Economy
Nigeria—No be Juju be this?
By Prince Charles Dickson PhD
This is not just primitive rural superstition; [juju] is practised by all kinds of people, from illiterate herd boys to multi-degreed university professors. If you don’t understand the power of this belief, you will never truly grasp the rich albeit often incomprehensible spirituality of Africa. Lawrence Anthony, The Elephant Whisperer.
Nobody respects the law of Nigeria. Judges don’t. Police don’t. Lawyers don’t. Politicians don’t. Citizens don’t. Why? Because there are no consequences. Those who fear the laws are the downtrodden who have no godfathers. That is why stealing a goat is more dangerous than stealing billions. Nigeria is a country of absurdities. J. S. Okutepa. (SAN)
No be juju be this…
So, wetin be or what is juju?
juju; plural noun: jujus.
A charm or fetish, especially of a type used by some West African peoples. Supernatural power attributed to a charm or fetish. “Juju and witchcraft”.
Juju, an object that has been deliberately infused with magical power or the magical power itself; it also can refer to the belief system involving the use of juju. Juju is practised in West African countries such as Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana, although its assumptions are shared by most African people.
Juju comes from the traditional African religion popularly known as voodoo. Juju refers specifically to objects used in conjunction with spells or curses, and like any practice or belief, it can be manipulated to create power over people.
Witches and juju things are absolutely fascinating—they can fly on broomsticks, do magic spells with their wands and stir up incredible potions in their cauldrons. They can ask for and do the unimaginable. In Nigeria, it is just about the unthinkable things they can and cannot do or are held liable for doing or not allowing to happen.
The Harry Potter books for example have made witches (and wizards) really cool recently – who wouldn’t want to be as smart as Hermione Granger, as brave as Ginny Weasley or play Quidditch as well as Cho Chang? However, in Nigeria, it is about child rights abuse and killings.
This admonition is not about juju or witchcraft but it is about juju and the witchcraft ‘worrying’ Nigeria. Kindly follow me for the next few paragraphs and then we can share thoughts.
Almost eight years and the government could not get one refinery working at full capacity, providing employment and serving Nigerians in a land blessed with the resources. A nation of all typologies of expertise in the oil sector and still cannot simply have an agreement on whether there is subsidy or not and what to do with it—no be juju be that!
Police follow PHCN abi DisCo officials to disconnect electricity from another police station. Meanwhile, DisCo is indebted to the Water Board and the Water Board is indebted to local contractors that supply purifying chemicals and the contractors cannot pay local tax because they are indebted to the local electrician who repairs household electronics destroyed as a result of terrible electricity current supplied to homes. We have changed names, balkanized the utility company, privatized it, funded it yet the energy problem persists, it is one hellish vicious cycle—No be juju be that!
How many times have you seen policemen wear protective gloves, or collect forensic evidence? Do we have a data bank? A country of different data capture for NIN, another for driver’s licence, another for BVN, even another set of data for ‘unavailable’ Nigerian passports (printed in another country). Yet, there’s ‘no-go-to’ data bank, wait…have you seen a desktop in a local police station, not-to-talk of a laptop, apart from the ‘big boys’—No be juju be that!
We close factories to build places of worship and then pray for jobs, every national celebration has an interdenominational service and Juma’at prayers as accompaniment, yet we are a religiously wicked people. Every Christian with his personal juju-man, and every Muslim her own ‘boka-man’. We do interfaith prayers at official events, meetings and steal afterwards, and then do thanksgiving; saying ‘na God ooo’—No be juju be that!
A government official builds a hospital and calls it world-class, and yet he goes to another country for healthcare. They commission schools they describe as world-class and yet they are kids, are schooling in puppet colleges in other climes. They live in villages and build castles in the US, and beg these dudes for aid and loans—no be juju be that!
We are venting on power relations across balance of the geographical spread called Nigeria. In other words, we want power to go the South, the North has had its share, we are talking Muslim-Muslim ticket, and can’t say Christian-Christian ticket. No one is talking about the Ogboni-Krishna ticket.
Sadly, we are stuck with if the President is from here the Vice must be from there in the only nation with the aberrations such as South-South, North East, North West, South East and too many juju-like political expediency laced necessities such as federal character, catchment area, indigene and non-indigene, educationally disadvantaged; still no way, In fact, historically, we have no history so we cannot agree on who is at fault or what the solution is—No be juju be that!
Who remembers in 2015, the Witches and Wizards Association of Nigeria (WITZAN) announced that it had endorsed Goodluck Jonathan as its candidate for the 2015 presidential election.
“We just held a meeting of witches in Kogi State where it was revealed to me that Jonathan would win the presidential election. He has the support of all witches to continue in office,” said a certain Dr Iboi, the President of the association.
Well, we can see that WITZAN’s pick ended up not winning the race. The following year, WITZAN made a cry for help, as the association released a statement for Nigerians to stop persecuting them, we are waiting for them towards 2023—no be juju be that!
Last week in the news, brother and mother colluded to murder a sibling. Another son attempted to kill his mother. Young lads ate their ‘poo’ in public and in the same week, three lads, the oldest being 20, beheaded the girlfriend of one of them, all for money ritual. A trend that has seen a scary rise in the last two years, and being the pretentious people that we are, acting like it’s new, only a few years back it was ‘panties stealing’ and till date, nobody has been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and jailed—no be juju be that!
Our Federal Road Safety Corps Officers only work during the day and close by 5:00 pm and the roads can be left unsafe at night. Nigerians cannot be ‘de-jujulized’ by praying, by big grammar, by protests, the juju has to be engaged, the gatekeepers of power and resources in Nigeria are not up to 5000 but their juju is strong and is holding the nation down.
It is a sad reality that 2023 really does not offer much if we refuse to address the witchcraft that has beset the motherland if we refuse to see that all is not well and keep behaving like a bewitched people, a big storm is not far away, and if we don’t act, the disaster that looms—Only time will tell.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has called for stronger collaboration among financial sector regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system and support sustainable economic growth.
The committee made the call during an expanded stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, attended by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), among other industry stakeholders and financial experts.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), who was represented by Mr Osita Izunaso (Imo West), said stronger legislative reforms and regulatory collaboration were necessary to reposition Nigeria’s financial architecture for long-term economic prosperity.
Mr Abiru said the financial sector remained critical to investment, job creation, business expansion and macroeconomic stability, stressing that its ability to mobilise savings, channel credit to productive sectors, facilitate investment and manage risks was fundamental to sustainable economic growth.
He said the current economic realities required closer collaboration between the legislature and financial regulators, noting that challenges confronting the sector were interconnected and could not be effectively addressed through isolated interventions.
The lawmaker identified inflationary pressures, global economic uncertainties, cybersecurity threats, low insurance penetration and the need to diversify Nigeria’s export base as some of the challenges requiring coordinated policy responses.
He said the engagement was aimed at generating practical solutions to strengthen the country’s financial architecture and support sustainable economic growth.
According to him, monetary policy, financial safety nets, banking institutions, the insurance industry and export finance were interdependent components of a stable financial system and must therefore be strengthened collectively.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, said the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 had contributed significantly to stabilising and repositioning the insurance sector.
Mr Omosehin disclosed that 43 insurance companies had successfully recapitalised, describing the development as a major milestone for the industry.
He commended Abiru and members of the committee for their role in advancing insurance sector reforms and urged the House of Representatives to expedite action on the relevant insurance reform bill to enable it to receive presidential assent and become operational.
Representatives of the CBN Governor and the Managing Directors of AMCON, NEXIM and NDIC also commended the Senate committee for its oversight and legislative support, saying its interventions had strengthened the agencies’ capacity to discharge their statutory mandates.
The engagement, held under the theme, Strengthening Financial System Architecture for Sustainable Economic Growth and Stability in Nigeria, also featured presentations by Professor Uche Uwaleke, President of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN); Professor Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited; and Dr Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory.
The experts presented policy recommendations on key issues affecting Nigeria’s financial system, with emphasis on financial stability, investment and sustainable economic growth.
Mr Abiru said the Senate would continue to engage financial regulators and other stakeholders to deepen financial inclusion, strengthen public confidence in financial institutions and improve regulatory effectiveness.
He said the broader objective was to position Nigeria’s financial system to compete more effectively in the global economy while remaining resilient and responsive to the country’s economic transformation agenda.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The first six months of 2026 were not too good for Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, as it suffered an N8.7 billion loss compared with the N2.1 billion net profit it recorded in the same period of 2025.
This occurred as the company posted a 10.91 per cent decline in earnings between January and June 2026, according to its financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026.
Analysis of the results showed that the revenue generated in the period under review stood at N14.7 billion versus the N16.5 billion printed in the corresponding period of last year.
Business Post observed that the revenue was negatively impacted by a decline in earnings from helicopter charter and helicopter/airplane contract.
Further analysis of the financial results indicated that operating profit went down by 22.34 per cent to N7.3 billion from N9.4 billion, with administrative expenses jumping to N7.9 billion from N4.7 billion.
But Caverton believes things will get better, noting that the clearest driver of the recovery is Caverton Marine.
Through its relationship with Stena Bulk, one of the world’s leading tanker operators, the organisation now participates in three Suezmax tankers trading a rare source of foreign-currency revenue for a Nigerian-listed company.
It noted that the relationship is being deepened through Unity Shipping Worldwide, a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Stena Bulk that pairs the state-owned oil firm’s national position and Stena Bulk’s fleet with Caverton’s indigenous operating platform
Closer to home, the firm’s OMIBUS platform, developed with Shanghai-based electric-propulsion OEM Explomar, is bringing battery-electric passenger ferries to Lagos waterways. A prototype is already in service, and Caverton holds a firm order from Lagos State for ten vessels, an early-mover position in clean inland-water transport that the group believes can be replicated across other states as the fleet enters service and ferry operations mature into steady, recurring revenue.
In aviation, the institution said the recovery is anchored on its partnership with NHV, a Belgium-based international helicopter operator, with the restructuring of charter operations targeted for the second half of 2026.
“The first half of the year tested us, but the direction of travel is now visible in the numbers.
“Quarter on quarter, we are working to build up our revenue to narrow losses. Our marine business units, from international tankers to electric ferries, are scaling.
“Meanwhile, our aviation relaunch is on track for the second half, and our cost base is tighter than it has been in years. There is distance still to travel, but Caverton is moving from stabilisation to recovery, and we intend to finish 2026 with that momentum intact,” the chief executive of Caverton, Mr Olabode Makanjuola, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) have issued new guidelines clarifying the taxation of virtual assets in Nigeria.
The guidelines provide an administrative framework for the taxation of virtual assets and specify the tax obligations of individuals and businesses operating in the sector.
According to a public notice issued by the two agencies, the framework covers registration, reporting and record-keeping requirements, valuation principles and the tax treatment of virtual asset transactions.
It applies to taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, tax practitioners and other persons engaged in virtual asset-related activities.
The NRS and JRB said the guidelines were developed in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
The two bodies said the release was aimed at providing clarity, certainty and consistency in the administration of Nigeria’s tax laws as the country’s virtual asset ecosystem continues to evolve.
The agencies added that the framework would promote voluntary compliance, enhance transparency and support the development of a fair and efficient tax system for digital asset transactions.
They urged all affected taxpayers and stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the guidelines and ensure compliance with the applicable tax obligations.
The guidelines are available on the official websites of the two agencies.
