Source : Sahel weather

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The news in Nigeria during the month of June 2024 was marked by the many economic challenges facing the federal state, which in particular prompted several trade union organizations to observe a general strike. First of all, the country's two largest unions, after announcing a walkout due to a disagreement with the authorities over the minimum wage of sixty thousand naira that they were proposing and should be revised upwards, announced an indefinite strike from Monday June 03. The Nigerian Minister of National Information described the strike as not the solution to the current negotiations, given that the interests of the masses should take precedence over everything else.

The strike, which began on June 03, has had a major impact on key sectors in Nigeria, such as the supply of electricity to ports, universities, hospitals and inland air transport, which are all at a standstill. This testifies to the great mobilization of the strikers, who should push the State to take urgent measures, at the risk of seeing its economy collapse. In fact, during the celebration of Democracy Day, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu spoke of the decades-long need to reform Nigeria's economy, which he considers too dependent on oil revenues. "Our economy has been in desperate need of reform for decades. It is unbalanced because it was built on the flawed foundation of over-reliance on oil revenues," argues Tinubu. Added to this is inflation, with prices for transport, rent and healthcare rising exponentially over the months. Prices of certain foodstuffs, such as fish and cereals, have risen by over 40%.

Further north, the challenge is security. In a village in northern Nigeria, 26 people, including four policemen, were killed by armed men belonging to criminal gangs. At the same time, a dozen other people were kidnapped during an assault on a village in the north-west. This is indicative of the insecurity in Nigeria, which has intensified in Katsina and Zamfara states, and which President Tinubu promised to resolve a year ago when he was elected.

In addition, the thorny issue of reintegrating Boko Haram survivors remains unresolved. The latter, having escaped years of aggression and abuse of all kinds, are said to be the target of violence by the Nigerian authorities, who should assist them at the risk of seeing them rejoin the Boko Haram movement.

Finally, Nigeria, which has over 300 ethnic groups, still faces the major challenge of resolving inter-community conflicts, mainly between farmers and herders, as is the case in other countries in the sub-region. In Nigeria alone, clashes between herders and farmers have claimed 7,000 lives, according to a report published this year by the NGO Mercy Corps.