WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Nigeria’s minister of forgery and innovation, Christian genocide, and poverty sparks debates

By Emmanuel Kwada

This week’s headlines paint a Nigeria at a crossroads: scandalous forgery topples a minister, exposing systemic deceit that erodes trust and billions in economic potential; the World Bank slams Tinubu’s reforms for causing 139 million to sink deeper into poverty, risking a ‘lost generation’ amid 34% inflation. Women drown in drug abuse, with a dramatic change of guard at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Lawmakers clash over US ‘genocide’ claims against Christians, even as CAN cries foul, and Tinubu eyes $2.85bn in fresh debts to plug fiscal holes. From ethnic demolitions to electoral woes, these stories underscore fragility in governance, economy, and society—urging urgent reforms before cracks become chasms.

Nigeria’s Minister of forgery and innovation

In a humiliating capitulation that has ignited nationwide fury, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, once the high-flying Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, has resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. The 62-year-old Enugu politician’s exit, accepted by Tinubu on Tuesday, follows a blistering Premium Times exposé revealing he forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) BSc certificate and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge—documents submitted to the presidency, Senate, and security agencies during his 2023 vetting.

No graduation records existed for Nnaji, admitted in 1981 but who failed courses without completion

UNN’s vice-chancellor, Professor Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, confirmed no graduation records existed for Nnaji, admitted in 1981 but who failed courses without completion, while NYSC flagged the certificate’s invalid serial number and anachronistic signature. Nnaji, denying guilt and blaming “political blackmail,” tendered his resignation after a presidential summons, framing it as a defense of his “lifelong reputation.”

The disgrace unfolded like a tragic farce. Appointed to champion Nigeria’s tech renaissance amid economic woes, Nnaji’s two-year probe began with a whistleblower tip, uncovering discrepancies: he admitted in court filings never receiving a UNN degree yet paraded one dated 1985.

UNN Entrance

How did this slip through? The Department of State Services (DSS), Senate, and NYSC—gatekeepers of public trust—flagrantly failed. Reports reveal DSS ignored an NYSC alert on the bogus discharge during 2023 screening, misleading senators into confirmation.

Civil society groups like HEDA and CISLAC demand apologies, labelling vetting a “box-ticking ritual” riddled with political favouritism and corruption. “If DSS can’t verify a local degree, how do they screen threats?” one analyst fumed. This echoes past lapses: ex-Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun’s 2018 NYSC forgery and over 100 fake professors unmasked by NUC in 2019.

Worse, the scale is epidemic—and unknown. ICPC audits found 721 forged certificates among 11,996 verified in public service, with 95 fake NYSC grads in one batch alone. In Kaduna, 2,000 teachers paraded fakes; NSCDC officers face charges routinely. Private sectors fare no better: banks, oil firms, and hospitals teem with unqualified hires, fuelled by desperation in a 40% youth-unemployment economy.

How did this slip through? The Department of State Services (DSS), Senate, and NYSC—gatekeepers of public trust—flagrantly failed

CIFCFIN warns of a “pervasive culture,” demanding nationwide audits as fraudsters exploit gaps, eroding meritocracy. No comprehensive tally exists—estimates suggest thousands in key posts, from MDAs to boardrooms.

The economic fallout is devastating. Forgery breeds incompetence, diverting billions: unqualified tech ministers stall R&D, costing Nigeria’s $500bn GDP vital innovation amid 34% inflation. Foreign investors flee eroded trust, exacerbating naira woes and brain drain—skilled youth abroad while fakes hoard grants. In health and education, fake doctors and lecturers endanger lives, inflating costs and inequality. Analysts peg annual losses at trillions, perpetuating a cycle where connections trump competence, hobbling 3.3% growth projections.

Nnaji’s ouster—only Tinubu’s second—is no panacea. Prosecution under Penal Code Sections 362-364 could jail him 14-21 years, yet impunity reigns. NBA’s Mazi Afam Osigwe insists: “Forgery is crime, not error.” As X rages—”How many more impostors?”—Nigeria demands reform: digital verification, DSS overhauls, and zero-tolerance. Until then, forged paths fracture dreams, leaving an economy adrift in deceit.

Prosecution under Penal Code Sections 362-364 could jail him 14-21 years, yet impunity reigns

Christian Genocide in Nigeria attracts attention in the United States

The Federal Government, including the Executive and Legislature, was engaged in fire-fighting media campaign to counter the US government’s plan to blacklist Nigeria as a country where Christians are persecuted, killed and silenced by non-state actors. The thrust of the report is that while Fulani bandits and Jihadists target and kill Christians in their communities in the North, the Federal Government has done very little to protect these victims.

Last week, Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Senate vehemently rejected a US Senate bill branding the nation’s insecurity a “genocide against Christians,” labeling it a sovereignty assault that misframes complex crises.  Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu spearheaded the motion, directing diplomatic protests via the Foreign Ministry and a fact-finding panel with security agencies to debunk state-sponsored persecution claims, amid calls for a US-Nigeria dialogue on religious freedom. The bill, pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Riley Moore, alleges over 100,000 Christian deaths since 2009 by Boko Haram and “corrupt” officials.

Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 18,000 churches and 2,000 Christian schools have been destroyed.

It is the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times—and it says a great deal about who is… pic.twitter.com/QXuuaaqOfE

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 7, 2025

The “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) Status for Nigeria under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA),   is reserved for countries engaged in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” The designation could trigger sanctions against Nigerian officials under Executive Order 13818 (Global Magnitsky Act), targeting those accused of human rights abuses.

The proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 (S.2747) seeks to hold Nigerian officials accountable for alleged complicity in violence against Christians, including enforcement of Sharia and blasphemy laws. The designation could strain U.S.-Nigeria relations, especially in areas of security cooperation, trade, and development aid. Being labelled a CPC may affect Nigeria’s global image, potentially deterring investment and tourism.

As the government struggles to deny the label, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has affirmed that a “systemic genocide,” is actually taking place in Nigeria, citing targeted killings, church burnings, and orphanage closures in the North, urging global intervention. Reps counter that banditry and farmer-herder clashes victimize all faiths equally, with deaths down 90% under Tinubu.

Most Rev. Daniel C. Okoh is General Overseer of the Christ Holy Church International, a.k.a. Nation Builders, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria

The US Bill is a wake-up call on the Federal Government to act against bandits and terrorists who invade communities in the North-Central part of the Nigeria, where Christians are predominant. In their quest for unrestrained land-grab, the bandits and terrorists have sacked many Christian communities, renamed them as their own.

The military efforts are believed to have decimated the bandits, but not enough to prevent them from constantly attacking and killing unarmed peasants in the North-Central and the North-East, who are mainly Christians. The killers often use religious rhetoric, tagging Christians infidels, and calling of Jihad against them.

World Bank’s shocking verdict on Tinubu’s reform and deepening poverty

In a sobering review of Nigeria’s economic trajectory, the World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU) has declared that President Bola Tinubu’s ambitious reforms—hailed for macroeconomic gains—deliver more poverty than prosperity.

Titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home,” the report, launched Wednesday, paints a stark picture: despite 3.9% growth in the first half of 2025, poverty engulfs 139 million Nigerians, up from 81 million in 2019, trapping nearly half the population in destitution. “Stability must translate into better lives for the poor and vulnerable,” urged World Bank Country Director Mathew Verghis, as food inflation bites deeper into household budgets.

Stability must translate into better lives for the poor and vulnerable

Tinubu’s 2023 overhaul—scrapping fuel subsidies, unifying the exchange rate, and tightening monetary policy—has indeed yielded fruits. Foreign reserves swelled beyond $42 billion, the current account surplus hit 6.1% of GDP, and the federal deficit stabilized at 2.6% of GDP, with public debt dipping to 39.8%—the first decline in over a decade.

Non-oil sectors, including services, agriculture, and ICT, propelled growth from 3.5% in 2024 to a projected 4.2% this year, edging toward 4.4% by 2027. Yet, the Bank laments, these “bold steps” have exacerbated short-term hardships.

Headline inflation, peaking at 31.7%, has quintupled the cost of a basic food basket since 2019, while urban poverty nearly doubled to 31.3%. The naira’s devaluation and subsidy cuts, though fiscally prudent, unleashed a cost-of-living crisis unseen in three decades, fuelling protests and a brain drain of 3.5 million annual labour entrants.

Picture showing poor Almajiris scrambling for food in northern Nigeria.

The economic implications are dire, threatening Nigeria’s $500 billion GDP and its $1 trillion-by-2030 ambition. Reforms have curbed fiscal bleeding—saving billions from subsidies—but at the expense of human capital. With youth unemployment at 40% and weak job creation, growth remains jobless, stifling productivity and widening inequality.

High inflation erodes purchasing power, deters investment, and hampers agricultural output, Nigeria’s poverty buffer for 70% rural dwellers. External debt service, now 2% of GDP, diverts funds from infrastructure, perpetuating a cycle where oil dependency (80% of exports) exposes the economy to global shocks.

Analysts warn of a “lost generation”: emaciated workers fuel emigration, slashing remittances (8% of GDP) and innovation. Without structural shifts—dismantling trade barriers, boosting medium firms for jobs—the Bank forecasts poverty rising 3.6 points by 2027, risking social unrest and sub-5% growth needed for escape velocity.

We’re seeing light at the tunnel’s end

Opposition voices, including Atiku Abubakar, decry “reforms for the rich,” demanding accountability.

Civil groups like ActionAid Nigeria echo the Bank’s three-pronged call: slash food inflation via logistics fixes, streamline spending for transparency, and scale cash transfers—currently paltry at 15 million beneficiaries—to shield the vulnerable.

Tinubu’s team defends the path: “We’re seeing light at the tunnel’s end,” the president tweeted, vowing accelerated social nets. But as the Bank stresses, macroeconomic wins must pivot to people-centric policies.

In a nation where 87 million already scrape by on $2.15 daily, half in extreme want, the verdict is clear: reforms without relief risk fracturing Nigeria’s fragile social fabric. The economy teeters—stabilized yet starved of equity—demanding urgent recalibration to forge shared prosperity from policy promises.

An Illustration: Picture showing a Depressed woman

Depression, Failed Marriages Fuel Drug Abuse Among Women

A chilling surge in female drug abuse is gripping Nigeria, transforming once-overlooked women into a burgeoning victim class ensnared by codeine syrups, tramadol opioids, and cannabis amid a perfect storm of mental health crises. Experts from the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) attribute this to skyrocketing depression rates and marital failures, exacerbated by economic hardships and cultural pressures.

In northern hotspots like Kano and Kaduna, rehabilitation centers such as KASYADAREC report that forced early marriages—often arranged under patriarchal norms—lead to spousal abandonment, domestic violence, and peer-induced substance use as coping mechanisms.

UNODC data reveals one in four drug users is now female, a sharp rise from near-negligible figures a decade ago, aligning with Nigeria’s overall 15% prevalence rate that triples the global average of 5%. Psychiatrist Dr. Amina Garba explains: “Trauma from abusive histories triggers untreated bipolar disorders and PTSD, pushing women toward self-medication; 58% of female addicts screen positive for clinical depression, per recent NIMH studies.”

One in four drug users is now female, a sharp rise from near-negligible figures a decade ago

This “feminine crisis” is shattering familial foundations across socio-economic lines. Failed marriages, with Nigeria’s divorce rate climbing 20% post-COVID per NBS stats, spawn cycles of child neglect and abandonment—43% of affected women grapple with severe mood disorders, leading to heightened crime involvement (petty theft for drug funds) and HIV transmission risks via unsafe behaviors. In conservative communities, widows or divorcees face ostracism, amplifying isolation.

Explanatory implications unfold tragically: Without intervention, this escalates from personal despair to societal breakdown, where untreated addiction correlates with a 30% drop in household income stability, per WHO reports, as women—key caregivers—withdraw from roles in informal economies like trading (employing 60% of females).

this drains Nigeria’s fragile 40% youth-unemployed workforce, where women comprise half; lost productivity from addiction-related absenteeism and health complications costs an estimated N500 billion annually in GDP contributions, per economic modeling by PwC, perpetuating poverty traps amid Boko Haram insurgency displacing families and inflating national healthcare burdens on a $500bn GDP strained by 34% inflation.

Stigma silences us, but silence kills

This diverts scarce resources from education and agriculture, hindering growth projections of 3.9% and widening gender gaps in labor participation (already at 45% for women).

For citizens: Stigma deepens isolation, elevating suicide risks—female rates up 15% per Federal Ministry of Health—and fracturing millions of vulnerable households, impeding children’s education (dropout spikes in affected families) and eroding community stability in urban slums housing 70 million. Everyday Nigerians face ripple effects: Rising petty crimes strain security, while orphaned kids fuel street begging, overburdening social services.

As advocate Margaret Julius of Women’s Rights Advancement pleads, “Stigma silences us, but silence kills.” Urgent reforms demand gender-sensitive rehab centers, free mental health screening in PHCs, and anti-stigma campaigns—lest this hidden inferno consumes Nigeria’s social fabric, human capital, and fragile hope for recovery in a nation where 139 million battle poverty daily.

President Bola Tinubu

Tinubu Seeks Fresh $2.35bn External Loan, $500m Sovereign Sukuk

President Bola Tinubu has fired off urgent requests to the National Assembly for $2.35 billion in external loans and a groundbreaking $500 million sovereign sukuk, thrusting Nigeria deeper into global debt markets to plug 2025’s yawning deficit and avert Eurobond default.

Of the loans, $1.23 billion funds fresh borrowing under the Appropriation Act, while $1.12 billion refinances a November-due Eurobond at lower rates (6.8-9.3%), sourced via Eurobonds, syndications, or multilaterals. The sukuk—Nigeria’s ICM debut—targets Islamic investors, with up to 25% refinancing high-cost debts and the rest fueling roads and bridges, potentially backed by ICIEC guarantees.

Hailed as diversification from N1.39 trillion domestic sukuks since 2017, the move underscores fiscal desperation amid 3.9% growth shadowed by 31.7% inflation.

Short-term stabilization of $42 billion reserves averts default stigma that could spike borrowing costs 2-3%, enabling infrastructure boosts; long-term, debt swelling to 40% GDP risks currency devaluation and slowed growth without revenue reforms.

Halt Demolition Of Igbo Houses In Lagos, Deputy Speaker Tells Tinubu

In a heartfelt plea echoing ethnic tensions, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu has implored President Bola Tinubu to halt Lagos State’s bulldozing of Igbo-owned properties at Trade Fair Complex, decrying the “heart-bleeding” destruction amid economic woes.

Speaking at Aba project launches, Kalu urged regularization grace over razings, insisting Tinubu—hailed for Igbo appointments like Finance Minister Wale Edun—intervene with Gov. Sanwo-Olu, as unapproved structures endanger lives, per Commissioner Olumide Oluyinka.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps Benjamin Kalu pleads with President Bola Tinubu to create a port in south east Nigeria to bring more development to the region. He also pleaded with the president to intervene regarding demolishing of homes and offices of igbos in Lagos pic.twitter.com/8bB4RkKegP

— Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) October 3, 2025

The demolitions, targeting safety hazards under Lagos’ Planning Act, have razed plazas, displacing thousands of Igbo traders in Nigeria’s commercial hub. Implications for the economy: Livelihoods evaporate, contracting Lagos’ $100bn+ trade sector, inflating 34% inflation as supply chains disrupt and deterring investments amid ethnic unrest, potentially shaving 0.5-1% off national GDP.

For citizens: Thousands face homelessness and job loss among 139 million poor, heightening migration stresses and health crises in overcrowded areas, eroding trust in governance. Broader: It strains federal unity, diverting focus from reforms; unchecked, it risks pogrom echoes, deepening divisions for everyday Nigerians. Kalu envisions a Southeast seaport fix—will empathy trump enforcement, or fractures widen social cohesion?

New INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan: A Legal Luminary Amid Calls for Electoral Redemption

In a unanimous nod from the National Council of State, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has been confirmed as the new Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), succeeding Prof. Mahmood Yakubu after a decade marred by controversies over vote integrity and technological glitches. Hailing from Ayetoro Gbede in Kogi State’s Ijumu LGA, the 58-year-old North-Central indigene marks a historic first for his state in the role, as President Bola Tinubu hailed his “impeccable character” and apolitical stance.

Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan

Amupitan’s illustrious profile spans over three decades in academia and law. A University of Jos alumnus, he earned his LLB (1987), LLM (1993), and PhD (2007) there, topping his class with accolades like the Richard Akinjide Prize. Joining as an assistant lecturer in 1989, he ascended to professor in 2008, specializing in corporate governance, evidence law, and privatization.

As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2014, he has authored over 50 scholarly works and held key posts, including Dean of Law (2008–2014) and current Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration). Beyond UNIJOS, he serves on boards like Integrated Dairies Limited and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council.

Nigerians and parties are divided yet hopeful. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) praised his reformist bent, citing his 2024 paper advocating e-voting integration, forensic evidence admissibility, and judicial independence to bolster electoral credibility. IPAC echoed calls for transparency, while the PDP urged Senate scrutiny to ensure impartiality. Optimists like Gov. Hope Uzodimma lauded his integrity for restoring trust, but skeptics, including Dr. Sam Amadi, warn of “dangers” if he succumbs to executive pressure—fueled by debunked claims linking him to Tinubu’s 2023 tribunal defense (he’s distinct from Prof. Taiwo Osipitan). Labour Party challenged him to prioritize 230 million citizens over one man.

As 2027 looms, Amupitan inherits a battered system craving BVAS reliability and real-time results. Can this Yoruba-speaking Okun scholar deliver the fearless reforms his writings demand? History beckons.

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