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Opposition parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) have criticised President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the composition of the ruling party’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, questioning the credibility of the team assembled to prosecute the President’s re-election campaign.

This was contained in two separate statements by the parties’ National Publicity Secretaries, Bolaji Abdullahi and Abubakar Yusuf, respectively, on Saturday.

The APC and the Presidency on Saturday announced Abdulaziz Yari, former Zamfara State governor, as Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council and Hope Uzodimma, Imo State governor, as Secretary.

Tinubu is to serve as chairman, while Kashim Shettima, Vice President and Nentawe Yilwatda,

APC National Chairman, are named vice chairmen.

The ADC described the council as a ‘rehabilitation system’ for individuals facing unresolved corruption and public accountability questions, particularly questioning the inclusion of Betta Edu, former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, and Ngozi Olejeme, former chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

‘What should ordinarily be a political task team ends up looking like a rehabilitation system for individuals carrying unresolved questions of corruption and public accountability,’ the ADC said.

The party challenged the government to explain whether the cases involving the two former officials had been resolved and, if so, disclose ‘how and when and by whom they were cleared.’

The ADC spokesman said the 2027 election would be a referendum on Tinubu’s performance, arguing that political campaigns could not erase the hardship facing Nigerians.

‘The President may assemble his old friends and political allies, including those carrying unresolved corruption questions, but all of their collective brooms cannot sweep away the grave pains they have brought on the Nigerian people,’ he said.

Similarly, Yusuf described the campaign council as an ‘assembly of disconnected yes men and discredited politicians’ lacking the public confidence required to deliver victory for Tinubu.

He particularly criticised Yari’s appointment as Director-General, alleging that his tenure as Zamfara governor was characterised by worsening insecurity and poor socio-economic conditions.

‘If after three and half years in power, President Tinubu could not garner the capacity to assemble a credible team, then it is clear that indeed he has no business being in charge of a nation as complex and demanding as Nigeria,’ the APM said.

The APM also accused the administration of worsening poverty, unemployment and insecurity, while presenting its presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, as an alternative.

‘The Osun governorship election experience should serve as a pointer to them that President Tinubu cannot win the 2027 Presidential election,’ the APM said.

Peach House Lagos has announced the appointment of internationally recognised Nigerian model and actor Davidson Obennebo as its new Creative Director, marking a significant new chapter in the evolution of the Lagos-based fashion brand.

Obennebo brings to the role an international fashion career that began in Lagos and quickly expanded to the global stage. After being discovered by Beth Model Management Africa in 2016, he won the Nigerian edition of the Elite Model Look competition before emerging as the overall winner of the 2016 Elite Model Look World Final, making him the first Black model to win the global competition in its then 33-year history.

His international breakthrough followed soon after, with Obennebo making his Milan Fashion Week debut for Versace, where he opened and closed the men’s show. His career has since included international runway, campaign and editorial work across leading fashion markets, with credits associated with brands including Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Moschino, Emporio Armani and Balmain.

His appointment at Peach House represents a new dimension to his career, moving from being a face within the fashion industry to helping shape the creative direction and identity of a fashion brand.

As Creative Director, Obennebo will contribute to the development of Peach House’s creative vision across campaigns, collections, collaborations, digital presence and overall brand storytelling.

Jane Ogu, Founder and CEO of Peach House Lagos, Flawless Faces by Jane and Luxe Braids Nigeria, and Co-Founder of Nuban Beauty, said the appointment represents a strategic step in Peach House’s evolution.

Ogu said, ‘This is a defining moment for Peach House. As the brand continues to grow, we recognised the need for stronger creative direction, clearer storytelling, and a more intentional visual identity that reflects where we are headed.’

She stated that the company’s ambition extends beyond building another fashion label. ‘We are building more than a fashion brand. We are building a creative and cultural platform that speaks to today’s generation through style, identity, confidence, and modern African expression.’

According to Peach House, Obennebo’s international experience and understanding of contemporary fashion culture will help the brand develop a stronger and more distinctive creative language as it enters its next phase of growth.

The company plans to deepen its presence within Nigeria’s fashion ecosystem through new creative campaigns, collection launches, strategic partnerships and expanded media visibility.

The brand also intends to strengthen collaborations with creatives, stylists, tastemakers, media personalities, artists and other cultural voices whose work aligns with its evolving vision.

For Obennebo, the appointment brings his international fashion experience back to Lagos at a time when Nigerian designers and fashion brands are attracting increasing attention locally and globally.

His transition from international model to creative leadership also reflects a broader evolution within Africa’s fashion industry, where creatives with global experience are increasingly contributing to the development of homegrown brands and creative institutions.

With Obennebo joining the leadership of its creative direction, Peach House Lagos says it is entering its next phase with a renewed focus on originality, cultural relevance, visual storytelling and contemporary African fashion.

Weekly Summary:

This week’s YSOT articles examine Nigeria and Africa, where power is being redistributed, contested and redefined, but where the quality of institutions will determine whether those changes produce public value. From the rise of indigenous private capital to the proposed decentralisation of policing, the concessioning of Unity Schools and the widening question of youth participation in politics, the recurring concern is not simply who holds power, but how that power is exercised and constrained.

The week also turns to the moral foundations of public life. Nigeria’s green-white-green becomes a metaphor for the distance between national ideals and lived realities, while the intervention of Al Mustapha Jokolo invokes an older tradition of speaking truth to power. Together, these articles suggest that national renewal requires more than new policies, new institutions or new actors. It requires a stronger culture of responsibility, accountability and service.

The final article brings the conversation into the corporate sphere, where customer complaints are reframed as intelligence rather than inconvenience. This completes an important thread running through the week: institutions become stronger when they learn from the signals around them. Whether the signal comes from citizens, customers, young people, communities or religious voices, the ability to listen, respond and reform may ultimately determine whether Nigeria’s institutions remain instruments of privilege or become engines of public value.

Common Thread:

From The Face of Nigeria’s New Capitalism to Customer Complaints as Untapped Source of Risk Intelligence, this week’s articles ask a deceptively simple question: what happens when power is not matched by responsibility? Nigeria’s emerging capitalist class now possesses the capacity to reshape entire sectors, but its wealth must translate into productive capacity and wider prosperity. The national flag still carries ideals of agricultural abundance, peace and unity, but those ideals require institutions capable of making them real. Unity Schools were designed to build national cohesion, yet their future raises questions about whether efficiency should come at the expense of public purpose. State police could bring security closer to citizens, but without safeguards, decentralisation could simply bring political abuse closer to them. Religious leaders possess moral authority, but that authority matters only when it is used to challenge wrongdoing, including within their own communities. Young Africans may now be legally old enough to seek political office, but formal eligibility means little when money and patronage continue to control access. Even banks can learn from the same principle: a complaint is valuable not because it is a problem to close, but because it is a warning about a problem that may recur. Across the week, therefore, the message is consistent: institutions improve when power is made accountable to the people and information they are meant to serve.

Weekly Article Review:

Monday, August 17: The face of Nigeria’s new capitalism – By Dr Vincent Nwanma

Dr Vincent Nwanma’s article examines an important transformation in Nigeria’s economic history: the movement from merchant capitalism to large-scale institution building and, increasingly, to strategic indigenous capital capable of reshaping the economy itself. The merchant capitalist accumulated wealth largely through access to scarce goods, licences, foreign exchange and relationships. The next generation built banks, telecommunications companies, manufacturing businesses and conglomerates. Today, some Nigerian business leaders are deploying private wealth into assets with consequences far beyond their individual enterprises. The Dangote Refinery, BUA’s expanding industrial base and the growth of major financial institutions illustrate a private sector increasingly capable of influencing national productive capacity.

But the article does not treat the rise of indigenous capital as an uncomplicated success story. Large pools of private capital are indispensable in an economy where the government alone cannot finance the infrastructure, manufacturing capacity and productive investment required by a population approaching 240 million. Yet concentration of economic power also creates risks. As private interests become increasingly intertwined with strategic national assets, the distinction between private wealth and public economic value becomes more important. The challenge for the government is to provide credible institutions, competitive markets and predictable rules, while the new capitalist class must recognise that economic power carries obligations beyond shareholder returns. The real measure of Nigeria’s new capitalism, therefore, will not be the size of individual fortunes but the extent to which those fortunes expand the productive opportunities available to others.

Article 2: Monday, August 17: The green-white-green and the decline of Nigeria’s national ideals – By Ogie Eboigbe

Ogie Eboigbe uses Nigeria’s national flag as a powerful lens through which to examine the country’s unfinished national project. The green was intended to evoke Nigeria’s fertile land and agricultural wealth, while the white represented peace and unity. Indeed, both ideals have been weakened by decades of policy choices and institutional failures. Agriculture has declined in relative importance as oil became dominant, leaving Nigeria increasingly dependent on food imports, while insecurity, communal conflict, ethnic and religious mistrust and perceptions of exclusion have strained the ideal of national unity.

The article’s strength lies in refusing to treat the flag merely as a ceremonial symbol. It asks what Nigerians must do to make its ideals meaningful again. Restoring the green requires a productive agricultural sector supported by infrastructure, finance, technology, storage and functioning markets. Restoring the white requires justice, security, inclusion and institutions that citizens can trust. Recent moments of national pride generated by Nigerian athletes on international platforms show that a shared identity still exists. But symbols alone cannot sustain it. The task is to translate national pride into a social contract in which citizens experience the country as a place of equal participation, opportunity and protection.

Tuesday, August 18: Concessioning federal government colleges is not a great idea. – By Prof. Sunday Ene-Ojo Atawodi

Prof. Sunday Ene-Ojo Atawodi challenges the proposed concessioning of Nigeria’s Federal Government Colleges, arguing that the Unity Schools cannot be treated like ordinary commercial assets. Their original purpose extended beyond classroom instruction: they were conceived as instruments of national reconciliation, social mobility and integration. By bringing children from different regions, ethnicities, religions and social classes together, the schools helped cultivate a sense of shared Nigerian identity. That social function makes their value considerably greater than what conventional commercial calculations might capture.

The article acknowledges the serious deterioration of many Unity Schools but argues that neglect is not evidence that public ownership has failed. The more appropriate response is institutional reform: stronger governance, dedicated infrastructure funding, transparent financial reporting and partnerships with alumni and corporate organisations that preserve public ownership. The proposed Education Infrastructure Trusts and independent governing boards offer a way to mobilise private resources without surrendering the schools’ public mission. In a country facing renewed insecurity and social fragmentation, institutions capable of bringing Nigerians together should arguably be strengthened, not weakened by reforms that could place commercial incentives above national purpose.

Wednesday, August 19: Al Mustapha Jokolo invokes Nasihat al-Muluk to call out Nigeria’s Muslim rulers. – By Dr Richard Ikiebe

Dr Richard Ikiebe moves beyond the immediate controversy surrounding Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir to explore the deeper question of moral accountability within religious and political leadership. His use of Al-Ghazali’s Nasihat al-Muluk, or Counsel for Kings, provides the intellectual framework for examining the obligations of those who advise rulers. In this tradition, political authority is a trust, and justice is central to legitimate rule. Those close to power therefore have a duty to counsel honestly rather than reinforce authority through flattery.

Jokolo’s intervention becomes significant because it represents accountability from within the Islamic tradition. The article argues that religious leaders cannot wait until inflammatory rhetoric produces violence before exercising their moral authority. In a country already marked by religious tension and insecurity, careless political use of religious identity can have consequences far beyond rhetoric. As Nigeria approaches another electoral cycle, the deeper test for religious leadership is whether scholars and clerics will challenge injustice and political manipulation even when the offender belongs to their own community. The principle, the article stresses, must apply across religious traditions: moral authority becomes meaningful when it places limits on power.

Article 2: Wednesday, August 19: Nigerian police decentralisation must be done with adequate safeguards – By Prof. Duro Oni

Prof. Duro Oni examines the growing momentum behind the State Police against the background of Nigeria’s persistent insecurity. Despite rising security expenditure, kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, cybercrime and communal violence continue to expose weaknesses in the country’s security architecture. The proposed decentralisation of policing could bring officers closer to the communities they serve, improve intelligence gathering and allow policing strategies to respond more effectively to local realities. In a diverse federation such as Nigeria, the argument for more locally responsive policing is compelling.

But the article rightly insists that decentralisation is not synonymous with reform. Nigeria’s pre-1966 experience with local policing demonstrates the danger of allowing political authorities to capture security institutions. Governors with direct influence over state police could potentially use them against political opponents unless independent oversight and clear constitutional safeguards are firmly established. Even then, the State Police cannot substitute for the reform of the Nigeria Police Force, including better recruitment, forensic capacity, technology, welfare and internal accountability. The opportunity presented by decentralisation should therefore be used to rethink the entire policing system rather than simply create another layer of institutions carrying the same weaknesses.

Thursday, August 20: Africa is lowering the age to run for office, but power remains with the elderly. – By Miss Faith Omoboye

Miss Faith Omoboye interrogates the gap between formal political eligibility and genuine political access for Africa’s young majority. Ghana’s proposed reduction of the minimum presidential age from 40 to 35 mirrors Nigeria’s own Not Too Young To Run reform of 2018. Yet Nigeria’s experience demonstrates that lowering age requirements does not automatically translate into greater youth representation. Young people may be constitutionally qualified to contest elections while remaining excluded by the financial demands of campaigns, expensive nomination processes, party gatekeeping and entrenched political networks.

The article avoids the simplistic argument that younger politicians are necessarily better leaders. The examples of Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré demonstrate why age alone cannot be a measure of political competence or democratic legitimacy. The real objective should be to create political systems in which capable young people can acquire experience and compete credibly. That requires affordable nomination processes, stronger internal party democracy, campaign-finance reform, youth representation and accessible routes into political leadership. A younger electorate does not need power handed to it because of age; it needs the barriers that make power inaccessible to it removed.

Friday, August 21: Customer complaints as an untapped source of risk intelligence – By Dr Joachim Adenusi

Dr Joachim Adenusi closes the week by shifting the conversation from public institutions and political power to corporate governance. His central argument is that customer complaints should not be regarded simply as service failures or reputational irritations. Properly collected and analysed, they are an important source of risk intelligence. The scale of complaints received by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2025 illustrates the depth of information available: more than 23,000 complaints were recorded, with claims involving tens of billions of naira. The data can reveal weaknesses in products, processes, technology, fraud controls and customer protection before those weaknesses become larger institutional failures.

The article makes an important distinction between resolving complaints and learning from them. A bank can meet its resolution deadlines while allowing the same underlying problem to generate hundreds of new complaints. What matters is whether institutions identify recurring patterns, analyse root causes and connect complaint trends to operational, fraud and conduct-risk frameworks. This is ultimately a lesson about institutional intelligence: effective organisations do not merely respond to problems; they learn from the signals that problems generate. The complaint, therefore, is not simply evidence of what went wrong. It is information about what could go wrong next.

Closing Reflection: Beyond changing structures

This week’s conversation ultimately points to a larger truth about national development: Nigeria does not necessarily need more power in new hands; it needs power to behave differently. New capital can build transformative industries, but without responsible markets it can deepen concentration. State police can improve responsiveness, but without safeguards it can reproduce political abuse. Private investment can rescue failing schools, but without public accountability it can weaken their national purpose. Young people can be legally permitted to contest elections, but without access to political structures, they remain spectators. Religious leaders can command enormous influence, but that influence matters only when it is exercised with courage and moral independence. Businesses can receive thousands of complaints, but resilience depends on whether they listen to what those complaints reveal.

The deeper work of reform is therefore institutional. It is about creating systems that can listen, learn, restrain power and correct themselves. Nigeria’s most valuable institutions, whether schools, security agencies, political parties, markets, religious communities or corporations, will not become stronger merely because their structures change. They become stronger when accountability becomes routine, public purpose is protected and those who exercise power understand that authority is ultimately a trust.

That may be the most important lesson from this week’s YSOT: renewal begins when institutions stop protecting power from scrutiny and start using scrutiny to improve themselves.

MTN Nigeria has rewarded three athletes from its MTN CHAMPS athletics programme with N1 million each in recognition of their outstanding performances at national, continental and international competitions.

Ezekiel Asuquo, Lucy Nwankwo and Toheebat Jimoh were recognised during a meeting with MTN Nigeria’s Chief Marketing Officer, Onyinye Ikenna Emeka, at the company’s headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, on August 19, 2026.

The recognition highlights MTN Nigeria’s continued investment in grassroots athletics and its efforts to provide young Nigerian athletes with pathways to national and international competition.

CHAMPS athletes make international impact

Asuquo and Jimoh represented Nigeria at the World Athletics Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, before contributing to the country’s gold-medal success at the African Senior Championships in Accra, Ghana.

Nwankwo also enjoyed a strong run, winning two individual gold medals at the CAA U18/U20 Region II Championships in Dakar before competing at the World U20 Championships.

Speaking to the athletes, Emeka encouraged them to reflect on their progress while continuing to pursue higher goals.

‘Sometimes, in the pursuit of excellence, we get so focused on the next goal that we forget to acknowledge how far we have come,’ she said.

‘It is important to pause, reflect on our achievements and appreciate the opportunities that have shaped our journey.’

The athletes also reflected on their development from school-level competitions to representing Nigeria on the international stage.

Asuquo credited MTN CHAMPS and MoC Academy with providing the support and platform that helped him develop his talent.

‘I’m grateful for the opportunity MTN CHAMPS and MoC Academy have given me to develop my talent and compete at the international level,’ he said.

‘From the beginning, my coaches recognised my potential and encouraged me to remain disciplined and committed. That support helped me grow as an athlete and gave me the confidence to represent Nigeria on the global stage, which was a defining moment for me.’

MTN CHAMPS expands talent pipeline

Since its launch, MTN CHAMPS has attracted more than 22,000 young athletes from over 1,500 schools, creating a platform for talent identification, training and development.

Athletes emerging from the programme have progressed to compete at major national, continental and international competitions, including the World Athletics Relays, African Senior Championships, Nigerian Championships, Commonwealth Games trials, Dakar regional championships and World U20 Championships.

For Asuquo, Nwankwo and Jimoh, the financial reward represents recognition of their progress from grassroots competition to major international stages.

MTN Nigeria said the initiative remains focused on creating sustainable pathways for young athletes to develop their careers and compete at the highest level.

When Oluwatosin Abigael Ayodele moved to the UK three years ago, she already had a business skill she knew well: making hair.

Cooking, however, belonged to a different part of her life. It was something she did at home, for herself, her friends and family. She enjoyed it, but she had never considered it a business. Then her friends began to suggest otherwise.

Whenever Ayodele cooked for them, they would tell her the food was good enough to sell. At first, their comments were little more than encouragement. She already had hair to make and a life to build in a new country, so turning cooking into another source of work was not an immediate priority.

It took a birthday party to make the suggestion feel more practical.

Ayodele was asked to anchor a friend’s birthday celebration, where she also prepared the food. It gave her an opportunity to cook on a larger scale and, more importantly, to see how people responded to what she made outside the familiar setting of home and friendship.

The response was enough to make her reconsider the idea.

In April, she started Heart and Spice, a food business serving traditional Nigerian meals in the UK. What began as something her friends had repeatedly encouraged her to try has now become another business she is learning to build alongside her hair work.

The menu reflects the food she knows best. Ayodele focuses on traditional Nigerian meals rather than adapting the food to fit what she thinks a British market might expect. Most of her customers are Nigerians, and for them, the familiarity is part of the appeal.

There is something significant about that choice. For many Nigerians living abroad, food can be one of the simplest ways to remain connected to home. Ayodele’s approach is not to reinvent Nigerian cooking for a new audience, but to prepare the kind of meals that already feel familiar to her customers.

Heart and Spice also offers pastries, delivery and plating for customers ordering for events and special occasions. As the business grows, Ayodele hopes to introduce more African dishes, gradually expanding the menu without losing the Nigerian foundation on which the business was built.

For now, much of the work is still about learning the realities of running a food business. Cooking for friends is different from cooking for paying customers. There are orders to organise, meals to prepare, deliveries to coordinate and presentation to consider. Each order brings another opportunity to understand what customers want and how the business can improve.

It is a different kind of work from making hair, but Ayodele has not abandoned the business she started with. Instead, the two now exist alongside each other, giving her two different ways to earn from skills she has developed over time.

Running Heart and Spice has also introduced her to a different side of business. Cooking for friends came naturally; preparing food for paying customers comes with the added demands of taking orders, organising deliveries and making sure the food arrives as expected. Plating has become part of the service too, particularly for customers ordering for events.

The business is still in its early stages, and Ayodele is already thinking about how to expand it. Pastries are part of the current offering, while more African dishes are planned for the future. For now, however, Nigerian food remains at the centre of the menu and the business continues to grow around the customers who first encouraged her to sell it.

Three years after moving to the UK, Ayodele has found herself building something she never originally planned for. Hair remains part of her working life, but cooking has become another business of its own, one that began with meals shared among friends and grew when she finally decided to take their advice seriously.

For many students, going to university is supposed to be a period of learning, growth and preparation for the future. However, the rising cost of food, transportation, accommodation, and other necessities is making campus life increasingly difficult.

With limited financial resources and growing expenses, students are being forced to make tough choices between their academic needs and everyday survival.

Anuoluwapo, a student at Babcock University, Ogun State, disclosed that the rising cost of food and household goods has really affected students.

‘A plate of food that used to be within the range of N500 – N650 in my first year is now N1,800-N2,000. Most students now avoid spending on meals relaying mostly on the meals provided by the school to save money.

‘Basic items such as soap, detergent, and toiletries have also doubled. It’s making budgeting very tight, and many of us are depending more on family support,’ she said.

Akpomiemie, another Babcock University student disclosed that rising food and household item prices are making daily life much tougher for students.

‘The money my parents used to send doesn’t stretch like before, so I have to cut back on things I used to buy, and even small items such as toiletries and other shopping essentials add up quickly.

‘It’s hard not to feel the pressure, especially when shopping for a new semester because the amount needed is now different from what it used to be,’ she said.

As a result of the price surge and cost of living crisis on campus, she said that sometimes, a student could get money from his or her parents and still wonder how it finished so quickly.

Ajibola Ogunjobi, a student at the University of Ibadan, said rising food prices mean his allowance finishes faster.

‘I previously would spend N5,000 for several days on meals, but now I buy less quantity of food with the amount, leaving me with less money for transport, data, textbooks and other necessities,’ he said.

Chinonso, a student at the University of Lagos, lamented the rising cost of living on campus.

‘Things have been very difficult for me, particularly feeding in UNILAG; I now live on a ratio of two to three or one to three. You can’t feed comfortably with N5,000 in a day.

‘If one doesn’t have N5,000 in your pocket, you will be afraid to enter many canteens. Compared to two or three years ago, when with N1,000, a student could manage and eat well.

‘I hardly visit canteens now; even shawarma and suya I used to buy before, I can’t afford it now again, I rather use the money to buy food and keep. I do a lot of calculations now because of the high cost of living,’ he said.

Emmanuella Adeyemo, a student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ike-Ife, Osun State, said that the increase in food prices is taking its strain on students, as they spend more now.

‘To make ends meet, one can buy pepper and blend it by hand to cut costs; some buy just ‘p?nm?’ or don’t put anything in their stew at all.

‘The quantity of pepper we got for N1,000 when I was in hundred level is what we are buying for N2,000 now. Some students don’t even buy pepper; they use tomato paste and ground pepper to make stew or just eat concoction rice,’ she explained.

A student from Caleb University said the rising cost of food and living is directly affecting her daily life.

‘The impact goes beyond how much am I going to spend on meals daily, it also affects the quality of food I eat per day.

‘I’ve to cut down on my daily expenditure to ensure I don’t run out of funds, sometimes, I have to trek or buy low quality meals just to get going,’ she said.

Nigeria’s food inflation accelerated in July, rising to 20.31 percent month-on-month from 17.52 percent in June, marking the sixth straight monthly rise, even as the country’s headline inflation rate slowed during the month.

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that food inflation increased by 2.79 percent in July, driven by higher average prices of items including crayfish, fresh pepper, onions, carrots, rice, water yam, tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, and eggs.

On a year-on-year basis, however, food inflation stood at 20.31 percent in July, down from 26.20 percent recorded in July 2025.

The increase in monthly food inflation highlights continued pressure on consumers despite the broader moderation in inflation. The headline inflation rate fell to 15.43 percent in July from 15.91 percent in June, while month-on-month headline inflation eased slightly to 1.57 percent from 1.66 percent.

In conclusion, the rising cost of living has placed a heavy burden on students, making it increasingly difficult for many to meet their basic needs while pursuing their education.

The high cost of food, accommodation, transportation, learning materials, and other essentials can negatively affect students’ academic performance and overall well-being.

Addressing this crisis therefore requires concerted efforts from governments, institutions, families, and other stakeholders through measures such as affordable accommodation, student financial support, and accessible basic services.

By reducing these economic pressures, students can concentrate better on their studies and have a fairer opportunity to succeed.

In an economy where everyone is creating, selling and competing for visibility, attention has become one of the most valuable currencies. The challenge is no longer simply creating good content, but learning how to make people stop, listen and remember.

My first book, Donjazzyfied, was written in 2015 when I was a young reporter.

Yes, it was about the career lessons I had learnt from Don Jazzy. But I deliberately did something with the title. I coined the word ‘Donjazzyfied.’

I wanted people to see it and wonder: What does that mean?

Looking back, I realise that I was learning one of the most important lessons in today’s digital economy: attention has to be earned.

We live in a world where everybody is creating.

The entrepreneur is creating. The professional is creating. The celebrity is creating. The small business owner is creating. The journalist, consultant, pastor, comedian and influencer are all competing for space on the same screen.

And there is only so much attention available.

This has created what is often described as the attention economy – an environment in which human attention itself becomes a scarce and valuable resource because there is an overwhelming supply of information competing for it.

The implication for anyone building a business, career or personal brand is simple: being good is no longer enough.

People have to notice you before they can know you.

And that is where the ability to engineer attention becomes important.

By engineering attention, I do not mean manipulating people or trying to trick an algorithm. I mean deliberately thinking about how an idea is packaged, where it enters a conversation, what makes it relevant and why someone should care enough to stop scrolling.

Over the years, I have learnt that attention can be designed for.

I call the approach HACK.

Hook the attention

Before people can engage with your idea, you have to give them a reason to stop.

That reason could be a headline, a question, an unusual phrase, a visual or simply a perspective they have not encountered before.

That was what Donjazzyfied did for me in 2015.

The subject was familiar. The packaging was not.

That distinction remains important today.

Research into online behaviour continues to show that the way information is expressed can influence the attention it receives. A recent study published in Nature Human Behaviour, for example, found that aspects of how people express themselves on social media can be strongly associated with the attention their posts attract.

In plain language, you can have something valuable to say and still lose the audience because of how you said it.

Don’t just have a message. Learn how to package the message.

Adapt and adopt

One of the biggest mistakes people make online is confusing adaptation with imitation.

A trend starts and everyone either copies it or ignores it.

I prefer to ask a different question:

What is this trend really telling me?

A recent example was Woli Arole’s viral Ajo conversation.

The subject had already captured public attention, with celebrities and ordinary Nigerians joining the conversation.

Rather than simply participate in the trend, I looked at it through the lens I understand: marketing and visibility.

I created a carousel examining the marketing lessons entrepreneurs, professionals and ordinary people could learn from the Ajo phenomenon.

Then I sent Woli Arole a collaboration request on Instagram.

He accepted.

The post went on to generate more than 80,000 reach.

The important lesson was not that I had created the attention around Ajo.

I recognised attention that already existed and found a relevant way to enter the conversation.

I call this borrowed attention.

You do not always have to manufacture attention from scratch.

Sometimes, you can enter a conversation people already care about and contribute something useful to it.

A fashion designer can analyse a viral celebrity outfit.

A lawyer can explain the legal implications of a trending controversy.

A restaurant can connect its brand to a cultural moment.

A business consultant can turn a popular frustration into a business lesson.

The opportunity is not always in creating the trend.

Sometimes, the opportunity is in interpreting the trend better.

Customize the conversation

But adaptation without originality quickly becomes imitation.

Your audience should be able to recognise your fingerprints on your content.

I experienced this with a post I created around Mr P. The post generated more than 80,000 reach, several comments and new followers.

The subject was already familiar to the public.

What changed was the framing.

This is where many brands struggle. They ask, ‘What is everyone talking about?’ but fail to ask the more important question:

‘What can I say about this that sounds like me?’

Two people can discuss the same celebrity, song, controversy or business trend and produce completely different results.

The difference is often perspective.

Your experience.

Your expertise.

Your worldview.

Your ability to make an unexpected connection.

That is customization.

Take something people already recognise and give them a reason to look at it differently.

Keep the conversation going

Getting attention is not the end goal.

It is the beginning.

A post can generate thousands of views and still produce little meaningful value for the person who created it.

The better question is: what did the attention achieve?

Did people remember you?

Did they follow you?

Did they visit your page?

Did it start a conversation?

Did it strengthen your positioning?

Did it lead to an opportunity?

Did it bring you closer to the people who might eventually buy from, work with or recommend you?

This is why I don’t believe the goal should simply be virality.

A million views from people who have no connection to what you do may be less valuable than reaching 20,000 people who are genuinely interested in your expertise or product.

Attention is the doorway.

What happens after people walk through that doorway is what determines its value.

That is why the final part of HACK is to keep the conversation going.

Respond to the comments.

Create the follow-up.

Turn an interesting question into another piece of content.

Look at what people reacted to and explore it further.

One successful post should not be the end of the conversation.

It should become the beginning of another.

Attention is not influence

There is another distinction businesses and personal brands need to understand.

Attention is not the same as influence.

You can attract attention without building trust.

You can go viral without building a business.

You can trend without becoming memorable.

And you can get thousands of likes without generating a single meaningful commercial opportunity.

The objective, therefore, should not be attention for attention’s sake.

The objective should be relevant attention.

Attention that creates familiarity.

Familiarity that creates trust.

Trust that creates opportunity.

And opportunity that creates value.

That is particularly important for entrepreneurs and professionals who often complain that nobody is talking about their businesses.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that the business is not good.

The problem is that nobody has been given a compelling reason to notice it.

The real hack

Looking back at Donjazzyfied, I realise that the book was more than a clever title.

It was an early lesson in something I have continued to practise through journalism, PR, content and personal branding.

My work around Tiwa Savage’s Energy, the Woli Arole Ajo trend and the Mr P conversation have reinforced the same lesson in different ways.

You do not necessarily need the biggest audience in the room.

You need to understand the room.

Understand what people are talking about.

Understand what makes them curious.

Understand what makes them share.

Understand what makes them stop.

And then bring your own value into the conversation.

That is the real HACK:

Hook the attention.

Adapt and adopt the opportunity.

Customize the message.

Keep the conversation going.

In a saturated digital space, don’t just compete to be seen.

Learn how to make people stop.

Because people cannot consider what they have not noticed, and they cannot choose what they cannot remember.

Attention may not be everything. But without it, too many great ideas, businesses and talents remain invisible.

Stronger capital buffers following Nigeria’s banking sector recapitalisation exercise will not by themselves guarantee the stability of financial institutions without effective risk management, regulatory compliance and sound corporate governance, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said.

Thompson Oludare Sunday, managing director and chief executive officer of the NDIC, said the recapitalisation exercise, which concluded on March 31, 2026, was a positive development for the financial sector, but stressed that raising capital was only the first step towards ensuring the safety and soundness of banks.

He spoke at the capacity development programme for Management and Senior Staff in partnership with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), held in Lagos, where he stressed the need for banks to complement stronger capital buffers with effective risk management, regulatory compliance and sound corporate governance.

According to Sunday, regulators must ensure that the additional capital raised by banks is deployed safely and prudently, with strong attention to risk management, compliance and corporate governance.

‘The recapitalisation exercise, which concluded on March 31, 2026, is a positive development for the financial sector. Strong capital buffers are essential, but raising capital is only the first step,’ he said.

‘As regulators, our primary concern remains risk management, regulatory compliance, and sound corporate governance to ensure these funds are deployed safely and prudently.’

The NDIC’s position comes after the conclusion of the banking sector recapitalisation exercise, which was aimed at strengthening banks’ capital positions and enhancing their capacity to withstand financial and economic shocks.

Sunday said the NDIC’s supervisory role remained focused not only on the capital position of financial institutions but also on ensuring that banks operate within regulatory requirements and maintain appropriate governance and risk-management frameworks.

The NDIC chief also disclosed that the corporation had commenced payouts to depositors of the 46 microfinance banks whose licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on July 1, 2026.

He said guaranteed deposits were being paid seamlessly, with the NDIC collaborating with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and using Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) to identify depositors and transfer funds directly into alternative bank accounts.

The process, he said, eliminates the need for affected depositors to visit NDIC offices for physical verification.

Sunday explained that licence revocation was considered a last resort after other resolution options had been explored.

He said the NDIC considers mechanisms including Purchase and Assumption agreements, bridge banks, liquidity support and management restructuring before revoking a financial institution’s licence.

‘License revocation is strictly a last resort. The affected MFBs breached core terms of their operating licences, leaving revocation as the most viable measure to protect system integrity,’ he said.

On failed banks, the NDIC chief said the corporation continued to pay depositors indefinitely, unlike jurisdictions where strict deadlines are imposed for claims.

He urged former customers of Heritage Bank, including former National Youth Service Corps members with small residual balances, to verify and collect their funds.

For Heritage Bank, whose licence was revoked on June 3, 2024, the NDIC said it had declared two liquidation dividends totalling 14.40 kobo per naira, representing a 14.4 percent recovery yield on uninsured deposits to date.

The corporation is continuing efforts to recover assets, including physical properties and collateral, as well as non-performing loans and other investments, while litigation and encumbrances affecting some assets are being resolved.

Sunday said recovered funds would be used to declare further liquidation dividends and pay uninsured depositors.

He said the long-term objective of the NDIC was to deepen public confidence in deposit insurance and ensure that depositors remained protected even when financial institutions failed.

‘While institutional failures can occur, the NDIC exists to ensure that depositor funds remain fully protected whenever they do,’ he said.

Plantain lovers, if you are looking for a new and creative way to enjoy plantain this weekend, plantain lasagna might be worth trying. Traditionally known as pastelón, the dish is popular across the Caribbean, particularly in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

It is made by layering ripe plantain with seasoned minced beef, tomato sauce and melted cheese, creating a sweet and savoury dish that is comforting, filling and a little different from the usual ways we enjoy plantain.

Serves: 6

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the plantain

4 large ripe but firm plantains

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

A pinch of salt

For the meat sauce

500g minced beef

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 seasoning cube, optional

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ cup water or stock

For the cheese layer

250g mozzarella cheese, grated

100g cheddar cheese, grated

Preparation

Prepare the plantain. Peel the plantains and slice them lengthwise into thin strips. They should be firm enough to hold their shape during cooking. Lightly brush both sides with oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Cook the plantain. You can either bake or fry the plantain.

To bake: Arrange the slices on a baking tray and bake at 200°C for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through, until lightly golden.

To fry: Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the slices lightly until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Moderately ripe plantains are best here because they don’t fall apart or soak up too much oil, making them perfect for layering.

Make the meat sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the garlic and minced beef, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned.

Build the sauce. Add the chopped pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with thyme, curry powder, smoked paprika, seasoning cube (if using), and salt. Add the stock or water, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Layer the lasagna. Layer the bottom of the baking pan with the plantain slices. Spread a decent amount of the beef mixture over the plantains just like you would prepare lasagna. Add a sprinkle of cheese. Repeat, alternating rows of plantains and meat until both are used up. Add grated cheese between each layer if desired.

Bake. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Rest before serving. Let the lasagna sit for about 10 minutes before cutting so the layers can settle properly.

This recipe is remarkably flexible, and you can tweak the ingredients however you like. You can also simply omit the meat for a vegetarian version and still get a rich, satisfying dish. If you like it spicy, add a little cayenne pepper to taste for a bit of heat.

Nigeria’s bustling beauty and personal care market received another major boost as The Makeup Fair Series (TMUFS) hosted the 19th Lagos Makeup Fair (LMUF19) from August 8 to 9, 2026.

Marked as the platform’s official Summer Edition, the two-day event held at Classique Events Place, Ikeja, represented a monumental milestone the 140th edition of TMUFS since its inception as a pioneer trade platform dedicated to connecting beauty businesses directly with consumers and industry stakeholders.

The tradeshow gathered over 60 vendors spanning cosmetics, skincare, fragrances, hair care and beauty accessories, reflecting the rapid expansion and diversification of West Africa’s beauty sector.

A core pillar of LMUF19 was its focus on lowering entry barriers for indigenous, emerging brands seeking retail visibility and market penetration.

The 140th edition featured debuts from rising beauty labels, including Aymiie, Byote, The Amber Skincare Company and My Lab Africa, alongside Flirtshade Cosmetics, which exhibited for the first time at the Lagos fair.

By placing new entrants alongside established industry heavyweights, the platform enabled small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to test new formulations, gather real-time consumer feedback, and expand their local distribution footprint.

Beyond retail trade, LMUF19 served as an educational hub designed to elevate industry standards.

Exhibitor stands were transformed into interactive learning spaces throughout the two-day event, featuring live demonstrations by top beauty professionals. Attendees and aspiring artists gained hands-on insights into modern skin-prep techniques, complex bridal applications, product layering and shade-matching tailored for diverse African skin tones.

Hitting 140 editions highlights over a decade of continuous contribution to Nigeria’s creative economy. What began as a niche trade gathering has evolved into a structured enterprise network that supports thousands of beauty entrepreneurs, vendors and creative professionals across major Nigerian cities.

As consumer demand for indigenous beauty and skincare solutions continues to climb, platforms like The Makeup Fair Series remain essential infrastructure bridging the gap between creative talent, consumer access and sustainable commercial growth.