Tag: Policy

Politics, Randoms

When Chinatown Lacks Chinese

Jilomes

Imagine walking into a place called Chinatown and needing a thick bifocal to see any person of Chinese descent. Except that town were Lilliputian in dimensions, while you were Brobdingnagian, it would be extremely weird, and you would be forgiven for thinking that being all righteous, the Chinese had been raptured. This seemingly implausible situation is currently playing out in Nigeria, where the Naira, the national currency, now competes with petrol in the Scarcity Championships.

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Politics, Travelling

For the Love of Bans

Jilomes

In January 2020, the Lagos State Government announced a state-wide ban on commercial motorcycles for a range of offences, including causing many road users to lose limbs and other body parts. Whereas the ban was on all motorcycles, it was perceived as a move against Gokada, Max, and similar startups, especially as conventional bikes were soon back on the roads complying with the daily extortionary and ultra-official cash fees paid to enforcers (“agberos”) on the roads. Effective 1st September 2022, there is now another ban covering many parts of the state, which extends an earlier ban that had fewer areas included.

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Change, Randoms

FRSC: Creating Another Monster

Jilomes

Let me start with a quote attributed to the famous Albert Einstein: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” This quote simply says good solutions require innovative thinking. The alternative is to say that without good thinking, we cannot solve problems, or at best, we would solve one problem by creating another. This alternative seems to be enshrined in the policy guidelines inspiring several decisions by the Nigerian government. Continue reading “FRSC: Creating Another Monster” →

Change

May We Finally See

Jilomes

Nigerians started the year 2012 with a rude gift from the federal government. The President Jonathan-led administration had abolished the regime of petroleum subsidies, triggering a huge leap in pump prices. What followed was a series of protests that finally forced the government to backtrack, howbeit, not completely. The events of Jonathan’s final week in government show that despite the arguments and reservations about the subsidy policy, one thing is certain—it is not helping Nigerians. Continue reading “May We Finally See” →