馃嚦馃嚞NigeriaWest Africa
Presidential aide Tope Fasua claims Nigeria safer from phone snatching than UK, Cameroon, sparking online mockery
via Punch Nigeria2 min read
Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Economic Affairs, stated that phone snatching is no longer a significant issue in Nigeria, asserting the country's safety compared to the United Kingdom and Cameroon. This claim was made during a Coffee Hangout organized by Kay Hikers Club in Abuja and led to immediate online mockery after a video of the event was posted. A woman at the event confronted Fasua about unaffordable ride-hailing services, rampant phone robberies, and the general lack of safety, linking economic hardship to street crime. She urged Fasua to convey the severity of these conditions to President Tinubu, questioning how technocrats could understand grassroots realities. Fasua, in response, downplayed the phone-snatching concerns by referencing similar incidents abroad, citing a Cameroonian vlogger who allegedly stated that one cannot hold a phone openly in Cameroon. He insisted that the situation in Nigeria had improved and that phone snatching is not a major crisis. Another attendee challenged Fasua, accusing him of spiritualizing structural problems by suggesting a change in "mindset" as a solution. Fasua maintained that individuals could still improve their circumstances regardless of government performance.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
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