| 👋 Good morning. If you're reading this from Nigeria, have you filed your annual tax returns? The deadline is next Tuesday. Miss it, and you're looking at a ₦100k penalty, followed by an additional ₦50k. I know, it sucks - but there's not much choice. If you're in Lagos and not sure how to go about it, I've put together a simple document. Just reply to this email, and I'll send it your way (fret not, it's mostly declarative and your income may not even meet the tax threshold). | Let's get into it ⬇️ | In this edition: This week in pop culture, a young remote worker who's trying to survive, the non-existence of gender wars, a community townhall, and more. | If you're enjoying this, don't forget to subscribe and join The Juice community. We're building this together ♡. | | | | | | Quick Question | When was a time a woman did something good/amazing/powerful that you'll never forget? | Answers at the bottom of this newsletter. |
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| | 🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE | | | | | | 🎵 MUSIC | On this week's Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show, Davido publicly stated that he's no longer interested in securing a Grammy or in the validation of the West. We think this is a great stance to take. Enough with the beggie-beggie behaviour! Hopefully, he sticks to it. |
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| | | | | ☆ CULTURE | YouTube's favourite darling, Korty EO, dropped an interview with Asake that the online world hasn't stopped talking about. It's culturally grounded, highlighting the gap between Western outlets with surface-level understanding and homegrown voices with real context. Hopefully, Nigerian celebs pay better attention to local media. |
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| | | | | 📚 LITERATURE | Masobe Books heard our cries about the price of books and decided to launch an app! With ₦1999, you can access two Masobe books for a month. And ₦5999, you get unlimited access to Masobe's vast library. Sounds like a great deal! |
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| | | | | 📽️ FILM | Aba Blues opened with N18.1M at the box office this week. Chat is saying this is great PR for the East. And you know what? We agree! We are tired of seeing that Lekki Bridge, please. |
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| | | | | ↝ CELEBRITY | A video of a content creator who attempted to interview Omotola Jalade made the rounds on the internet. On the red carpet, he asked Jalade for her name, and the actress got offended. We don't have anything to say except stop hiring content creators to do the work of journalists. |
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| | | 🍋 MAIN SQUEEZE | Samuel Idowu is just trying to survive Nigeria | | | | | In Nigeria right now, you don't just plan your day around work; you plan it around electricity and fuel. Around whether the generator will cooperate, how long your Wi-Fi will hold, and the constant background noise of generators humming through the day and into the night. | For remote workers, it's a constant negotiation between staying employed and staying sane. For Samuel Idowu, it's a reality that has started to feel less temporary and more like the shape of everyday life. | We spoke to him about the toll the situation has taken on his professional life and his current feelings about Nigeria. | How many hours of electricity do you typically have in a day, and how often does it go off unexpectedly? |
Honestly, when I first moved to this area, the electricity was good, proper Band A. But recently, with the grid being unstable, the light now goes off at random times. Sometimes it's manageable, but the inconsistency is a real problem, especially because it affects my work.
| If you rely on generators, how much are you spending on fuel weekly or monthly? Has this changed recently? |
It used to be around ₦20,000, but now I spend nothing less than ₦10,000 weekly on fuel. Sometimes I even avoid turning on the generator just to save fuel. I bought ₦10,000 worth last week, and honestly, I was just so disappointed in this country.
| How has unreliable electricity or fuel affected your remote work, whether it's productivity or deadlines? Can you share a specific time it really disrupted your work and how it made you feel? |
Last week, there was no light for about three days straight. I usually buy food in bulk so I don't have to order often, but a lot of the meat in my fridge went bad. I had to fry what I could to preserve it and throw the rest away.
| As for work, I don't work for a Nigerian company, so imagine how awkward it felt having to explain that I didn't have electricity for three days. I was honestly very embarrassed. | On top of that, my charger stopped working with my generator, so I had to buy a backup charger I didn't plan for. All of this has made me very paranoid; I get anxious if the light goes off for more than an hour. I'm mentally exhausted. | How do these challenges make you feel about your daily life, work, and the broader situation in Nigeria? |
I try to live one day at a time, as my faith teaches, but it's difficult. Sometimes I feel anxious about how each day could affect my work if I'm not careful. I'm constantly planning ahead for unexpected situations.
| I feel claustrophobic here, and I don't really see a future for myself in this country. | Have these issues changed your view on living in Nigeria, your career plans, or your trust in government services? |
By God's grace, I plan to leave this country. I don't feel safe or valued. With things like taxes increasing and no visible change, it feels pointless giving back to a system that isn't working.
| I used to think I would live here and travel occasionally, but now my plan is to relocate and only return from time to time for my own sanity, if possible. |
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| | | | | Last week, we dove into the thorny world of workplace dress codes, and it sparked some great internal reflection. One member of our community, Habiba, reached out with a perspective that really hit home regarding equity. | She shared that if we're going to enforce codes, they simply have to be fair: 'Same rules for men and women... all office wear should be conservative and not expose the body.' From sleeve lengths to the 'no plastic slippers' rule, Habiba's take reminds us that clarity and consistency are key. | Habiba, thank you for leaning into the discourse and helping us sharpen our perspective! | |
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| | | 🔪 THE PEEL | | Gender wars do not exist
| | | | | The Discourse | If you live online as I do, then you must have come across the term "gender war". The term has come up a lot in the past few days following the Ozoro festival, which saw numerous assaults on women. | Chinasa Anukam, popular for Is This Seat Taken, called out these assaults. She was even kind enough to explain in a thread how systematic misogyny affects us all, but she was dragged by the collar, and the boys and girls pulled out "gender war" from their pockets. | If you are about to ask me what gender war is, don't bother, because it is not real; it is simply a distraction. |
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| | | | | Peeling it back | There is a common trend in online conversations that involve violence against women. It's like a mathematical formula: women call out violence against women + demand accountability = "Gender War." | The Ozoro case is a perfect example of this. Chinasa's excellent thread got buried by gender war avengers. | The conversation shifted from the violence meted out to women to a discourse on how men are being assaulted, too. Nobody said they weren't, by the way. Almost like they were trying to level the assaulting field. | The term "gender war" also trivializes the original concern. Each time it is said/typed out, it is with that "you know women and their matters" tone, which dismisses all concerns. | By doing so, it reframes issues surrounding violence and assault as mere arguments between men and women, you know, your regular schmegular Twitter banter. | This framing minimizes the effect of violence against women. And this minimization leads to fewer or no consequences for the perpetrators. I mean, if it's just "women matter", why bother with it, right? |
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| | | | | Another layer | Gender war is a shield against accountability. Instead of engaging with the criticism, reassessing your circle, and calling for better socialization of boys and men, it redirects the conversation and gives them room to act out. | This term, the illusion of it exists to protect systems and behaviors rather than addressing them. | And hey, a war suggests two equal sides in conflicts. But with GST's latest report stating that 1.4 million women have been assaulted over the past 12 months, it is clear that this is not a war; it is a siege. | And women are speaking from lived experiences of violence. Women are experiencing real harm. Calling this a war obscures the seriousness of what is happening. |
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| | | | | The core | When we flatten conversations around violence against women to "gender war", the discussion stalls, accountability vanishes, and the cycle of harm continues. | These conversations are calling for safety, for women to be able to walk the streets without fear of harm, calling for accountability and severe punishments for perpetrators of all forms of violence against women. | And they are calling for change; for men and society at large to reevaluate their thoughts on the existence of women and see them as full-fledged human beings, not extensions of them but their own people. | Gender wars do not exist; what exists is harm and the refusal to confront it. |
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| | | 💡 COMMUNITY TOWNHALL | | | | | When was a time a woman did something good/amazing/powerful that you'll never forget? | We asked our WhatsApp community a question. They answered. Then they joined The Juice. So, consider this their official welcome—through their own words. | Across these responses, one thread stands out: their mothers. Women who show up, stand firm, and hold their families together, no matter what. | Victor - This is about my mom. When I was young, I had ear issues, my ear used to remove pus, I've been to different hospitals, but it did not stop. My mom chewed a cockroach from the toilet and spat it in my ear because she heard it works. | Yetunde - Had issues with my husband, and he refused to pay my niece's school fees while living with us. My landlady transferred the money to my account the next day at midnight… I couldn't sleep, it was like a dream… I cried. | Tayo- When my dad went to further his education in theology, my mum couldn't start a shop because things were really hard, so she decided to become a bus driver. She now has her bus after 2 years of driving for someone else. | Caleb - Mine was when I was 9 years old in 2010. I took a bus from Bayelsa to Ahoada. A woman going to Port Harcourt noticed I traveled alone. She was so caring enough to stop at Ahoada and followed me to Omoku park and even spoke to the driver to make sure I got to my destination. | Kosiso - Sometimes in 2024, after I lost my job, I was so broke that I couldn't eat for 3 days straight. On the 4th day, my girlfriend came home with food items she bought, cooked the meal, and even dropped some money. | Tosin - My mom has been the breadwinner of our family with 5 children for the past 10 years since my dad passed away. She struggled to send us to school without family support. Unfortunately, she got involved in a fatal accident on her way to the market and broke her leg. She's still trying her best. | Ekai -It was when my dad came to Nigeria and got scammed, leaving him with nothing. My mom will go to sites, pick empty bags of cement, and work as a "motor boy" for tipper drivers just to feed everyone. By God's grace, my dad has gone back, and we are enjoying my mom's sacrifice. | Kiki - We have parents who are "very rich," we got admission at the same time, but our parents couldn't afford that. My lil sister, Deborah, forfeited her admission so I could go. Right now, she has graduated and is job hunting. That singular act will stay forever. | Tolu - My mother stood by me and gave me hope to live again when I almost passed on after delivering my son via CS. She took my son and said, "rest while I take care of him." You need to stay alive for him. I love that woman with every breath in me. | Goodness - My Mentor, Mrs. Onome. Whenever she sees a job opportunity that she knows I fit into the role, she immediately sends me the link to apply. I got my first job, courtesy of her. That's a big deal for me. God bless her so much, amen. | Jsyk, these stories were shared by members of the Pulse Family on WhatsApp. And you can do the same every Friday in our "Town Hall," a safe space to share wins, gist, advice, and even secrets.
Besides stories, you'll also get relatable content, memes, hot takes, exclusive drops (celeb interviews, shoutouts), plus genuinely useful hacks and tips. 1.7 million people already love it. Come inside now! |
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| | | 🎵 PRESSED BY THE JUICE | This week's playlist | | This week, the girlies are in loveeee. And we have Fimi, Rima Sean, Simi, and others soundtracking this vibe for us. Fall in love this weekend! Press play now! | Don't forget to save, we update frequently. | Interested in guest curating? Reply to our mail, thejuice@pulse.ng | |
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| | FRESH STATS | 5% | The small percentage of Nigerians earning ₦1 million or more monthly, and even for them, it's often not enough. Now imagine what it looks like for the majority. | | Today's email was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Praise Okeoghene Vandeh. Editing by: Shalom Tewobola. Designs by: Daniel Banjoko | Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. | Have a story or product that needs to be seen? Submit here. |
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