Emmanuel Akinwotu
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Hi, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, for many people in the country, it's been just a brutal year. The central bank puts inflation at 34%. You know, the cost of food, energy, just basic necessities have become so expensive. And then in the last few weeks, there have been these series of shocking events that have really crystallized the struggles people are facing.
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Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Local police say about 60 people have died in three stampedes, different charity events around the country, where people were giving out food and cash donations. One of those events was for children in Ibadan. It's a city just outside Lagos. And thousands of people arrived there with their kids, many of them arriving a day before the event even started.
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Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
But then this charity event just became a tragedy. About 35 children died. And on local media, there were these just tragic scenes of mothers weeping, looking for their children. The organizers of the Ibadan event have been arrested and have come under a lot of scrutiny. But these incidents, three incidents in a short space of time, have just really demonstrated the struggles people are facing.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, the government introduced a string of reforms that were largely praised by Western institutions like the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, and by the US government. But they've had a major impact on people's lives. The government devalued the currency, they cut an electricity subsidy, but really the most important one was the end of a fuel subsidy.
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Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
which was one of the few benefits that Nigerians receive. Previous governments tried to end it, but they backed down because of huge protests. But it was also a really expensive subsidy for the government. And the effects of cutting it were just swift. The price of fuel soared. We just had this huge domino effect. And the price of transportation has shot up.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
And people rely on generators for electricity because of power cuts. So the cost of that went up too. And... People expected that the subsidy might go, but they didn't think it would go as quickly as it did, especially with so little put in place by the government to soften the blow.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Well, they've largely called for patience. The government says it's aware of the economic pain, but that it's necessary and temporary. They've also almost doubled the minimum wage, although in real terms, a lot of that raise has been wiped out by inflation. And they've started these cash grants, but just to the poorest people.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
But really, the feeling I hear day to day is this sense that the political class in Nigeria still don't truly grasp just how challenging a time things are for people.
Up First from NPR
Christmas Attack In Ukraine, Honda-Nissan Merger, Nigeria's Economic Crisis
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
So the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, they've been advancing into Khartoum City for the last few months, literally taking it back street by street. And there were days of airstrikes and really intense fighting as the army were approaching the presidential palace, the palace complex.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Then yesterday morning, there was footage filmed by soldiers who recaptured it, and it was broadcasted on state TV and just flooded social media. Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! And they showed these scenes of triumph and just pure relation in the Republican palace. It's been the seat of power in Sudan for almost 200 years.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
The grounds were battered, the soldiers were pouring in, praying, cheering, walking through broken glass and concrete everywhere. essentially entering the grounds for the first time since April 2023. The army then announced they'd recaptured it officially and that they were advancing through the city. And clearly right now they feel they're closer than ever to taking the capital back.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Well, what it does is it cements the fact that SAF, the army, they have the upper hand, which many Sudanese people will welcome, even if they have very real fears about the army still. This war broke out because of a power struggle between them and the RSF for control of Sudan. Both of these groups essentially launched a coup against the civilian-led government.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Most of the atrocities during this war has been committed by the RSF, and people are really desperate for them to be removed so that they can at least contemplate returning home. The RSF's control in central Sudan has essentially been collapsing.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
They're still moving to form a parallel government, which the US and others have condemned, and they also still control large parts of Sudan, especially in the west, in Darfur, where the UN says they're committing a genocide. I spoke to Holud Kher, she's the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a think tank in Sudan, and she said that the bigger picture is still bleak.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Yeah, it's devastating and it's still getting worse. Famine's been officially declared in about half a dozen areas, and that's likely to rise. A fifth of the country's population before the war have been displaced, 12 million people. And even amid the demonstrations at the palace yesterday, there was still a reminder of just how delicate these victories are.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
The RSF launched a drone attack on the palace grounds amid the celebrations. Five people died, including three staff from the state broadcaster, who were only there really to report on this victory and this recapture. Two military officials were also killed, and one of them was a media liaison for the army.
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Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
I don't believe it.
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Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Good morning. It's utterly devastating and surreal. Before Khartoum became the centre of the war, this was a really vibrant, proud, historic city, over six million people. But then two years of war between these two former allies and then occupation by the rapid support forces until just the last month really has left the city emptied, almost eerie.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Sways of it are torched, damaged, destroyed by artillery and gunfire. And this is from everyday areas to the presidential palace to hospitals, schools, museums. Even the airport has been burnt to a crisp. Before the RSF were forced out of Khartoum, they stripped the city almost like locusts, looting it to a degree that's honestly just really hard to grasp.
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Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
And that's from the National Museum where they took tens of thousands of ancient artefacts and even down to electric wires ripped from the walls in almost every building that they occupied. and they strip them for copper. The city is without power, there's a shortage of water, virtually no state services, although they're gradually returning.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Well, there are tractors at the moment clearing debris, teams of sweepers cleaning the streets, and they're still finding unexploded bombs and human remains. But you're right, it's mostly uninhabitable. There's a trickle of people returning, but mainly to find out or confront what's happened to their property and their belongings. We went to a bakery and spoke to the owner, Yousuf Aldi.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
He said the RSF looted his home above the shop and they lived there. And for a period, they even kept the bakery open and ran it like it was their own business.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Yes, it's unprecedented. We visited the Al-Buluk Hospital, which is the main and largest paediatric health facility in the Khartoum State region. The wards were packed with malnourished children. The hospital has expanded again and again through the war, but it's still overwhelmed. I spoke to the lead doctor, Ahmed Kholoji.
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Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
So the fighting has stopped in Khartoum, but the toll of the war is really just coming to the surface. And of course, the fighting continues.
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Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Well, it's shifted to the outskirts of the capital region and has become really intense towards the western region of Darfur, which is overwhelmingly controlled by the RSF. It's where there was a genocide 20 years ago by Arab militias that evolved into the RSF against African ethnic groups. And it's happening again now, according to the UN, US and others.