Comparing the economic performance of past and present leaders

Thanks to SBM Intelligence for this infographic showing the economic performance of Nigerian leaders during this civilian era.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo delivered the most positive numbers.

1. “It is confusing me”.

The confession of the Edo State governor to confusion about the figures in the state’s 2025 budget and his inability to pronounce them trended for just one week. It is off the radar this week and appears only as a reminder.

The upshot is to tread carefully when consuming and deploying mainstream and social media trends. The governor and his budget imbroglio will feature again in the last week of December and the first week of January 2025 as part of reviews of the past year.

Meanwhile, netizens shared memes, graphics, and various images poking fun.

2. Kemi Badenoch

The UK’s Conservative Party leader remained a significant Nigerian talking point for the fourth week. Ms Kemi Badenoch was featured in the point-counterpoint with Vice President Kassim Shettima and in reactions to it.

Their exchange raised issues of country branding, public relations, public service, and public perceptions. It also dwelt on the place of the country’s population in reckoning.

VP Shettima accused Badenoch of painting Nigeria in negatives. He compared her negatively to Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian origin.

Shettima spoke at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue at the State House in Abuja and said, “Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Labour or Conservative Party. We are proud of her despite her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.”

He asked her to consider removing “Kemi from her name” if she felt so bad about Nigeria. “Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Labour or Conservative Party. We are proud of her despite her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin. She is entitled to her own opinions; she has even every right to remove the Kemi from her name, but that does not underscore the fact that the greatest black nation on earth is the nation called Nigeria.

“One out of every three or four black men is a Nigerian, and by 2050, Nigeria will surpass the United States and will be the third most populous nation on earth.”

Ms Badenoch doubled down on her position. She said she was not in the public relations business and would not do so for Nigeria.

In another post, Ms Badenoch said she identified more as a Yoruba than as a Nigerian and decried sharing space with the Fulani.

Their exchanges have been a central part of public discourse in the past week.

3. Defamation, crime, and the Farotimi case

Dele Farotimi versus Chief Afe Babalola continued to trend in the media. The Nigerian Police from Ekiti State arrested Dele Farotimi in Lagos State on 3 December. They took him to Ado Ekiti in connection with his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. The arrest followed allegations of defamation brought against him by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Afe Babalola.

Farotimi has appeared in two courts. The magistrates’ court denied him bail, while the High Court granted him bail.

Without a resolution of the defamation case, Chief Babalola followed with a letter to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee seeking to disbar Mr Farotimi.
Various groups have taken their stand on the matter. Social media also adds cartoons and memes.