Headlines

Global inflation spikes social tension

Published

3 years ago

July 18, 2022

Members of Sri Lanka’s parliament will, this week, elect a new president after the dramatic toppling of the country’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa succumbed to a hurricane of political upheaval that saw crowds of protesters take over his presidential palace.

But the campaign for a new Sri Lanka has not stopped at its strongman’s resignation. The battleground has shifted to the roles those who have put forward themselves played in making the country in transition with a special focus on the profiling of the caretaker president and six-term Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The crisis in the South Asian island is another example of a political conflict triggered by a failed economy. Central to the crisis is galloping inflation that hit 54.6 per cent in June and food inflation galloping to 80 per cent, a frightening example of the global food crisis.

Sri Lanka’s political establishment is only the most recent to fall to failing economies and, more specifically, mass anger. Recent human history is full of revolutions triggered by economic hardship and spearheaded by individuals who had exhausted their threshold of patience.

When Parisians stormed the Bastille in 1789, they were not only searching for arms, but also hunting for more grain – to make bread – a reason the protests that triggered the French Revolution were termed the Flour War.

The crisis was caused by a plethora of social upheavals and grievances more complicated than the price of bread. Yet, the bread shortage played a major role in spreading the crisis and forming its severity.

For about one and half centuries, Spain was brought to its knees by the Price Revolution. The inflation rate was between one and 1.5 per cent, extremely low compared to modern data, but considered unacceptably high because of the monetary policy in place in the 16th century. Those price ‘surges’ were significant enough to trigger a series of economic events to alter the cause of history in Europe.

From Europe across the Pacific to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), price crises have come with chains of reactions, leaving indelible marks on humanity. But today, the entire globe is on the cusp of a widespread crisis over the unbearable rising cost of living.

Back to back, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the interest rate fixing arm of the Federal Reserve System – has raised the benchmark rate three times this year. Yet, the inflation rate remains unperturbed printing new highs every month and surging to a region not seen in the past four decades.

In June, they gained more points again and surpassed nine per cent. There are suppositions that the cure is plateauing but the bullish job market says otherwise. In the same month, the labour market added over 370,000 jobs, surpassing experts’ projections.

The United Kingdom’s socio-economic system is a lot different from the more dynamic U.S. But they currently share a common trait in inflation growth. Both economies are currently battling to stem an inflation rate that has reached 9.1 per cent.

Starting from last year, residents, whose real incomes have badly plummeted, have called on the government to find a creative way to freeze prices to give workers leverage. Boris Johnson’s resignation has not calmed the protests.

Rather, in the race for the Prime Ministerial position, inflation, which is expected to peak at 11 per cent in the year, has become a major talking point. The Bank of England has raised the lending rate from near zero to 1.25 per cent in a fruitless effort to cool rising prices.

While the rest of the globe plays up the role of higher interest rates in combating inflation, the Eurozone is only hoping to exit negative interest rates by the third quarter of the year, according to the European Central Bank (ECB) President, Christine Lagarde. But the area is paying for its lethargy with an extremely volatile Euro. Last week saw the weakest trading value in its history with the U.S closing gap with it as it continues its free fall.

Driven by a usual energy crisis, the inflation rate of the 19-member economic bloc jumped from 8.1 per cent to 8.6 per cent in June. The European Union (EU) is in the midst of an ongoing energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine and associated Western sanctions against Russia. Energy prices have soared by about 40 per cent from a year ago as the EU struggles to wean itself off the Russian supply.

Inflation in Asian countries is still far behind that of the U.S. and Europe. For instance, China’s consumer price index (CPI) was 2.5 per cent higher than it was a year earlier. At almost a percentage lower than the global average inflation rate estimated at 3.42 per cent, the price change is considered normal. But for the Chinese, a two-year high inflation growth is not close to normal.

Like China, inflation had not been a concern in Japan historically. Rather, low growth and deflation were major concerns after the end of its economic miracle. From 2010 to 2020, inflation in Japan averaged roughly 0.42 per cent. And like China, the country saw its inflation spike to 2.5 per cent in May, slightly above the two per cent target of the Bank of Japan.

In that region. A more serious concern is brewing in South Korea where the inflation rate has hit a 24-year high at a six per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth. South Koreans are facing broad-based price challenges but energy costs, as in Europe, are the most overwhelming. In response, the Bank of Korea has raised its key interest rate six times since August, pushing it to 2.25 per cent.

African economies are used to elevated inflation but the new trends are raising social tensions with the World Bank and the International Monetary Bank (IMF) considering it a growth setback.

For one, Zimbabwe has had its abnormal inflation growth shot from 66 per cent to 191 per cent since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2008-2009, its hyperinflation reached 500 billion per cent, according to the International Monetary Fund. Then, 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar banknotes were not enough to buy basic groceries.

In June, the inflation rate in Ethiopia dropped for the first time in four months. But at 34 per cent, it is no less a worrisome figure trend for the poor citizens of the East African country. Amid talk with the IMF for a bailout, headline inflation in Ghana accelerated to 29.8 per cent in June. The West African citizens have joined their counterparts in Sri Lanka, Albania, Argentina, Panama and Kenya to demand urgent actions from politicians as the cost of living reaches a breaking point across the globe.

Back home, the inflation rate reached 18.6 per cent in June. But experts say the figures do not reflect the market realities and that they are doctored to keep political tension under control. Nigeria’s inflation worry, unlike others, is as old as the economy while the citizens have managed to live with it.

But with inflation-triggered social tension growing across the world, it is difficult to speculate how Nigerians would continue to respond to the challenges and how long it will take before such protests hit home.

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Noble Ladies Champion Women’s Financial Independence at Grand Inauguration in Abuja

Published

3 weeks ago

August 12, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

Women from diverse backgrounds across Nigeria and beyond gathered at the Art and Culture Auditorium, Abuja, for the inauguration and convention of the Noble Ladies Association. The event, led by the association’s Founder and “visionary and polished Queen Mother,” Mrs. Margaret Chigozie Mkpuma, was a colourful display of feminine elegance, empowerment, and ambition.

The highly anticipated gathering, attended by over 700 members and counting, reflected the association’s mission to help women realise their potential while shifting mindsets away from dependency and over-glamorization of the ‘white collar job.’ According to the group, progress can be better achieved through innovation and creativity. “When a woman is able to earn and blossom on her own she has no reason to look at herself as a second fiddle,” the association stated.

One of the association’s standout initiatives is its women-only investment platform, which currently offers a minimum entry of ₦100,000 with a return of ₦130,000 over 30 days—an interest rate of 30 percent. Some members invest as much as ₦1 million, enjoying the same return rate. Mrs. Mkpuma explained that the scheme focuses on women because “women bear the greater brunt of poverty” and the platform seeks “to offer equity in the absence of economic equality.”

Education is also central to the Noble Ladies’ mission, regardless of age. Their mantra, “start again from where you stopped,” encourages women to return to school or upgrade their skills at any stage in life. The association believes that financial stability is vital in protecting women from cultural practices that dispossess widows of their late husbands’ assets, while also enabling them to raise morally and socially grounded families.

Founded on the vision of enhancing women’s skills and achieving financial stability, the association rests on a value system that discourages pity and promotes purpose. “You have a purpose and you build on that purpose to achieve great potentials and emancipation,” Mrs. Mkpuma said.

A criminologist by training and entrepreneur by practice, she cautions against idleness while waiting for formal employment. “There are billions in the informal and non-formal sectors waiting to be made,” she said, rejecting the “new normal of begging” and urging people to “be more introspective to find their purpose in life and hold on to it.”

Mrs. Mkpuma’s management style keeps members actively engaged, focusing on vocational skills and training to prepare them for competitive markets. She is exploring “innovative integration of uncommon technologies” and is already in talks with international franchises to invest in Nigeria, with Noble Ladies as first beneficiaries.

The association’s core values include mutual respect, innovation, forward-thinking, equal opportunity, and financial emancipation. With plans underway to establish a secretariat in the heart of Abuja, the group aims to expand its impact.

The event drew high-profile guests, including former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, and a host of VIPs, marking a significant milestone in the association’s drive for women’s empowerment.

Headlines

NEPZA, FCT agree to create world-class FTZ environment

Published

4 weeks ago

August 8, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

NEPZA, FCT agree to create world-class FTZ environment

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Abuja Technology Village (ATV), a licensed Free Trade Zone, over the potential revocation of the zone’s land title.
Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, the Managing Director of NEPZA, urged ATV operators and investors to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the FCT administration immediately to facilitate a roundtable negotiation.
Dr. Ogunyemi delivered the charge during a courtesy visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, on Thursday in Abuja.
You will recall that the ATV operators responded to the revocation notice issued by the FCT administration with a lawsuit.
Dr. Ogunyemi stated that the continued support for the growth of the Free Trade Zones Scheme would benefit the nation’s economy and the FCT’s development, emphasizing that the FCT administration recognized the scheme’s potential to accelerate industrialisation.
Dr. Ogunyemi, also the Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, expressed his delight at the steps taken by the FCT minister to expand the economic frontier of the FCT through the proposed Abuja City Walk (ACW) project.
Dr. Ogunyemi further explained that the Authority was preparing to assess all the 63 licensed Free Trade Zones across the country with the view to vetting their functionality and contributions to the nation’s Foreign Direct Investment and export drives.
“I have come to discuss with His Excellency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on the importance of supporting the ATV to succeed while also promoting the development of the Abuja City Walk project. We must work together to achieve this for the good of our nation,” he said.
On his part, the FCT Minister reiterated his unflinching determination to work towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing FDI to the FCT.
“We must fulfil Mr. President’s promises regarding industrialization, trade, and investment. In this context, the FCT will collaborate with NEPZA to review the future of ATV, a zone that was sponsored and supported by the FCT administration,” Wike said.
Barrister Wike also said that efforts were underway to fast-track the industrialisation process of the territory with the construction of the Abuja City Walk.
The minister further said the Abuja City Walk project was planned to cover over 200 hectares in the Abuja Technology Village corridor along Airport Road.
According to him, the business ecosystem aimed to create a lively, mixed-use urban center with residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, medical, and institutional facilities.
He added that the ACW would turn out to be a high-definition and world-class project that would give this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda true meaning in the North-Central Region of the country.
Barrister Wike also indicated his continued pursuit of land and property owners who failed to fulfil their obligations to the FCT in his determination to develop the territory.

Headlines

Benue IDPs block highway, demand return to ancestral homes

Published

1 month ago

July 30, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

Vehicular movement along the Yelwata axis of the Benue–Nasarawa highway was brought to a standstill on Wednesday as Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, staged a protest, demanding immediate return to their ancestral homes.

The protesters, believed to be victims of persistent attacks by suspected herdsmen, blocked both lanes of the busy highway for several hours, chanting “We want to go back home”.

The protest caused disruption, leaving hundreds of motorists and passengers stranded.

Eyewitnesses said the displaced persons, many of whom have spent years in overcrowded IDP camps, are expressing deep frustration over the government’s delay in restoring security to their communities.

“We have suffered enough. We want to return to our homes and farms,” one of the protesters told reporters at the scene.

Security personnel were reportedly deployed to monitor the situation and prevent any escalation, though tensions remained high as of press time.

Efforts to reach the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and other relevant authorities for comment were unsuccessful.