Federal Government has threatened to withdraw licences of oil marketers found guilty of hoarding Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol, following the unabated scarcity in Abuja, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and many other states.

Some states, especially those in the North have witnessed continuous petrol scarcity for a while now, a situation that has since degenerated into many stations closing up shop due to a lack of supply.

However, the Federal Government through its Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has issued a warning to oil marketers that filling stations that hoard petrol and sell to black marketers in jerrycans would have their licences withdrawn.

The warning was handed down by the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, in a video clip shared by the regulator during an inspection tour in Abuja.

Ukoha was heard telling one of the managers of the inspected stations that “You need to take this (warning) very seriously. If you need security reinforcements, speak to your management.”

He said retail petrol stations should stop encouraging the sale of products to black marketers who dispense the products in jerrycans.

Ukoha said such actions posed serious safety concerns and should be discontinued.

Also on its X handle, the downstream regulator said it had declared war against the illegal sale of petroleum products.

“NMDPRA embarks on a war against the illegal sale of petroleum products, especially PMS in jerrycans. Filling stations are advised to desist from servicing illegal peddlers; failure to do so would result in the suspension of retail licences,” the agency stated.

On July 27, NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, said the fuel scarcity witnessed in Abuja and Lagos was due to a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels.

“The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels,” Soneye had explained

According to him, the company was working around the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in operations.

At some point, the NNPCL also said the fuel crisis was caused by bad weather.

"Adherence to these regulations is mandatory as any deviation could pose a severe danger to the trucks, filling stations, and human lives. Similarly, the development was compounded by consequential flooding of truck routes, which has constrained the movement of PMS from the coastal corridors to the Federal Capital, Abuja,” he added, saying loading had commenced at the time.

Despite the promises, petrol scarcity has persisted in many northern states.

Renowned Professor of History and African Studies, Toyin Falola, says the President Bola Tinubu government has failed to address the major triggers for the #EndBadGovernance protests that reverberated in most states in Nigeria earlier in August.

The septuagenarian professor at the University of Texas was a guest on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.

He said the protesters were charitable to announce their protests weeks ahead, giving the government time to map out strategies to stifle the impact of the rallies.

Falola, however, said the Tinubu administration should fear spontaneous and uncontrollable protests like those being experienced in South Asian country Bangladesh where young demonstrators are against the policies of fleeing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Between August 1 and 10, young demonstrators held rallies in most cities in Nigeria, protesting high cost of living and soaring food prices. The protesters also asked Tinubu to reverse the subsidy on petrol for prices of basic commodities to drop.

On August 4, 2024, Tinubu addressed Nigerians and ruled out the return of petrol subsidies, a major demand of #EndBadGovernance campaigners.

Speaking on the programme, the don faulted the presidential statement on the #EndBadGovernance protests, saying the major issues of hunger, skyrocketing energy costs, high standard of living and insecurity raised by young demonstrators were not addressed by the President.

"When the President issues his own, no issue around fuel subsidy, no issue around infrastructure, no talk about electricity, no talk about security – – all the elements that drove the protests.

"Aṣọ Rock’s fundamental reaction was: ‘we don’t want anyone to destabilise the government’. Nobody wants to destabilise the government.

“Of course, some elements took advantage of protests with the Russian flags, calls for coup, but the protest was not about destabilising the government; the protesters were not calling for a coup. Of course, in Kaduna, they did but that was not the original intention which was to say, ‘we are very hungry’. Are they not hungry? They are.”

He said there is no way Tinubu won’t know about the rising cost of living in Nigeria, fuelled by persistent inflationary pressure in the country.

Falola said, “He (Tinubu) knows, and making excuses is not the way to govern but at the end of the day, we are lucky that there were no damages. People were expecting Igbo-Yoruba warfare in Lagos (but) it didn’t happen.

"The fundamental things that produced the protest are still there. What the government should pay attention to is that undated or unannounced or unplanned protest that is more dangerous. Because you cannot control that one. This one that there was notice and you can put your police or bullies on the streets. But the protest to fear is like that of Bangladesh.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Monday said a man, who was one of the masterminds of the crisis that ravaged Sudan, was among the organisers of just-concluded #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest.

Egbetokun, clarified that the operatives of the force did not raid headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), but an office in the building being used by the foreigner.

The police chief, who stated this in Abuja during a Youth Summit organised by the force, specifically said the raid was not targeted at the labour leaders but the foreigner hiding in one of the offices at the popular Labour House in Abuja.

The top cop, while fielding questions after the summit, said the foreigner who was traced to the Labour House later escaped, saying valuable documents in connection with his “activities” were recovered.

He said, “My response to this will be in three parts. Number one is that, of course, our responsibility is not to protest but to manage protest. Two is that the intelligence at the disposal of the police, anyone who knows what we know about this protest, will not come out to protest.

“We had intelligence at our disposal that some agents of destabilisation are ready to use the hardship protest to destabilise our country. I won’t be able to share the details yet because we are still on the trail of these individuals.

"Some of them are already out of the country, and they immediately escape. Some of them are even foreigners. One of them was traced to the Labour House the other day, and I was just wondering why the noise about the raid on the Labour House.

“We raided only a shop that the individual was using as a front and we have been monitoring his activities. He was very active in the Sudan crisis and he’s in Nigeria mobilising people to destabilise our country.

"We traced him to that shop and our detectives raided his shop. We recovered valuable documents, so there was no need for the noise about the raid of the Labour House.”

Egbetokun said the police would always be against any protest in the country because of the experience police had during #EndSARS riots in 2020, arguing that any protest that started on social media has tendencies of being violent.

He stated, “I always refer to the #EndSARS protest which turned violent. It started initially as peaceful, but any protest that is mobilised on social media has the potential to be violent because when you are mobilising on social media, you are mobilising the whole population, including the criminals.

“So, the idea of the protest being hijacked, I don’t believe that a protest that is mobilised on social media is hijacked. Hijacked by who? By the same people that were mobilised for the protest.

"So, our experience in the past in previous protests would not make the police want to take part in any protest that we know is going to be violent.”

Earlier, the former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, who was the guest lecturer advised the federal government to be intentional about engaging the youths in the country about current situation in the country.

Former Chief Security Officer to the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd), has called on Nigerian youths to use their voter cards to unseat bad leaders.

Al-Mustapha spoke in Abuja on Monday at the commemoration of the International Youth Day Celebration 2024 by the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

Al-Mustapha accused politicians of being disconnected from the people.

He said: “They’re not connected to the villages and do not know how the councils and local governments functioned before and that is why the LG system was crippled.

“This is part of the crisis the federal government is trying to handle today. If the LGs were functioning, we would not have the food supply chain cut off because the foods are being produced at the community and LG levels.

“Today, insecurity, kidnapping, barbarism and the failure of leadership have crippled our communities. They cannot even farm. The crop of leaders from 1999 who are not career politicians queued in and hijacked the system and this is the only reason a governor will tell you that the state resources belong to him and say, ‘It’s my money’.

"This situation, we have the capacity to change it and we can change it through only one way. In a democracy, the day of the election is the day of coup and the weapon for coup is your fingers. You change bad leaders by voting them out, not with guns.

“And then, all of you here, you have your weapons, you have your guns – your fingers. Now, if you don’t use it, who would you blame? People rig elections where they’re not popular. Nobody will rig if you cast your votes and work together to protect them. I’m happy that the era of rigging is gone.

"If you see millions of youths on the streets, you will assume that the world is coming to an end. You can’t afford the injustices in Nigeria that have kept us where we are today.

"I read the recent report released by the MBS; our judges are the most corrupt judges in the world. Get your PVC. That is your greatest weapon. Don’t be deterred. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. This is our country.”

It is no longer news that Igbo, especially in the five Southeast states, did not participate in the End Bad Governance protest that started in other parts of the country on August 1.

However, why the Igbo shunned the protest and the implications for the country are raising issues in the polity.

Across other parts of the country, angry protesters stormed the streets and for more than five days vented their spleen against what they described as bad Governance, hunger and hardship in the country. The protest became riotous in the North as hoodlums looted shops, and business centres among others. Many states declared curfews to contain the mayhem.

But there was pin-drop silence in the South-East leading many to ask if the zone and Igbo are insulated from the prevailing economic downturn in the country.

Ameh fingers inequity, injustice

Speaking on the issue, Chief Peter Ameh, former Presidential candidate and national secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, said the “absence of equity, justice and fairness is the reason for the political apathy by Igbo in the Nigerian project.”

According to him, “constant and unjust scapegoating of the Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria is the major reason why Igbo abstained from the nationwide protests.”

He continued: “Failure to implement General Yakubu Gowon’s Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Rehabilitation programme is a catalyst for growing lack of commitment by all persons of Igbo extraction within and outside Nigeria in many programmes of the government.”

Chief Ameh also attributed Igbo boycott of the protest to “marginalisation of Igbo in strategic economic and administrative positions under the APC governments, and acts of tribal exclusion mixed with political bigotry.”

He continued: “The main reason why the entire Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria was unanimous in their decision not to participate in the ongoing #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest across the country is primarily as a result of the easy targeting of lives and property of Igbo whenever there is an uprising or protests in Nigeria.

"Being the only tribe in Nigeria that could be found and visibly seen in the remotest parts of the country, Igbo are always at the receiving end of the consequences of any activity carried out either by the Nigerian government or the public.

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday, expressed disapproval at the current state of the country, saying that the majority of its leaders should be behind bars or gallows instead of public offices.

Obasanjo, who spoke while addressing six lawmakers from the House of Representatives, maintained that in choosing good leaders, characters must be considered and questioned.

The former president asserted that until leaders changed their mentality, the country would never see the change it desired.

“Our main problem is ourselves and until we take care of ourselves, we may have one term of four years, one term of six years, one term of seven years, if it’s the same people and same mentality and way we do things, then it won’t change.

“Yes system, yes democracy, we have to rethink democracy, we have to rethink the form of government, but what is the character of the people in government?

“With all due respect, most of them should be behind bars, some should even be in the gallows and that is the truth.

"Now if these are the people that are ruling us, then what do you expect? So, the point is the character of the people that are coming to the government. Their attributes, the sort of people they truly are.

“We need to really think about how we select leaders, what should be the character of a leader we select? What should be their track record ?

“Where should we find them? Are they role models? And I think those are the first things we have to think about,” he stated.

The lawmakers’ entourage included Abdulmalik Danga from Kogi, Dr Usman Midala from Borno, Matthew Nwogu from Imo, Peter Aniekwe from Anambra, Kama Nkemkanma from Ebonyi and Ugochinyere Ikenga from Imo.

The Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule wants the north to address its challenges, saying most of the protesters during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in the state were Almajiris who knew nothing about the rallies.

The #EndBadGovernance demonstrations which started on August 1 across cities in the country – to press home for a better economy – were largely peaceful initially. But the protests assumed worrying dimensions after looting and destruction in some northern states led to the imposition of curfews.

Governor Sule who is worried that some of the people who protested were young persons said most of them did not know why the processions were taking place.

“During this last protest that we had in Lafia, the majority of those that came out on the streets were the Almajiris – some of them five years old, seven years old, nine years old,” the governor said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“A lot of them didn’t even understand the meaning of the protest. When I spoke with them later, they didn’t even know what they were protesting against.”


"A Ticking Time Bomb’
One of the ways to address the level of illiteracy in the north, according to the governor, is to educate the people. He said the protests are an eye-opener for leaders in the region, tasking them to double up their efforts in fixing issues affecting them.

“So, we must sit down. At one point in the year 2020, we sat down as the governors and took the decision about the Almajiris. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out well. They went back to square one,” Governor Sule said.

“Some of the religious leaders criticized it. But from what happened now, I don’t believe anybody will continue to criticize actions that will be taken in order to move forward. Otherwise, it’s a ticking time bomb, it will come and consume every one of us.”

One of the biggest problems we have in the north, from the day I came, is the idea of education and the one we are still pushing on,” Sule said.

“When people actually don’t have education and don’t have economic empowerment, these people will continue to behave the way these Almajiri actually behaved during this protest. So, education must be taken seriously in the North. We must be honest with one another.”

Jibrin Ibrahim, a professor of Political Science and a member of governing board of the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) has said that Nigerians are angry because they are being deceived the President Bola Tinubu government.

Ibrahim, a former CDD Director, stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

He said governance was collapsing in Nigeria because the government had failed in its promises.

He added that because of the level of inflation in the country Nigerians were starving on a daily basis.

Ibrahim said, “When they removed the fuel subsidy, they said in weeks we will have CNG buses and the price of transportation will crash. They said this 13 months ago. Nigerians have not seen those buses. It is called waiting for Godot in literature. When you are told continuously that you will see them and you wait for weeks, months and a year and nothing is coming. You know that what you are told is just a narrative not based on reality.

"That is why Nigerians are very upset. They are very angry. They are being deceived regularly and systematically by a government that feels that it can tell stories and we survive. We refuse to do what we need to do but we survive because we tell stories that will cover up. And Nigerians said no you can’t tell stories.”


The political analyst noted that patients were dying on a daily basis because they did not not have money to buy medicine.

According to him, Nigerians are starving because of the economic situation in the country, but the government wants them to starve in silence.

Contrary to the demands of the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protesters, President Bola Tinubu has ruled out the return of fuel subsidy.

The President in a Nationwide broadcast to Nigerians on Sunday morning, disclosed that even though the decision to remove the fuel Subsidy was painful, it was necessary because it has constituted a noose around the economic “jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.”

The President also told the protesters that law enforcement agencies would continue to ensure the full protection of lives and properties of innocent citizens in a responsible manner, adding that “Our democracy progresses when the constitutional rights of every Nigerian are respected and protected.”

President Tinubu stated that, “My vision for our country is one of a just and prosperous nation where each person may enjoy the peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood that only democratic good governance can provide – one that is open, transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people.

"For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations.

"I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.”

He said these actions “blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate.

"These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.”

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has directed his men across the country to “deal decisively” with arsonists and troublemakers as youths stage #EndBadGovernance protests against hunger and economic hardship across the Federation starting on Thursday, August 1, 2024.

In a statement he personally signed on the eve of the nationwide protests, the police boss said the organisers of the planned demonstrations failed to furnish the police with the details of the protests including the names of intending participants, routes of rallies, among others.

The IGP said “the name given to the movement — ‘Take It Back Movement’ has far-reaching undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal connotations”.

He said intelligence revealed that the protests are aimed at unleashing mayhem on the polity and innocent citizens.

Egbetokun said the police won’t fold their arms and watch a degeneration of the situation into a “state of anomy”.

He put all police formations across the country on alert to protect innocent lives and properties from attack and destruction.

“All officers and men of the Nigeria Police are hereby directed to act and deal decisively with any act of arson, intimidation or harassment of any citizen, threat to lives and properties, breach of peace and any act of criminality that may arise or flow from the planned protest in any part of the country.

“Perpetrators of any crime will be arersted and promptly prosecuted,” he said.

The planned protests against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, have been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the nation’s capital Abuja in August.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

The police, military and the Department of State Services had warned against Kenya-styled protests. Politicians, who surmised that the planned rallies might end up like the EndSARS demonstrations of October 2020, have continued to appeal to youths to shelve the planned rallies but the young people remain unfazed, doggedly insisting that the protests will hold.

Former Niger Delta freedom fighter, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has warned organisers of the planned nationwide protest against hardship scheduled for August 1 not to come to the Niger Delta.

Dokubo-Asari said the agenda of those behind the protest do not capture the problems of the people of the Niger Delta.

While daring them to come to the oil and gas-rich region, he said they would be resisted, alleging that they were merely interested in the resources coming from the Niger Delta, describing them as ‘anarchist.

This is as the former leader of the defunct Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force alleged that some people who lost the election were backing the protest aimed at removing the government in power.

Dokubo-Asari, handed down the warning while speaking at the Niger Delta Sensitisation Conference for Ethnic Nationalities, Youths, and Women’ with the theme ‘Come let us build together’ held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Tuesday.

He stated, “I and all those who believe in me and those of you who are committed to the interest of the Niger Delta, we are not going to be part of any protest. It is as clear as that.

“If anybody has the right to protest, I also have the right to resist protest. Where your right stops, that is where my right begins. ”

He said the same people who protested against former President Goodluck Jonathan, who hails from Niger Delta, have come with the same tactic against another Southerner in the person of President Bola Tinubu, urging the people not to be carried away by sweet talk.

Dokubo-Asari stated, “I’m anti-protest. When our brother was here (making a veiled reference to Jonathan) they protested. Today, another of our brothers is here. They want to protest. That is the truth.

“When you allow yourself to be used, when you always bend your back for people to ride on you, they will continue to ride on you.

"Are our needs included in their 10 points demand? No. So, we are not important to them. But it is our resources that they want to share. I want to say that me, I have the capacity. If you carry your protest near where I am, you will collect (they will be resisted).”

While referring to the #EndSARS protest, he said, “Those who brought anti-protest and went to Oyigbo (Rivers State), they collected (they got what they deserve). Everybody knows, the government, the security agencies knows it. I gave it to them.

“Look, don’t be deceived by people’s flowery words and statements. What have they done to impact their society and the environment?

"The lack of hospitals in Buguma, Abonema, and the entire Kalabari land didn’t start today. It has always been like that. And I will not expect my friend to come (referring to President Bola Tinubu) one year later because there has been no hospital in Buguma since the 90s. I should then kick my friend out of power.

"I will not be part of it. These are anarchists. When you lose the election, wait for another election season. It is four years. Sell yourself to the people, but you don’t want to.

“After you have failed, you continue. Then you’re not patriotic; you’re the problem of this country. President Bola Tinubu won the elections against all odds. No candidate has gone through the travails President Tinubu went through to win the elections.

"I went through to win the elections.

“Everything was against him, but he triumphed. Wait for your turn. You heard what happened in Imo State yesterday (Monday) where they killed police officers.

“That is what they want to do. And we must resist them. We must not allow them to bring their anarchy here.

“But if you are stubborn and you want to bring it here, I’m not President Tinubu, I’m not in the government, I’m not the Chief of Army Staff or the Inspector General of Police, but if you do it anyway, you will see it anyway.