The global significance of the July 4th, 2024 election, in which the British Conservative Party suffered its greatest loss in its 190-year history, marks the symbolic death of the neo-liberal economic policies that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan globalized over 40 years ago.

Initially termed Neoconservative or neoclassical economics, these policies essentially negated the social contract between governments and the governed, shifting social responsibilities to free-market principles. This shift resulted in widespread poverty, sociopolitical destabilization, and the rise of money politics devoid of ideology worldwide.

In response to the 1929 Great Depression, economists like John Maynard Keynes advocated for government intervention to stimulate the economy, even if it required operating a deficit budget. Keynes argued that it was the government's social responsibility to provide employment, alleviate poverty, and support businesses. In 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the 'New Deal' to combat the depression by strengthening the financial system and commissioning large public infrastructure projects, which provided jobs and stimulated the consumer market. Although these efforts temporarily halted the depression, it was the extensive military spending during World War II that ultimately ended it.

The Keynesian model, which promoted government investment in social services even with budget deficits, was widely adopted until the oil crisis of the 1970s. The British Fabian Society spread these economic ideas to leaders of newly independent nations, including Nigeria's Obafemi Awolowo, India's Jawaharlal Nehru, Pakistan's Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, and Michel Aflaq, the founder of the Ba'athist movement in the Arab world.

However, classical economists pushed back against Keynesian economics, particularly its advocacy for government interventions. They ignored that the West was engaging in "military Keynesianism," where government investment in military-related industries like automobiles, aircraft, and computers stimulated the economy. The tide turned when Milton Friedman of the Chicago School of Economics won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974, leading to the adoption and globalization of neoclassical economic theories by the U.S. Republican government and Bretton Woods institutions.

While there was a brief pause during President Gerald Ford's administration in 1977, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who came to power in 1979, reignited these policies. When President Ronald Reagan assumed office in 1981, the IMF and World Bank imposed these policies as structural adjustment programs on nations struggling with the double impact of the global fuel crisis and falling commodity prices, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. These policies were imposed uniformly, regardless of each country's specific conditions or developmental stage.

In the 1960s, Black African nations had adopted social welfarism and were on par with, or even wealthier than, East Asian nations. However, IMF and World Bank policies, which pushed for the withdrawal of subsidies from education, food, health, and other services, and offered loans that were not directed towards these critical sectors, led to economic collapse in Black African countries. Poverty increased exponentially, while East Asian nations, which did not adopt these policies, experienced rapid growth.

Neo-Conservative economic theories narrowed the political space for alternatives, forcing even liberal leaders like President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair to adopt them, transforming them into neo-liberal economic policies. In Black Africa and South America, political leaders lacked the power to resist the economic tyranny imposed by the IMF and World Bank. Ideological politics became obsolete as leaders like Kenneth Kaunda realized that the international financial system could oust any leader through financial pressure, leading to infamous IMF riots.

Starting in 1999, China, which had avoided Western financial institutions, began investing in Africa, opening mines and industries closed by IMF policies. This investment marked a new dawn for Africa, leading to the "Africa is Rising" narrative. However, the 2008 global economic crash, triggered by subprime mortgages that had replaced government social housing programs, exposed the flaws of neo-liberal economics. The idea that everyone could own a home through free-market principles had been a key selling point of these policies, but the collapse of the subprime mortgage market debunked this myth.

The British electorate, disillusioned by 12 years of stagnant wages and a destabilized labor market under Conservative rule, ousted the Tories. Neo-Conservative policies had also embedded ethnic discrimination, with Black Diasporans arguing that the policies targeted their employment opportunities in large government institutions under the guise of rationalization and commercialization. Social welfare benefits for Black and other non-White ethnic groups were also reduced. Instead of admitting the failure of their policies, the British Conservatives engaged in divisive politics, blaming immigrants and pushing for Brexit, which further damaged the economy. Meanwhile, Continental Europe, which did not fully embrace neo-liberal policies, saw growth in infrastructure, prosperity, and quality of life indices.

Unlike Western nations with stable democracies, where Neo-Conservative/Neo-liberal politicians could be voted out, Africans often have no choice but to revolt. Recently in Kenya, youths rose up against IMF-induced tax increases by President Ruto, who is struggling to maintain power despite reversing his tax hike proposals, sacking his cabinet, and cutting political salaries.

In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu tapped into neo-liberal practices by alleging that the "Hunger Protests" were tribally and politically motivated, while relying on tribal loyalty to avoid participating in the protests. Regardless of what African leaders do, if they do not abandon neo-liberal economics and instead use budget deficits to initiate large-scale employment and infrastructure programs to close the 40-year gap, they will face revolutions worse than the Haitian Revolution. Tinubu, who originally came from Awolowo's social welfarist group Afenifere, is living on borrowed time. If he does not retrace his steps to Awoism and initiate a Roosevelt-style New Deal, history will judge him harshly as his neo-liberal policies lead to political implosion, potentially threatening Nigeria’s corporate existence. Like the British, the people will eventually reject divisive ethnic tactics and rise up for a new social contract that emphasizes government responsibility in making life more abundant through subsidies and investment in employment, education, and health, rather than relying on free-market principles.

**Justice Faloye, President, ASHE Think Tank Foundation

Megan Sauer

Two weeks before her side hustle’s launch party, Olivia Cleary did the math: At five minutes per inch of fabric, she was running out of time to sew 20 polyester scarves.

She started working on the scarves from 7 p.m. until midnight, and 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. — when she had to leave for her full-time architectural design job. She finished the edges of her “crappy little scarves” on a $100 sewing machine that sat atop a folding TV table in the New York apartment she shared with two roommates, she says.

That was in June 2022. Today, her business — called The Clearly Collective — sells silk scarves featuring iconic architectural landmarks. It hit six figures in annual revenue for the first time in October 2023, and its sales have been relatively steady since then, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Cleary left her full-time job in April to spend more time running the business, recently completing a startup incubator program at the University of Virginia, her alma mater, she says.

The Clearly Collective has also created scarves for corporate events hosted by St. Regis Hotels, McLaren Automotive and Bacardi, and will soon add an NFL team to that list, says Cleary. Her scarves featured in donor gift bags put together by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

She credits her ability to whimsically highlight local communities’ most iconic landmarks, from the Eiffel Tower to an archway on a college campus. ”[My style] is an intersection of architecture, design and marketing,” Cleary says, adding: “The designs are a translation of how I understand what a community means to people.”

Here’s how Cleary built her business while maintaining her full-time job, gaining a boost from TikTok virality along the way.

From outdoor tables to architecture-inspired scarves

Cleary studied architecture at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2020. She moved in with her parents in Boston and, wanting to host friends outside during the Covid-19 pandemic, built two five-foot-long tables out of wooden pallets from a nearby garden store.

When her mom’s friends started asking to rent the tables, she made it a side hustle, adding placemats and glassware to her company’s rental options. Cleary called her business Backyard Banquet, and took it with her when she landed an architecture job in New York that fall.

Backyard Banquet wasn’t easy or lucrative, she says: She had to “schlep” the tables up to her sixth-floor walkup, and didn’t have enough time or funds to hire help. But the experience of running a business gave her confidence that she might be able to monetize her creative pursuits one day.

Cleary’s production setup in her New York apartment in 2022.

Olivia Cleary

After shuttering Backyard Banquet in 2021, Cleary created a new side hustle to supplement her $45,000-a-year job. She tried painting custom designs onto white jeans, profiting about $20 per pair sold to her friends, but the project proved too time-consuming.

Instead, she looked into printing her designs onto other materials. She settled on polyester scarves as a chic, unique and cost-effective alternative, and sewed the edges herself to add a little polish, she says.

Cleary built a website, and launched The Clearly Collective in June 2022. The business gained traction that fall after she designed an orange scarf featuring UVA’s rotunda for a friend and posted it on TikTok, she says.

The post went viral, with at least 40,000 views. Over the ensuing month, her TikTok audience grew, with another video surpassing 200,000 views.

Virality brought orders and pre-orders alike. “Strangers from all over the U.S.” requested scarves featuring architecture from colleges like Georgetown University, Duke University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cleary recalls.

Building a side hustle into a luxury fashion business

The pre-orders gave Cleary funds to upgrade her scarves’ quality. She tested five new manufacturers before settling on one that offered silk fabric with professionally hand-rolled edges, she says.

Cleary then raised her prices to reflect the luxurious new material, helping her company become profitable in late 2022. The scarves now start at $135 on her company’s website, up from an initial price of $45.

In February 2023, a McLaren dealership in San Francisco emailed Cleary, saying they found her on Instagram and wanted her to make scarves for guest gift bags at a car show. It wasn’t her first corporate partnership, but felt like an inflection point for the business, she says.

Cleary’s designs showcased on a McLaren car and three scarves tied together as a dress.

Olivia Cleary

Brand deals now make up about 65% of her company’s revenue, Cleary estimates. She declined to share specific revenue figures for her company.

The Clearly Collective’s staff is small: Cleary, a contractor and an intern. Cleary says she wants to hire some part-time help, particularly to help with designing, and see how big she can grow the business as her full-time job.

“When I started, I had no idea this was something I could do,” Cleary says. “I’m this random girl from Boston. I have no ties to fashion, no ties to luxury. [I didn’t realize someone like me] could suddenly establish themselves and say, ‘I’m a luxury brand designer.’”

CNBC

Tesco London prices as at Sunday August 18:

25kg of white rice - £37.50

25kg of brown beans - £60

400g of white bread - £1.20

1 crate of 6 eggs - £1.20

1kg of broiler chicken - £4.00.

For a family of 4 living on the monthly minimum wage of £1,830.40 in London earned by one of two adults in the family, let’s assume the following monthly food consumption:

1). 25kg of white rice - £37.50

2). 25kg of brown beans - £60

3). 30 loaves of 400g of white bread @ £1.20 per loaf = £36

4). 10 crates of eggs in units of 6 eggs = £1.20 x 10 = £12

5). 20kg of broiler chicken @ £4.00 per kg = £80

Total = £225.50

This is 12.32 percent of total monthly pay of £1,830.40.

Abuja prices as at Sunday August 18:

25kg of white rice - N40,000

25kg of brown beans - N75,000

400g of white bread - N1,500

1 crate of 6 eggs - N1,000

1kg of broiler chicken - N3,500.

For a family of 4 living on the newly approved monthly minimum wage of N70,000 in Abuja earned by one of two adults in the family, let’s assume precisely the same monthly food consumption as their counterpart in London:

1). 25kg of white rice - N40,000

2). 25kg of brown beans - N75,000

3). 30 loaves of 400g of white bread @ N1,500 per loaf = N45,000

4). 10 crates of eggs in units of 6 eggs = N1,000 x 10 = N10,000

5). 20kg of broiler chicken @ N3,500 per kg = N70,000

Total = N240,000

This is 343 percent of total monthly pay of N70,000.

This data paints a stark picture of the economic challenges faced by wage earners in Nigeria compared to their counterparts in the UK. Let's analyze the implications:

1. Purchasing Power Disparity:

The most glaring observation is the vast difference in purchasing power. While a minimum wage earner in London spends only 12.32% of their monthly income on this basic food basket, a minimum wage earner in Abuja would need to spend 343% of their monthly income to afford the same items. This means the Nigerian worker cannot even afford this basic food basket with their entire monthly salary, let alone cover other essential expenses like housing, transportation, healthcare, and education.

2. Food Insecurity:

The data suggests severe food insecurity for wage earners in Nigeria. If basic staples cost more than three times the monthly minimum wage, it's clear that many families are likely facing malnutrition or hunger, forced to drastically reduce their food intake or quality.

3. Poverty Trap:

This situation illustrates a poverty trap for Nigerian workers. With such a high proportion of income required just for basic nutrition, there's virtually no opportunity for savings, investment in education, or any form of economic advancement.

4. Quality of Life:

The extreme disparity in purchasing power translates directly to a significantly lower quality of life for Nigerian workers. While their London counterparts can afford food with a substantial portion of their income left for other needs, Nigerian workers are struggling for mere survival.

5. Economic Stress and Social Implications:

The financial stress of being unable to afford basic necessities can lead to numerous social problems, including increased crime rates, health issues due to malnutrition, lower educational attainment, and social unrest. The recent #EndBadGovernment protests were a confirmation of this.

6. Inflation and Currency Devaluation:

The high food prices in Nigeria relative to wages also reflect issues of inflation and currency devaluation. This further erodes the purchasing power of Nigerian workers over time.

7. Income Inequality:

This comparison highlights extreme income inequality, not just between countries but within Nigeria as well. If minimum wage earners cannot afford basic necessities, it suggests a wide gap between the lowest earners and those at the top of the economic ladder.

8. Challenge to Economic Growth:

When a significant portion of the population is trapped in such extreme poverty, it presents a major obstacle to overall economic growth and development for the country.

9. Inadequacy of Minimum Wage:

The data clearly shows that the newly approved minimum wage in Nigeria is grossly inadequate to meet even the most basic needs of workers and their families.

In conclusion, this comparison starkly refutes any narrative suggesting that Nigerian workers are getting more value for their pay. Instead, it highlights the extreme hardship and poverty faced by ordinary Nigerians, particularly those earning minimum wage. The data underscores the urgent need for significant economic reforms and social support measures to address the dire situation faced by many Nigerian families.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a significant increase in fuel prices across Nigeria in July 2024. Diesel prices saw a dramatic year-on-year rise of 73.63%, while petrol prices increased by 28.35%.

Diesel Prices:

- Average price: N1,379.48 per litre (July 2024)

- Year-on-year increase: 73.63% from N794.48 (July 2023)

- Month-on-month decrease: 5.71% from N1,462.98 (June 2024)

Highest diesel prices:

1. Taraba State: N1,721.79

2. Borno State: N1,694.17

3. Bauchi State: N1,619.54

Lowest diesel prices:

1. Kogi State: N1,186.31

2. Kano State: N1,211.11

3. Osun State: N1,246.82

Zonal analysis shows the North-East with the highest average diesel price (N1,600.85) and the South-West with the lowest (N1,266.57).

Petrol Prices:

- Average price: N770.54 per litre (July 2024)

- Year-on-year increase: 28.35% from N600.35 (July 2023)

- Month-on-month increase: 2.72% from N750.17 (June 2024)

Highest petrol prices:

1. Katsina State: N950.00

2. Jigawa State: N903.08

3. Benue State: N846.95

Lowest petrol prices:

1. Kwara State: N650.00

2. Edo State: N669.75

3. Akwa Ibom State: N673.75

Zonal analysis reveals the North-West with the highest average petrol price (N820.10) and the South-South with the lowest (N678.30).

These price fluctuations highlight the ongoing challenges in Nigeria's fuel market, with significant regional disparities in both diesel and petrol prices.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

President Bola Tinubu is set to depart Abuja on Monday for a visit to Paris, France, marking his first journey aboard Nigeria's newly acquired presidential jet. The announcement was made by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement released on Sunday night.

Details about the length of Tinubu's stay in France or the nature of his engagements there were not disclosed. Ngelale simply mentioned that the President would return to Nigeria "after his brief work stay" in France. This trip follows closely on the heels of another overseas visit, as Tinubu had just returned to Abuja two days ago from a three-day official visit to Equatorial Guinea.

The new presidential jet, an Airbus A330, touched down at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. The aircraft was received by officials of Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet, led by Olayinka Olusola, an Air Vice Marshal. The jet, now designated as Nigeria's Air Force One with the registration number 5N-NGA, was reportedly repossessed from an indebted oil sheikh who had used it as collateral for a loan from an unidentified German bank. The deal, brokered by American aviation firm L & L International LLC, saw Nigeria purchase the aircraft for over $100 million.

However, Nigerian raised concerns on the necessity of purchasing new aircraft amid the country's severe economic challenges.

The federal government is targeting as much as $2 billion through the issuance of dollar-denominated bonds to domestic investors, according to the lead arranger United Capital Plc.

The domestic dollar bond has a programme size of $2 billion, with series one opening on Monday (today) at a size of $500 million, the investment bank said in an emailed document. The bonds will have a five-year tenure.

The bond, which is available to Nigerians residing in the country and abroad as well as local pension firms, is targeting funds from “domiciliary accounts, diaspora remittances and foreign investments,” United Capital said. Dollar cash deposits will not qualify unless they were made into domestic accounts at least 30 days before the issue, it said.

Africa’s most populous nation is issuing dollar bond locally to help bridge infrastructure finance gaps given market conditions haven’t been favorable for the offer of Eurobonds. The government approved a 28.8 trillion naira ($18.1 billion) spending plan for 2024, with a deficit of 9.8 trillion naira, which it aims to finance from domestic and international borrowing.

Bloomberg

Blinken arrives in Middle East seeking Gaza ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday on another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza but Hamas raised doubts about the mission just hours after he landed by accusing Israel of undermining his efforts.

The Palestinian militant group said it holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for "thwarting the mediators' efforts", delaying an agreement and exposing Israeli hostages in Gaza to the same aggression faced by Palestinians.

On his ninth trip to the region since the war began in October, Blinken will meet on Monday with senior Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, a senior State Department official said.

After Israel, Blinken will continue onto Egypt.

The talks to strike a deal for a truce and return of hostages held in Gaza were now at an "inflection point", a senior Biden administration official told reporters en route to Tel Aviv. "We think this is a critical time," the official said.

The mediating countries - Qatar, the United States and Egypt - have so far failed to narrow enough differences to reach an agreement in months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.

The Israeli military said it destroyed rocket launchers used to hit Israel from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the scene of intense fighting in recent weeks, and killed 20 Palestinian militants.

In the occupied West Bank, where violence has escalated since the war in Gaza broke out in October last year, an Israeli man died from wounds sustained in an attack, according to a hospital spokesperson.

CLOSING GAPS

The talks towards a ceasefire are set to continue this week in Cairo, following a two-day meeting in Doha last week. Blinken will try to secure a breakthrough after the U.S. put forward bridging proposals that the mediating countries believe would close gaps between the warring parties.

The war erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants rampaged into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble. Israel says it has killed 17,000 Hamas combatants.

There has been increased urgency to reach a ceasefire deal amid fears of escalation across the wider region. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Israel remained firmly committed to principles established for its security in the May 27 outline proposals, Netanyahu's office said in a statement following a meeting of the cabinet.

"I would like to emphasise: We are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and give," Netanyahu told the meeting. "There are things we can be flexible on and... things that we cannot be flexible on, which we will insist on."

Netanyahu's office said he still insists Israeli forces remain on a border strip that runs between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor, in order to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza.

It said Netanyahu would continue to work towards advancing a deal that maximizes the number of living hostages released and allows for Israel's war objectives to be achieved, including not allowing Hamas to retain control of Gaza.

Hamas said that optimistic U.S. comments were "deceptive" and accused Netanyahu of making new conditions in an attempt to "blow up" the negotiation.

Disagreements include whether Israeli troops should remain present in Gaza after the fighting ends, notably along the border with Egypt, and over checks on people going into northern Gaza from the south which Israel says is needed to stop armed militants.

Hamas has pushed for a ceasefire deal to end the war, while Israel has not been willing to agree to go beyond a temporary pause in the fighting.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kiev ‘regime’ poses threat to all of Europe – Moscow

The international community should resolutely respond to reports about alleged plans by Kiev to attack the nuclear power plant in Kursk, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Earlier, Russian journalists reported on the plot, and the Defense Ministry vowed a swift and harsh response if these plans come to fruition.

The Ukrainian military launched a cross-border incursion into the Russian border region where the plant is located last week.

The facility is 90km from the border, which has become the arena of fierce clashes in recent days.

“We call on the international bodies, the UN and the [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] in particular, to immediately condemn the provocative actions prepared by the Kiev regime and to prevent the violation of both nuclear and physical security of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant,” Zakharova said in a statement published by the ministry on Telegram. These actions by the Ukrainian military “could result in a large-scale technogenic catastrophe in Europe,” she warned.

Kiev’s plans do not just pose a “direct threat”to the nuclear power plant’s security but also go against the principles of the IAEA formulated by its head, Rafael Grossi, in 2022, amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the spokeswoman stated.

“The entire international community should understand the threat posed by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime to the European continent,”Zakharova said. She also maintained that any attempts to “intimidate and terrorize entire regions and all of the international community should be resolutely stopped by joint efforts.”

Neither the UN nor the IAEA have responded to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement as of Saturday evening.

Russian military journalist Marat Khairullin reported on Friday, citing sources, that Kiev was plotting a false flag operation involving the detonation of a dirty atomic bomb and targeting the spent nuclear fuel storages of a nuclear power plant. According to reporters, the operation would either be directed against Russia’s Zaporozhye NPP in Energodar or the Kursk NPP.

The Zaporozhye plant is the largest in Europe and is also located close to the front line. Kiev has vehemently denied the allegations.

The Russian Defense Ministry responded to the reports by saying that any attempts to create a “man-made disaster in the European part of the continent” would be met with “tough military and military-technical countermeasures.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia denies report about indirect talks with Ukraine

Russia on Sunday denied a report that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region had derailed indirect talks with Kyiv on halting strikes on energy and power targets, saying there had been no talks with Kyiv about civilian infrastructure facilities.

The Washington Post reported on Saturdaythat Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate a landmark agreement halting strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both warring sides.

The Post said the agreement would have amounted to a partial ceasefire but that the talks were derailed due to Ukraine's attack on Russian sovereign territory.

"No one broke anything off because there was nothing to break off," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, said of the Post report.

"There have been no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kyiv regime on the safety of civilian critical infrastructure facilities."

Ukraine's government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Post reported that Ukraine's presidential office said the summit in Doha had been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and that it would take place in video conference format on Aug. 22.

Russia and Ukraine have both accused each other of striking civilian infrastructure in the war. Both deny they do so.

Zakharova then quoted President Vladimir Putin who on Aug. 12 questioned what talks there could be with Ukraine after its ground attack on Russia, and what he said were attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.

"There is nothing to talk about with people who unleash such things," Zakharova said.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what it calls a "special military operation" and now holds about 18 percent of the country. Ukraine's cross-border strike into the Kursk region on Aug. 6 was the first military incursion into Russian territory since World War Two.

RT/Reuters

At the beginning of March 2020, Nigeria’s Supreme Court  dismissed an application for the review of its seven-week old decision to judicially install Hope Uzodinma as the Governor of Imo State, citing as its main reason the need to preserve the authority and finality of decisions of the apex court. The court issued what appeared to be a principled defence of the finality of its judgments, declaring somewhat ostentatiously that once it had issued a decision, “it shall remain forever.”

Olukayode Ariwoola, who delivered the judgment of the majority in the review was also a member of the original panel which decided in January 2020 that Uzodinma had won the election despite being the candidate who came fourth in the tally of votes scored among the contestants on the ballot. Few could recall at the time that Ariwoola had previous experience in this kind of improbable judicial alchemy.

Ahead of the 2007 general elections, the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chose Joy Emordi, a lawyer, to fly its flag in the contest to represent Anambra North in the Senate. In the contest for the party ticket, she had defeated Ubanese Alphonsus Igbeke, who had been installed by judicial order after the 2003 elections as the member representing Anambra East/Anambra West in the House of Representatives. After losing the senatorial ticket to Emordi, Igbeke relocated his party loyalty to the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP).

Election day was 28 April 2007 and voting took place in the seven LGAs of Anambra North to determine the person to represent the constituency in the Senate. At the end of the contest, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returned Emordi as the winner. Five of the losing candidates, including Igbeke, lodged petitions to challenge the outcome before the Election Petition Tribunal in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.

On 14 June 2008, the tribunal dismissed the petitions and upheld the return of Emordi. Eight months later, on 10 February 2009, a Court of Appeal panel comprising Victor Omage, Ladan Tsamiya, and Olukayode Ariwoola as Justices of Appeal dismissed the appeal by one of the candidates, Jessie Balonwu, against the decision of the first instance tribunal, holding in particular that there were elections in the seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the constituency.

This was significant because the crux of the appeal by Igbeke in his own appeal was that there were no elections in two of the seven LGAs in the constituency, specifically in Anyamelum and Onitsha South, respectively. At the same time, Igbeke also asked the Court of Appeal to find that Emordi had failed to score the highest number of lawful votes in the election and to, instead declare that he had in fact scored the highest number of lawful votes in the election and return him as the winner.

One year later, on 25 March 2010, the Court of Appeal, this time comprising Amiru Sanusi, Ladan Tsamiya and Olukayode Ariwoola found in favour of Igbeke on all issues and returned him as duly elected. To reach this decision, a panel of the Court of Appeal which included two of the three Justices who decided the earlier case, inexplicably changed their position on the pivotal issue of whether balloting in fact occurred in all the LGAs in the constituency but felt no need to explain how or why.

Having found in Igbeke’s favour on that point, the panel incredulously proceeded to award the election to him when the only logical order was a re-run in the LGAs where the court claimed that no balloting in fact occurred. The skills required to produce this outcome defied all laws of judicial calisthenics.

Emordi lost in her effort to appeal against this to the Supreme Court and on 25 May 2010 – with a mere one year to spare out of a four-year parliamentary term – Igbeke took the oath as Senator representing Anambra North.

Of the three Justices of Appeal who implausibly sent Ubanese Igbeke to the Senate, Ladan Tsamiya remained on the Court of Appeal where his career ended in ignominy in 2016 on allegations of corruption in another election dispute.

In the month of the fourth anniversary of the senatorial debut of Igbeke secured through their judicial machination, Amiru Sanusi proceeded in May 2015 to the Supreme Court from where he retired in February 2020, the month after they installed Hope Uzodinma as Imo State Governor.

The year after Igbeke’s entry into the Senate, in November 2011, Goodluck Jonathan appointed Ariwoola as a Justice of the Supreme Court. After more than one decade on the court, in June 2022, Ariwoola emerged as Chief Justice after leading an unprecedented mutiny against his predecessor in which 14 Justices accused then Chief Justice, Tanko Muhammad, of ignoring their wellbeing. He was officially born 22 August, 1954.

The tenure of Ariwoola as Chief Justice of Nigeria began “amid ‘all-time low’ judicial trust.” It was not too much to hope that shoring up public trust in the judicial branch should have been a priority in these circumstances. Instead, he seemed to be on a mission to make up for lost opportunities in the material benefits of office. The result was a tenure which denuded public trust in the judiciary rather than rehabilitate it.

As CJN, Ariwoola will be well remembered for the alacrity with which he redressed any previous neglect – real or imagined – of the welfare of his own family and his beloved village, Iseyin, in Oyo State. In two years in the position, he made his son a judge of the Federal High Court; his daughter-in-law a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory; his brother auditor of the National Judicial Council  (NJC) chaired by himself as Chief Justice; and another reported member of his family a Justice of the Court of Appeal. It was done with a grubbiness that did not pretend to have any regard for the authority of the CJN or respect for the Judicial Code of Conduct, which explicitly prohibits such manifest nepotism with the warning that a judge “who takes advantage of the judicial office for personal gain or for gain by his or her relative or relation abuses power.”

Fittingly, Ariwoola’s tenure as Chief Justice ends in a filigree of clannish patronage. In his last meeting as Chair of the NJC, he handed out judicial sinecures to two sisters; one to the High Court of Kwara State and another to the High Court of Ondo State. The month before, he had installed their brother as a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. Their dad was a judicial benefactor.

In 2020, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) then chaired by Ariwoola’s predecessor sanctioned a lawyer who had applied for elevation to the rank of SAN by altering Supreme Court judgments to insert his name as counsel in cases in which he had not acted. 21 days to his departure as Chief Justice, Olukayode Ariwoola rushed through new elevations, making this same lawyer a SAN when he was better off being struck off the Roll entirely. When, in one of her first acts as Chief Justice, his successor inaugurates this kind of specimen into the Inner Bar, it will set the seal on unquestionably the most baleful judicial legacy in contemporary Nigeria.

Addressing the opening of the legal year before a special session of the Supreme Court – the last to be presided over by Olukayode Ariwoola as CJN – in November 2023, Ebun Sofunde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) speaking on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), testified that judicial reputation “is at an all-time low… to a point where it may no longer be redeemable” and ended with the complaint that Supreme Court judgments under him had become “perfunctory.” These words easily sum up what will be remembered as the most lamentable tenure in the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria since the appointment of the first indigenous CJN in 1958.

** Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a professor of law, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A teen who created a soap that could "transform skin cancer treatment" was chosen as the 2024 Kid of the Year by Time magazine and Time for Kids.

Heman Bekele from Annandale, Virginia, is a 15-year-old scientist "who could change how we treat skin cancer," stated Time in its announcement released Thursday.

"It’s absolutely incredible to think that one day my bar of soap will be able to make a direct impact on somebody else’s life," Bekele told Time. "That’s the reason I started this all in the first place.”

The teen was chosen after he created a soap that could be a "more accessible way to deliver medication to treat skin cancers, including melanoma," the magazine said in a news release.

In 2023, 3M and Discovery Education named Bekele America’s Top Young Scientist when he was just 14 years old after he competed against nine other finalists, USA TODAY previously reported. Bekele also won a $25,000 cash prize.

Honorees include inventor, actor, more

Tim also named five honorees in its 2024 Kid of the Year competition.

Shanya Gill, 13, an inventor from San Jose, California

After a restaurant behind her home burned down, Gill learned that unattended cooking is the number one cause of house fires. She created a device to send an alert to a home's residents if there is a heat source that is unattended with no sign of humans after two minutes and notifies them of a potential fire, Time reported.

Madhvi Chittoor, 12, an advocate from Arvada, Colorado

At 6 years old, Chittoor learned about forever chemicals, or PFAs, which can lead to "negative developmental effects in children, decreased fertility, increased risk of some cancers, reduced immune function, and increased cholesterol levels," stated Time.

She wanted to warn everyone about them. So, in 2021, she and her mom met with Colorado state Sen. Lisa Cutter, an environmental advocate, at a Panera.

Less than a year later, Chittoor testified at the state Capitol after Cutter proposed a bill that would ban intentionally-added PFAs and exchanged emails with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for months, Time reported.

Then, once the bill passed, Polis gave her the pen he used to sign it into action.

Jordan Sucato, 15, an advocate from Phoenix

Sucato's goal is to protect the pets of people who are unhoused from Phoenix's sweltering heat.

“Their paws can burn and blister in under five minutes,” Sucato told Time. “If it’s 120 degrees temperature-wise, it’s 140 degrees on the concrete.”

In January, Sucato founded Laws for Paws LLC, a nonprofit that raised $7,000 to help protect the pups' vulnerable paws and provided 515 dogs with boots that will protect their delicate paw pads.

The funding supports the teen's partner organization, Dogs Day Out AZ, a nonprofit that distributes protective boots and other resources.

Keivonn Woodard, 11, from Bowie, Maryland

Woodard is an actor who, like the character he played in HBO's The Last of Us, is deaf.

Now at 11, he is an Emmy-nominated actor who wants to continue representing the Deaf community.

“Most people [in TV and film] are hearing, so you just see people talking,” he told Time through an American Sign Language interpreter. “But when I see deaf people, and they’re using sign language, I understand what they’re saying. Showing deaf people playing deaf characters is authentic and extremely important.”

Woodard is set to star in Anslem Richardson’s short film "Fractal" and will appear in "Steal Away," Stephen Ashley Blake’s debut feature.

Dom Pecora, 15, an entrepreneur from Malvern, Pennsylvania

Pecora opened his first storefront in September 2023, three years after his mom helped him open his business, Dom Fixes Bikes, to raise money for a new, expensive mountain bike, per Time.

His business was successful, and he not only got himself his dream bike, but he also got bikes for six other kids, too.

He worked out of his house, then before he moved into the store he's in now, he worked out of a one-car garage that didn't have electricity or a bathroom.

Last December, he set a goal to give away 100 bikes, but surpassed it thanks to sponsorships and donations sent to his nonprofit that helped him give away 121 instead.

“Since the beginning, I always wanted everyone to be able to ride a bike, no matter their financial abilities,” Pecora told Time. "The process, he adds, is simple: “Everyone who applies for a bike will get a bike.”

USA Today