Business
How Are People With Minimum Wage Surviving In This Economy? – Chimamanda Raises Alarm Over Mass Suffering
Renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has lamented over the worsening economic situation in the country.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television, Adichie stated that those who were once considered middle class have now been reduced to beggars.
She added that, considering the level of suffering in the country, the biggest political judgment should be about the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
According to her, “Life has become so hard in Nigeria, and me I can see it. For example, people who were formerly kind of securely middle class, not that life was rosy for them, but they got by, are now people who beg and are in need. That worries me greatly.
“The level of suffering, how expensive food has become… I think the biggest political judgment one can make is about the lives of ordinary people.”
The novelist described the situation as terrible and wondered how people earning minimum wage are managing to survive.
She said: “People talk about the stock market. Personally, I don’t really care about those sorts of things. What I care about is: that person earning minimum wage, how is that person getting on in this economy? It’s the suffering that worries me the most. And it’s terrible.”
Although not justifying illegal actions, Adichie warned that hardship could drive people to consider desperate measures they wouldn’t ordinarily think of.
“It’s not to excuse crime, but I think when life gets very hard, even people who before would not have considered certain things suddenly are willing to, and that’s dangerous to society,” she said.
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Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, a senior White House official said Wednesday.
The announcement, which was first reported by US media, will be officially made later Wednesday at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT) at a White House event with President Donald Trump.
In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision.
The Silicon Valley-based giant said it was its “largest-ever spend commitment,” which came as tech companies battle for dominance in developing artificial intelligence technology.
It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said that it would invest $430 billion in the US and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years.
Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.
Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies.
Tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.
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The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support, L-PRES, Project has expressed concern over the growing public health risks posed by unhygienic slaughterhouses and inadequate meat inspection practices across Taraba State.
Speaking on Tuesday in Jalingo during a capacity-building workshop for meat inspectors and abattoir managers, the State Coordinator of the World Bank-supported project, Hananiah Albert, emphasized the urgent need to uphold hygiene standards in the meat processing chain to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.
“The safety and quality of the meat we consume depend heavily on what happens before, during, and after slaughter.
“This is why meat inspection must be taken seriously, and abattoirs properly managed in line with national and international best practices to curb diseases such as tuberculosis, anthrax, and brucellosis”, Albert said.
He stressed that meat inspection and abattoir management were not merely technical tasks but essential pillars of food safety, disease control, and public health protection.
Albert lauded the Taraba State Government’s ongoing livestock reforms and explained that the training was designed to equip participants with standardized hygiene protocols and modern techniques for safer meat handling and processing.
“This training is a deliberate effort to empower frontline meat inspectors, veterinary officers, and abattoir workers with up-to-date knowledge to ensure uniformity, efficiency, and safety across abattoirs,” he stated.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Professor Nicholas Namessan, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to food safety and livestock development.
He noted that meat is one of the most widely consumed animal products in the state and that growing demand comes with added responsibilities.
“With our growing population and increasing urbanization, meat consumption is on the rise. But this also means we have a greater responsibility to ensure that what our people consume is hygienic, wholesome, and disease-free,” he said
Namessan urged participants to take the training seriously, describing them as key actors in promoting safe livestock consumption and public health.
He also reiterated the state government’s determination to expand the livestock value chain and strengthen its collaboration with L-PRES.
The exercise, which took place at Galaxy Spot, brought together meat inspectors and abattoir managers from all 16 local government areas of the state.
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Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has revealed how banks once deployed “bewitching ladies” to secure his deposits and loans when his business empire was flourishing.
Otedola made the disclosure in his forthcoming memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,’ published by FO Books and scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In excerpts from the book seen by TheCable, the oil magnate detailed how a series of financial crises including the global crash in crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira left his businesses deeply indebted and under immense pressure.
“All told, I lost more than US$480 million to the plunge in oil prices, US$258 million through the devaluation of the naira, US$320 million because of accruing interest, and another US$160 million when the stocks crashed.
“It was devastating, like a terrible nightmare, but a nightmare would have been better: day would break, and I would wake up. There was no waking up from this,” Otedola wrote.
He recounted how drastically his fortunes changed, saying, “One moment, I was the darling of the banks, who did everything in the world to court me, do business with me, give me loans, take deposits from me.
“They would send bewitching ladies to make their offers more convincing, and now I was waking up to the sight of hefty, barrel-chested men standing menacingly in front of my gate, waiting for the moment I’d step out of my compound.”
Otedola broke into the Nigerian mega business scene with Zenon Petroleum which grew from selling diesel in drums to owning the largest share of the local market.
He also acquired African Petroleum in the downstream market and rebranded it to Forte Oil Plc, at a time one of the highest performing in the stock market.
However, a diesel shipment he ordered in 2008 when crude oil was $147/barrel did not arrive until the price had crashed to $40, plunging him into massive debt.
As a result of falling forex inflow, the naira was also devalued from N120/dollar to N167 in 2009 presenting Otedola with a double problem which include low diesel price and high dollar liability.
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