Economist Podcasts Songs of disenchantment: the sorrow of Nigeria
21 snips
Oct 23, 2026 
Ore Ogunbiyi, The Economist’s Africa correspondent, examines Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis and Bola Tinubu’s surprising electoral confidence. International correspondent Jonathan Rosenthal explores Europe’s dependence on Starlink and its struggle to build an independent space network. Obituaries editor Ann Wroe recounts Jeffrey Archer’s improbable journey from bestselling author and politician to convicted perjurer.
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A Nigerian School Teaches With Chalkboard Abacuses
- Ore Ogunbiyi found nearly 5,000 pupils sharing classes of about 100 without basic abacuses.
- Their school will lose Save the Children funding, while jihadists kidnap children and tax or loot farmers.
Nigeria’s Reform Success Has Not Reached Families
- Tinubu’s reforms improved macroeconomic stability but have not delivered relief to most Nigerians.
- Subsidy removal, currency devaluation, lean harvests, aid cuts and energy prices pushed food inflation near 20%.
Why Unpopular Nigerian Leaders Still Win
- Tinubu can remain electorally strong despite low popularity through incumbency, party machinery, religion, ethnicity and weak turnout.
- In Borno, turnout was below 20% in 2023; nationwide turnout reached only 27%.