Deborah Bodunde

Climate & Environment Journalist @thecableng

[Sir Dickson @Wizarab10]

You'll learn some more about me from reading this.

Thank you, The Cable. Thank you @DebbieHorah you are a journalistic luminary 🙏🏾

[TheCable @thecableng]

SPOTLIGHT: Sir Dickson, the accidental influencer who raises funds for distressed Nigerians

When desperation spills onto Nigeria’s social media timelines and hope almost hits a brick wall, one name is often summoned with urgency: Sir Dickson. Under posts from students facing expulsion over unpaid fees, families seeking urgent medical treatment, tenants on the brink of eviction, or strangers asking for help to feed through the week, users frequently tag the same account in the hope that attention and assistance might follow.

Over the years, the social media personality has built a reputation for mobilising donations for people in distress, helping to raise funds for hospital bills, rent, school fees, feeding, ransom payments for kidnapped victims, and even cases involving prisoners supporters believe were unjustly jailed.

https://t.co/FhI0o3Dxof

[TheCable @thecableng]

INSIGHT: How financing gaps are stalling Nigeria’s solar revolution

At a small market in Magboro, Ogun state, a thick blue-grey haze of woodsmoke drifts from two blackened metal drums, curling into the air and partially swallowing the woman standing behind them. Temitope Adeola is sorting through panla — hake fish, dried and curled into tight circles — arranging them on a makeshift counter lined with brown cardboard. Inside her stall sits a white chest freezer.

Its lid is stained brown, scuffed along the edges, and streaked with what looks like the beginning of rust. It has the look of something that once had ambitions, but it is not connected to solar power or any power at all. 

https://t.co/WPkrYkhjC3

[TheCable @thecableng]

Pidgin Check: Old video wey contractors dey protest no join wit Wale Edun sack

One video wey allegedly show as workers open condolence register to celebrate di removal of Wale Edun as minister of finance don comot for social media.

For di video, one poster wey cari Edun face dey front of symbolic casket ontop plastic chairs, while pipu dey take turn sign condolence register. Pipu bin dey fake cry for background.

#PidginCheck #FactCheck

[TheCable @thecableng]

Shanties and drug peddling... inside filthy settlements springing up along Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

The newly constructed phase one section of the Lagos‑Calabar Coastal Highway, a 700‑kilometre corridor hailed as a transformative artery that would cut travel times, boost trade, and unlock economic potential along Nigeria’s south‑south coast, now bears, behind its partitions, the stark imprint of shanties and heaps of refuse.

At first glance, the shanties appear as scattered, makeshift structures along Maruwa on the Lekki–Epe axis, almost blending into the roadside. But a closer look reveals a dense cluster of shelters.

Built from splintered wood, salvaged planks, and rusting nails, the fragile shelters are draped in faded tarpaulins — blues, greys, blacks, and burnt orange — pulled into crude V-shapes that barely shield occupants from Lagos’ harsh sun and rain, held down only by stones to keep the wind from ripping them apart.

https://t.co/Ny0SaCHmMf

[TheCable @thecableng]

CLOSE-UP: Tunji Disu, the judoka and Tinubu’s ex-ADC stepping in as acting IGP

“Law and order do not begin at the police station or the courthouse,” Tunji Disu wrote on X in 2025. “They begin at home, in the quiet corners where parents teach their children right from wrong. When this foundation cracks, society inherits the fallout.” The maxim almost sums up the policing approach of the man who, on Tuesday, was named the acting inspector-general of police (IGP).

Police is a mostly thankless career, especially in a country like Nigeria, where there is deep-seated mistrust for the men in black. But after 30 years on the job, after leading squads from Lagos to Rivers to Abuja, Disu’s record in the force attracts mostly praise and commendations from residents, stakeholders, and community leaders.

The affable 59-year-old brought a genial face to policing at every posting without losing discipline and order. As the commander of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Disu nicknamed his team “The Good Guys” to counter public misgivings against police. The friendliness extended only to upright citizens; criminals felt the opposite, as RRS was named “Best Anti-Crime Police Squad in West Africa” by Security Watch Africa (SWA).

https://t.co/22UC74QI2P

[TheCable @thecableng]

Join TheCable on LekeeLekee for your breaking news in politics, business, sports, entertainment, fact check, and many more! Sign up with our link and we'll automatically connect:
https://t.co/wfC5Oo7H72

#LekeeLekee

[TheCable @thecableng]

FREE DOWNLOAD: Waziri Adio's 'The Arc of the Possible'

Waziri Adio’s memoir as the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is now free to download.

The book, ‘The Arc of the Possible’, was first published by Cable Books, an imprint of Cable Media & Publishing Ltd, in 2021.

The widely acclaimed book draws on Adio’s experience in running the watchdog agency for Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors to illuminate the possibilities, dynamics and challenges of leading for change within government in contemporary Nigeria.

https://t.co/JcH4nnFpKZ

[TheCable @thecableng]

INTERVIEW: Jonathan-Kwankwaso ticket will unsettle Tinubu, says Salihu Tanko Yakasai

Salihu Tanko Yakasai, a former media aide to Abdullahi Ganduje, former governor of Kano and ex-chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was sacked in 2021 for criticising the ruling party’s handling of insecurity.

In this interview with TheCable’s SAMUEL AKPAN, @dawisu, who contested the 2023 Kano governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), says that although Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, exercised his right to defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), severing ties with his longtime mentor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, amounts to a betrayal.

Yakasai also speaks on national politics, including the prospects of opposition coalitions, northern disenchantment with the current administration, and the strategic positioning of major political figures ahead of the 2027 elections.

https://t.co/n72TkSy0bO

[TheCable @thecableng]

.@dawisu: @GEJonathan will be the best candidate to defeat @officialABAT

Watch full interview 👉 https://t.co/CU2LiKSg2I

[TheCable @thecableng]

Electronic transmission of election results is back in the national conversation. But beyond the policy debates, what does this mean for the credibility of the 2027 elections and Nigeria's democracy overall? Is Nigeria ready for transparent, tech-driven polls in 2027?

Join us at 4:30pm as @kunlelawal and @samuelakpan_ share insights with us.

https://t.co/4QrCpTrImk

[TheCable @thecableng]

Kunle Kuti: How Fela turned down a million-dollar record deal in the 90s

[TheCable @thecableng]

OLOKEMEJI: A Nigerian forest, once stripped bare, provides new livelihoods

Kehinde Shina, a former logger, used to make a living from the Olokemeji Forest Reserve in Ogun state, when trees were tall, thick, and valuable enough to fill timber lorries. In the 1990s, felling 10 to 15 mature trees could fill four or five trucks bound for sawmills in Abeokuta, the state capital, and within a month, he could earn between ₦30,000 and ₦40,000.

More than two decades later, the same forest has brought Shina back under its canopy for a different kind of work. At 52, he spends his days planting seedlings, fruit trees, medicinal species, and other economic plants across cleared plots of land. The work is slower and quieter, but it comes with something his earlier livelihood didn’t offer: the knowledge that these trees may provide for his children in the future.

He stopped logging in 2000 when the physical demands of the forest made the work unsafe. Farming followed, then reforestation labour when the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) recruited local workers.

[TheCableIndex @thecableindex]

Total energy billed by distribution companies in Nigeria (Oct 2025)

1. Ikeja: N41.26bn
2. Eko: N40.29bn
3. Abuja: N38.93bn
4. Ibadan: N26.70bn
5. Enugu: N20.95bn
6. Benin: N19.84bn
7. Port Harcourt: N18.78bn
8. Kano: N17.42bn
9. Jos: N13.50bn
10. Kaduna: N12.63bn
11. Yola: N4.84bn

Total: N255.19bn

<NERC>
#TheCableIndex

[TheCable @thecableng]

Join us at 4pm today for an in-depth conversation examining Nigeria’s new tax reform laws, how they affect you, and the misinformation surrounding them.

Got any questions or need some clarifications? Our guests speakers @mudashiru_yusuf and @Phemostik will be giving explainers.

https://t.co/ydoXeQxj0A

[TheCable @thecableng]

TheCable sports desk launches Red Card Views podcast

TheCable sports desk has unveiled the Red Card Views podcast, an audio-visual platform for no-holds-barred conversation about high-voltage sports topics. 

As the title might have hinted, the podcast promises unpopular views, peculiar analyses, and personal banter that would either earn our guests love or red cards from viewers on social media. 

The topics of discussion range across all sports and their niches. From international football to local table tennis or para-sports. Everything and everyone will get airtime and a frank opinion here.

[TheCable @thecableng]

Who bought what? The biggest Nigerian oil, gas sector acquisitions of 2025

In 2025, Nigeria’s oil and gas sector experienced a wave of significant acquisitions, with each executed under unique terms.

From outright purchases to the acquisition of controlling stakes in companies and assets, industry players pursued expansion, strengthened their market positions, and entered new operational territories.

These acquisitions reflected broader efforts to scale operations, diversify portfolios, and adapt to evolving market dynamics.

In this report, TheCable captures the major acquisitions in the oil and gas industry in 2025.

https://t.co/eBNpxr6nh9

[TheCable @thecableng]

Tracking impact: Inside Oyo PHCs where BHCPF is making difference in maternal healthcare

It was a little past midday at the Ojoo Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Akinyele LGA in Oyo state. Periodically, the loud cry of a woman in labour rose above the hum of voices in the crowded waiting area, where patients sat patiently for their turns to be attended to.

Catherine Adebola, the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the facility, excused herself from the reporter.

“We’re managing a woman in labour. She is having a primie, and I need to step in,” she said.

About ten minutes later, the woman’s cry waned and was replaced by that of a baby. Adebola returned to her office after washing up.

“We have a baby boy. Mother and child are doing fine,” she announced.

[TheCableIndex @thecableindex]

Foreign trade under Tinubu's administration so far (Q2 2023-Q3 2025)

Q2 2023
Exports: N6.44trn
Imports: N6.30trn
Total trade: N12.74trn
Trade balance: N133.18bn (surplus)

Q3 2023
Exports: N10.35trn
Imports: N9.04trn
Total trade: N19.39trn
Trade balance: N1.32trn (surplus)

Q4 2023
Exports: N12.69trn
Imports: N9.05trn
Total trade: N21.74trn
Trade balance: N3.64trn (surplus)

Q1 2024
Exports: N19.18trn
Imports: N14.75trn
Total trade: N33.93trn
Trade balance: N4.43trn (surplus)

Q2 2024
Exports: N17.71trn
Imports: N13.97trn
Total trade: N31.68trn
Trade balance: N3.75trn (surplus)

Q3 2024
Exports: N20.54trn
Imports: N15.28trn
Total trade: N35.82trn
Trade balance: N5.23trn (surplus)

Q4 2024
Exports: N20.01trn
Imports: N16.59trn
Total trade: N36.60trn
Trade balance: N3.42trn (surplus)

Q1 2025
Exports: N20.60trn
Imports: N15.43trn
Total trade: N36.03trn
Trade balance: N5.17bn (surplus)

Q2 2025
Exports: N22.75trn
Imports: N15.29trn
Total trade: N38.04trn
Trade balance: N7.46trn (surplus)

Q3 2025
Exports: N22.81trn
Imports: N16.12trn
Total trade: N38.93trn
Trade balance: N6.69trn (surplus)

<NBS>
#TheCableIndex

[TheCable @thecableng]

Hunted, sold, delivered… online bushmeat trade fueling extinction, public health risks

The bush path was still wet with dew the morning 15-year-old Godwin Peter and his friend stumbled on the deer. It was a quiet Sunday, unusually so for a market day in Atte, a community in Akoko-Edo, Edo state. The boys had set out only to look for snails. But somewhere between the low shrubs and the scattered raffia trees, their dogs caught a scent and bolted.

Peter remembers the chase in fragments, his feet sinking into red earth, the clang of cutlasses against branches, the frantic barks of their two hunting dogs as they cornered the animal.

“We didn’t imagine that we could kill that kind of big animal as young boys,” he said, over a decade later. The deer, massive and worn from previous escapes, had seven bullets lodged in its body, evidence of hunters who tried and failed. The struggle to bring it down stretched for more than an hour.

When the animal finally collapsed, the boys were too exhausted to drag it home. They had to hire a motorcycle to carry the animal. The triumph, however, belonged to the entire community.

https://t.co/LyUjvqHldV