The week ahead - Santa pause
Despite some positive news from Turkiye and Shell, the week was otherwise marred by challenges in Nigeria, Ghana and for ECOWAS.
It might be the most wonderful time of the year, but the fine print was less than savoury for consumers, security policymakers, and agent bankers in Nigeria, ECOWAS, and the incoming government in Accra. At least Turkiye stepped into a seething geopolitical fault line, and Shell’s big announcement brought some Christmas cheer to an otherwise blasé week.
Chart of the week
There has been a lot of debate in legacy and social media on Nigeria’s statistics agency’s report that more than 600,000 people were kidnapped in a year. We published our yearly update on the same issue earlier in the year. Before that, we had talked about the increasing density of kidnapping in Nigeria and also explicitly dealt with the rise in kidnaps in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Our senior security analyst, Confidence MacHarry, was on Arise TV yesterday to discuss the issue.
Our take on the furore is this: Nigeria has a kidnap epidemic, and solving it should be a matter of the highest priority.
Summary of our main stories this week
In deep waters: Shell Nigeria has made a final investment decision on the Bonga North deep-water project.
Cash capped: The Central Bank of Nigeria has set new limits for Point of Sales agents, capping daily transactions at ₦1.2 million ($725) and cash withdrawals per customer at ₦100,000 ($60).
Fast and slow: Nigeria's inflation rate increased to 34.6% in November, up from 33.8% in October, marking a continued rise in the prices of goods and services across the country.
Rise of the states: Kaduna Governor Uba Sani announced that all 36 states have submitted reports to the National Economic Council in support of creating state police to address Nigeria's insecurity issues.
EC-xit: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger will have a six-month grace period after their scheduled exit from ECOWAS on 29 January 2025, extending their effective departure to 29 July 2025.
Reality check: Ghana's President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to maintain the $3 billion IMF rescue package while reviewing it to reduce wasteful spending and enhance the energy sector.
Ankara calling: Somalia and Ethiopia have agreed to resolve their dispute over Ethiopia's plan to build a port in Somaliland, with talks mediated by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan set to begin by February 2025.
Our yearly preview will be published at noon WAT today. That is all for now, and until 10 January 2025, have a Merry Christmas and a grand New Year celebration, and we hope you have a blast in 2025.