‘When There Is a Ban, There Is a Way’: Everyday Gambling and the Nigerian Political Economy, 1977–83

This paper focuses on the Nigerian gambling situation from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Considering the moment when the Federal government (FMG) banned gambling nationwide, he asks why gambling has become such a division of this delicate period in the history of Nigeria. As the elections to democratic governments are approaching, Gambling has ruled Nigeria's politics and civil society at this time, that is, the creation of employment, the relationship between the state and private capital, and political power. He claims that he embodied the division of. Furthermore, by considering the recreational value of gambling with its functional significance, a new path will be held to study gambling phenomena in Africa, which exceeds ethical consideration.

Keywords

Research paper Posted information African History Research, Volume 64, No. 3, 2023 November, 351-367 Creative Commons

This paper is an open access paper distributed under the conditions of Creative Commons display license (http://creativeCommons. org/by/4. 0/). This license allows unlimited reuse, distribution, and duplicate, providing that the original paper is properly quoted.

Copyright Copyright © THE AUTHOR (S), 2023. Published by the Cambridge University Publishing Bureau < SPAN> This article focuses on the Nigerian gambling situation from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Considering the moment when the Federal government (FMG) banned gambling nationwide, he asks why gambling has become such a division of this delicate period in the history of Nigeria. As the elections to democratic governments are approaching, Gambling has ruled Nigeria's politics and civil society at this time, that is, the creation of employment, the relationship between the state and private capital, and political power. He claims that he embodied the division of. Furthermore, by considering the recreational value of gambling with its functional significance, a new path will be held to study gambling phenomena in Africa, which exceeds ethical consideration.

Research paper

Posted information

African History Research, Volume 64, No. 3, 2023 November, 351-367

Creative Commons

This paper is an open access paper distributed under the conditions of Creative Commons display license (http://creativeCommons. org/by/4. 0/). This license allows unlimited reuse, distribution, and duplication, provided that the original paper is properly quoted.

Copyright

Copyright © THE AUTHOR (S), 2023. Published in the Cambridge University Publishing Bureau This article focuses on the Nigerian gambling situation from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Considering the moment when the Federal government (FMG) banned gambling nationwide, he asks why gambling has become such a division of this delicate period in the history of Nigeria. As the elections to democratic governments are approaching, Gambling has ruled Nigeria's politics and civil society at this time, that is, the creation of employment, the relationship between the state and private capital, and political power. He claims that he embodied the division of. Furthermore, by considering the recreational value of gambling with its functional significance, a new path will be held to study gambling phenomena in Africa, which exceeds ethical consideration.

The gambling milieu in 1970s Nigeria

Research paper

Posted information

African History Research, Volume 64, No. 3, 2023 November, 351-367

Creative Commons

This paper is an open access paper distributed under the conditions of Creative Commons display license (http://creativeCommons. org/by/by/4. 0/). This license allows unlimited reuse, distribution, and duplicate, providing that the original paper is properly quoted.

Copyright

Copyright © THE AUTHOR (S), 2023. Published by Cambridge University

Most of the Nigerians may have thought that the 1979 gambling ban was initially nothing more than a prank at the perfect timing. After all, the Federal Government (FMG) announced to April Fool's as part of the budgetary measures. FMG spent the first few months in 1979 in the final adjustment of the last and 20th economic budget after Nigeria's independence. Footnote 1 While the Supreme Military Congress, which has absolute administrative rights and legislation, discusses the national development strategy, many Nigerian people lamented the miserable soci o-economic reality. In the early 1970s, the income of the oil boom has begun to decrease gradually, but the federal government still made oil export as a major source of income. Combined with inefficient economic strategies that prioritize consumption over footnote 2 production, corruption and fraudulent diversion of national budgets have been rampant, leading to inflation, gap between wealth, and unemployment, and devastates the lives of the Nigerian people. Expectations for budget announcements have been transmitted. One opinion columnist said that "the groom is looking forward to greeting the bride." Footnote 3 Nigerian people hoped that the change of government was approaching, and the retirement government would prioritize policies to resolve social economic and concerns. However, when the budget speech by General Ol, the head of the state, was finally given on April 1, 1979, the Nigerian citizens said, "Nigeria hoped that such policies would be prioritized." Is stated. < SPAN> Most Nigerians may have thought that the 1979 gambling ban was initially nothing more than a prank at the perfect timing. After all, the Federal Government (FMG) announced to April Fool's as part of the budgetary measures. FMG spent the first few months in 1979 in the final adjustment of the last and 20th economic budget after Nigeria's independence. Footnote 1 While the Supreme Military Congress, which has absolute administrative rights and legislation, discusses the national development strategy, many Nigerian people lamented the miserable soci o-economic reality. In the early 1970s, the income of the oil boom has begun to decrease gradually, but the federal government still made oil export as a major source of income. Combined with inefficient economic strategies that prioritize consumption over footnote 2 production, corruption and fraudulent diversion of national budgets have been rampant, leading to inflation, gap between wealth, and unemployment, and devastates the lives of the Nigerian people. Expectations for budget announcements have been transmitted. One opinion columnist said that "the groom is looking forward to greeting the bride." Footnote 3 Nigerian people hoped that the change of government was approaching, and the retirement government would prioritize policies to resolve social economic and concerns. However, when the budget speech by General Ol, the head of the state, was finally given on April 1, 1979, the Nigerian citizens said, "Nigeria hoped that such policies would be prioritized." Is stated. Most of the Nigerians may have thought that the 1979 gambling ban was initially nothing more than a prank at the perfect timing. After all, the Federal Government (FMG) announced to April Fool's as part of the budgetary measures. FMG spent the first few months in 1979 in the final adjustment of the last and 20th economic budget after Nigeria's independence. Footnote 1 While the Supreme Military Congress, which has absolute administrative rights and legislation, discusses the national development strategy, many Nigerian people lamented the miserable soci o-economic reality. In the early 1970s, the income of the oil boom has begun to decrease gradually, but the federal government still made oil export as a major source of income. Combined with inefficient economic strategies that prioritize consumption over footnote 2 production, corruption and fraudulent diversion of national budgets have been rampant, leading to inflation, gap between wealth, and unemployment, and devastates the lives of the Nigerian people. Expectations for budget announcements have been transmitted. One opinion columnist said that "the groom is looking forward to greeting the bride." Footnote 3 Nigerian people hoped that the change of government was approaching, and the retirement government would prioritize policies to resolve social economic and concerns. However, when the budget speech by General Ol, the head of the state, was finally given on April 1, 1979, the Nigerian citizens said, "Nigeria hoped that such policies would be prioritized." Is stated.

‘Like a bolt from the blue’? The FMG targets gambling

This paper asks why gambling became such a divisive issue during this sensitive period in Nigerian history in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I briefly touch on the 1977 ban on slot machines, but my main focus is on the public response to the 1979 gambling ban. I examine why different groups of Nigerians were attracted to particular forms of gambling. I connect the aftermath of the military state's attempt to outlaw gambling in the late 1970s to political conflicts over the functionality of federalism, and growing public doubts about the efficacy of the government's moral crusade to reform socio-economic life in Nigeria in the decade after independence.

Gambling, which was commercialized in Nigeria's daily life from the 1970s to the 1980s, embodies the three important tensions that dominated Nigeria's political society and civil society at this time, so there are many controversies. I claim. Footnote 5 is the first employment creation. The gambling industry was a daily source of income for a huge number of Nigerians hired. The same could not be said to the federal government, which could not provide sustainable worke r-class employment or support unemployed people. Second, there was a conflict between the private sector and the public over policy. Private gambling promoters regarded the 1979 ban as evidence of military administration that focused on contradictory economic strategies. The government claimed that the policy was aimed at revitalizing the regional economy, but private pool promotions argued that it was rather suppressing the indigenous entrepreneur spirit. Finally, from the perspective of local governments collecting most of the gambling business through tax and license fees, gambling is the federal government's coordination efforts to solidify economic and political power in the center. It was part of it. Footnote 6 In this paper, gambling is positioned in such a dangerous relationship between the nation, private industries, and the general public over the ten years after Nigeria's independence. The federal government trying to eradicate gambling as part of a major commitment to "social adjustment" was partially successful, but it could not be gambling.

Gambling is a universal phenomenon. However, its significance "always depends on the socio-historical context in which it occurs." Footnote 7 In the late 1970s and early 1980s, gambling in Nigeria was defined by the multiple uncertainties surrounding daily life in Nigeria: political uncertainty accompanying the transition from military to democratic rule, economic uncertainty resulting from the mismanagement of fluctuating oil revenues, and existential uncertainty resulting from the rise of violent crime and armed robbery. My position is not that gambling in Nigeria during this period was without enjoyment. Many Nigerians gambled precisely because they enjoyed the inherent thrill of playing with chance. Instead, I would like to suggest that an examination of the recreational value of gambling and its functional significance can open new avenues for research into the phenomenon of gambling in Africa and the organization of daily life in early independent Nigeria.

There is a paucity of research that focuses exclusively on gambling in Africa. Footnote 8 Gambling in colonial and postcolonial Africa has historically been studied as part of a broader engagement with juvenile delinquency and social vice, or as an incidental aspect of predominantly masculine sports and leisure. Footnote 9 Historians of juvenile delinquency and vice in Africa have shown how colonial and patriarchal fears of urban disorder and eroding power led to the criminalization of everyday Africans. They have also shown how Africans have countered these colonial and postcolonial categories of crime by asserting their autonomy as urban, economic, and political actors. By drawing attention to the dynamic processes that have underpinned racial, gender, and class distinctions in these categories of “transgression,” scholars have foregrounded notions of delinquency and vice as sites of contestation. Similarly, scholars of leisure in Africa have linked concepts of play to complex socio-economic, cultural, and political developments. They emphasize that leisure is “at once recreation and a politics of space, difference, and governance.” Footnote 10 Building on these historiographical interventions that emphasise historical specificity and the constant renegotiation of the relationship between political and civil society, this paper approaches gambling as a key site of everyday socio-economic and political contestation.

The recent analysis of gambling in Africa, combined with the spread of gambling and economic inequality throughout Africa, is based on lowe r-class poisoning and ne o-liberal exploitation. Footnote 11, for example, the widely viewed BBC Africa Eye documentary Gamblers Like Me is completely focused on the negative effects of sports gambling in Uganda society. Note 12) In other words, the local and multinational gambling companies have gained enormous profits from young people who are unemployed at low wages, and they have a lot of money that can change their lives from accidental games. I believe in rational belief in the possibility of getting it. This explanation tends to flatten the social logic that has supported the gambling industry for more than a century in a country like Nigeria, while highlighting important issues that characterize the world of gambling in Africa. In this paper, we try to exceed the gambling ethics and rationality of gambling ethics and rationality by simply breaking out gambling as delinquency or vicious. Here, gambling is regarded as a common daily phenomenon, which was conditioned by social and economic and political controversy in the Nigerian society from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The recent analysis of gambling in Africa is assembled based on lowe r-class poisoning and neoliberal exploitation in Africa, combined with the spread of gambling and economic inequality throughout Africa. Footnote 11, for example, the widely viewed BBC Africa Eye documentary Gamblers Like Me is completely focused on the negative effects of sports gambling in Uganda society. Note 12) In other words, the local and multinational gambling companies have gained enormous profits from young people who are unemployed at low wages, and they have a lot of money that can change their lives from accidental games. I believe in rational belief in the possibility of getting it. This explanation tends to flatten the social logic that has supported the gambling industry for more than a century in a country like Nigeria, while highlighting important issues that characterize the world of gambling in Africa. In this paper, we try to exceed the gambling ethics and rationality of gambling ethics and rationality by simply breaking out gambling as delinquency or vicious. Here, gambling is regarded as a common daily phenomenon, which was conditioned by social and economic and political controversy in the Nigerian society from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The recent analysis of gambling in Africa is assembled based on lowe r-class poisoning and ne o-liberal exploitation in Africa, including the spread of gambling uneven distribution and economic inequality throughout Africa. Footnote 11, for example, the widely viewed BBC Africa Eye documentary Gamblers Like Me is completely focused on the negative effects of sports gambling in Uganda society. Note 12) In other words, the local and multinational gambling companies have gained enormous profits from young people who are unemployed at low wages, and they have a lot of money that can change their lives from accidental games. I believe in rational belief in the possibility of getting it. This explanation tends to flatten the social logic that has supported the gambling industry for more than a century in a country like Nigeria, while highlighting important issues that characterize the world of gambling in Africa. In this paper, we try to exceed the gambling ethics and rationality of gambling by breaking away gambling as delinquency or vicious. Here, gambling is regarded as a common daily phenomenon, which was conditioned by social and economic and political controversy in the Nigerian society from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.

‘Budgetitis’: the 1979/80 federal budget and the 1979 gambling ban

Much of the historiography of this period in Nigeria's history has focused on complex economic developments and significant political changes, particularly the impact of the oil boom, the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war, and the transition from military dictatorship to a short-lived democratic regime. 13 In these studies, Nigeria's non-elites have been largely relegated to the shadows. Analyses of Nigeria's indigenous private sector during this period have also focused primarily on elite businessmen with their networks of political connections. 14 In addition to highlighting the key elite relations that influenced Nigeria's political economy during this period, this paper uncovers the less foregrounded but equally important ways in which non-elite Nigerians "created, contested, and appropriated" their time on the ground as consumers and workers in the gambling industry. 15 I have examined the voices of a range of actors, including federal and state government officials, pool promoters, agents, tipsters, and pro- and anti-gambling Nigerians. I have also analyzed government gazettes, official government statements, popular songs, newspaper reports, cartoons, short letters and opinion pieces, circulars and memoranda, and interviews with Nigerians who observed or directly participated in the gambling industry. Taken together, these sources provide extensive information about the world of gambling, everyday life, and the interrelationships between gambling and the everyday world.

By the 1970s, pool betting and slot machine gambling had replaced horse racing sweepstakes and local government lotteries as the most popular forms of gambling in Nigeria. Footnote 17 With its free-market image and promise of high payouts, pool betting initially represented a departure from the restrictive nature of colonial-era government-controlled gambling. Footnote 18 Introduced to Nigeria by Syrian and Lebanese businessmen after World War II, the football pools business came to be run by both non-Nigerians and Nigerians by the end of the colonial period, who acted as local agents for British pools companies. Footnote 19

Independence in 1960 significantly changed the pool betting industry. By that time, playing pools was no longer an unregulated niche activity. Footnote 20 Advertisements for British pool coupons and soccer predictions filled the daily newspapers. Footnote 21 And local governments soon began to collect taxes and license fees from pool promoters. Footnote 22 With a growing consumer market and ample revenue potential, investing in the pool business became an attractive proposition for pool promoters with ambitions to run independent pool promotion companies, and for newly independent governments looking to expand, allocate, and most importantly own and control resources. Footnote 23 With both competing for a slice of the same gambling market, competition was inevitable. Although the pool betting business relied on soccer matches played in the UK, and later Australia, both the federal government and private entrepreneurs emphasized the "Nigerianness" of their businesses to attract customers.

In 1961, the federal government invested in Niger Pools, a semi-national pool company. The claim that the sole motive for this decision was to promote national development belies the reality that both private Nigerian and foreign interests were involved. Of the 100, 000 shares held by the company, the newly independent government held 51, 000 preferred shares as the controlling shareholder. 24 The remaining 49% was shared between anonymous investors (8%) and Continental Finance, a private Swiss company that had previously hosted Nigerian diplomats in Switzerland (41%). 25 The federal government conveniently omitted this fact when it marketed Niger Pool as a homegrown panacea to the squeeze on Nigeria's finances caused by foreign pool companies. While the private sector managed the technical operations of the company, the federal government's task was to ensure that the company did not face legal or commercial problems at home. The federal government planned to neutralize private competitors by giving Niger Pool a monopoly on pool betting throughout the federation. In response, private pool companies like Pan-African Pools and Palace Pools offered a portion of their shares to the public and announced that, unlike Niger Pools, they had "nothing to hide." Footnote 26

The federal government had supported three local governments, northern, eastern and western, as federal legislation was concentrated in the capital Lagos at the time. Therefore, the federal government provided 12. 5 % of the shares to each local government, and demanded the federal government's compliance and financial investment. Footnote 27 After discussions in the national council, the Eastern government and the northern government agreed. Footnote 28 However, there was a holder in the western area. The members of the western region had their influence because the area had already operated a profitable government lottery. Footnote 29 Furthermore, private pool operators guarantee that the area is more likely to earn greater income from pool tax and license fees. Footnote 30

One year after Niger Purs started operating in earnest, the federal government collected £ 17, 374 from pool gambling, and western areas set a total of £ 50, 250 from tax and license fee. The federal government's plan to monopolize the 3 1-footed pool business has not been fully realized. It became difficult to monopolize Niger Pures nationwide, as each state has its own jurisdiction on the pool and has a desire to get internal revenue one after another. Footnote 32 In the late 1960s, private businessmen began to operate independent pool gambling throughout the country, and are now large in the western part, which consists of Lagos, Western, and Midwest. 。 The federal government had needed support from three local governments, northern, eastern and western, as the federal legislation was concentrated in the capital Lagos at the time. Therefore, the federal government provided 12. 5 % of the shares to each local government, and demanded the federal government's compliance and financial investment. Footnote 27 After discussions in the national council, the Eastern government and the northern government agreed. Footnote 28 However, there was a holder in the western area. The members of the western region had their influence because the area had already operated a profitable government lottery. Footnote 29 Furthermore, private pool operators guarantee that the area is more likely to earn greater income from pool tax and license fees. Footnote 30

One year after Niger Purs started operating in earnest, the federal government collected £ 17, 374 from pool gambling, and western areas set a total of £ 50, 250 from tax and license fee. The federal government's plan to monopolize the 3 1-footed pool business has not been fully realized. It became difficult to monopolize Niger Pures nationwide, as each state has its own jurisdiction on the pool and has a desire to get internal revenue one after another. Footnote 32 In the late 1960s, private businessmen began to operate independent pool gambling throughout the country, and are now large in the western part, which consists of Lagos, Western, and Midwest. 。 The federal government had supported three local governments, northern, eastern and western, as federal legislation was concentrated in the capital Lagos at the time. Therefore, the federal government provided 12. 5 % of the shares to each local government, and demanded the federal government's compliance and financial investment. Footnote 27 After discussions in the national council, the Eastern government and the northern government agreed. Footnote 28 However, there was a holder in the western area. The members of the western region had their influence because the area had already operated a profitable government lottery. Footnote 29 Furthermore, private pool operators guarantee that the area is more likely to earn greater income from pool tax and license fees. Footnote 30

One year after Niger Purs started operating in earnest, the federal government collected £ 17, 374 from pool gambling, and western areas set a total of £ 50, 250 from tax and license fee. The federal government's plan to monopolize the 3 1-footed pool business has not been fully realized. It became difficult to monopolize Niger Pures nationwide, as each state has its own jurisdiction on the pool and has a desire to get internal revenue one after another. Footnote 32 In the late 1960s, private businessmen began to operate independent pool gambling throughout the country, and are now large in the western part, which consists of Lagos, Western, and Midwest. 。

In the 1970s, while the economic indigenous was promoted, FMG passed a bill in 1972 to monopolize the gambling business to the Nigerian people. Footnote 33 This indigenous order has opened a door to more Nigerian pool promoters, but did not lead to a comprehensive Nigerian Lebannan, which is at the top of the hierarchy in the pool industry. No n-Nigerian Business Person may have been legally forbidden to own a pool gambling business by an indigenous order, but has secretly acquired Nigerian nationality and has naturalized pool gambling rights. Avoid laws by transferring to children and close relatives, having a transfer contract with Nigerians who are already wealthy and strategic, retaining control, and receiving the rate of profit in return. I found an original way to do it. Through the footnote 34, the pool industry in the late 1970s was dominated by the wealthy Nigerian and the Lebanon businessman. As the 3 5-pool promoters benefit from gambling, federal governments and state governments began to benefit. But where did the fund come from? < SPAN> In the 1970s, while the economy was promoted, FMG passed a bill in 1972 to monopolize the gambling business to the Nigerian people. Footnote 33 This indigenous order has opened a door to more Nigerian pool promoters, but did not lead to a comprehensive Nigerian Lebannan, which is at the top of the hierarchy in the pool industry. No n-Nigerian Business Person may have been legally forbidden to own a pool gambling business by an indigenous order, but has secretly acquired Nigerian nationality and has naturalized pool gambling rights. Avoid laws by transferring to children and close relatives, having a transfer contract with Nigerians who are already wealthy and strategic, retaining control, and receiving the rate of profit in return. I found an original way to do it. Through the footnote 34, the pool industry in the late 1970s was dominated by the wealthy Nigerian and the Lebanon businessman. As the 3 5-pool promoters benefit from gambling, federal governments and state governments began to benefit. But where did the fund come from? In the 1970s, while the economic indigenous was promoted, FMG passed a bill in 1972 to monopolize the gambling business to the Nigerian people. Footnote 33 This indigenous order has opened a door to more Nigerian pool promoters, but did not lead to a comprehensive Nigerian Lebannan, which is at the top of the hierarchy in the pool industry. No n-Nigerian Business Person may have been legally forbidden to own a pool gambling business by an indigenous order, but has secretly acquired Nigerian nationality and has naturalized pool gambling rights. Avoid laws by transferring to children and close relatives, having a transfer contract with Nigerians who are already wealthy and strategic, retaining control, and receiving the rate of profit in return. I found an original way to do it. Through the footnote 34, the pool industry in the late 1970s was dominated by the wealthy Nigerian and the Lebanon businessman. As the 3 5-pool promoters benefit from gambling, federal governments and state governments began to benefit. But where did the fund come from?

The gambling industry was biased toward men, both employers and services providers. From promoters to agents, su b-agents and predictors, pool betting was a business run by only men. Women tended to be a job that exhausted their physical strength, such as clerks, cashiers, bookkeeping, typhists, coupon print clerks, coupon printing, secretary, and cleaning clerk. Perhaps this has created a public image that gambling is a homosexual man's activity, in addition to the fact that men are concentrated in the most prominent gambling space of pool house and kiosk. In addition, Nigeria's popular forecast Willie Obignan describes it as "Men in urban areas where they are no longer young, have no motor nerves, have relatively low interest in work and culture, and cannot expect to improve their economic status." Women were also strategically hired as a front office employee to attract the typical Nigerian gambler. Paynote 36 The dark depiction of Obignan's darkest customer, who was the most faithful customer and a full hope to rely on his expectations, was widely permeated. Columnist Ray Ekup wrote: "If you look at a mountain of papers like this man's carefully piled up, you will soon think that there will be no such a valuable doctorate candidate. Footnote 37

The poolbetting was linked to a lo w-income middl e-aged man who had no prospects for education or work, which spurred the bad reputation of poolbetting in Nigerian society. Poolbetting was generally regarded as a frivolous play or a distraction. In a general discourse on gambling, the pool gambling man was an unemployed tramp or a salaried worker who acted against his wife. On the other hand, women only appeared as "housewives" who are resentful of gambling husbands or "housewives" who gamble boring. In fact, the players were collected from various levels of society. They were merchants, workers, housewives, police officers, doctors, public servants, and politicians, all of which were hoping for a jackpot. By the late 1970s, pool tickets have become "major items used in all offices and classrooms", and pool houses have been scattered in cities, towns, villages, and "back and remote areas" in Nigeria. Footnote 38

If gambling was so widespread, why did the federal government steer from promoting pools to ban in 20 years? It is certain that the reputation of this industry did not help the cause. However, the influence of the military acquisition and the accompanying soci o-economic policy was similar.

By the 1970s, financial miscellaneous and fraud became synonymous with public and private gambling operators. Nigail Purs, a pool company, partly owned by the Federal 39 Federal Government, was regarded as one of the leading culprit. Executives are diverted to private accounts in private accounts, issued a valu e-free check, and "become a sponsor of the steaker submitted after the result announcement", so that the company has inhaled more than 200, 000 pounds from the company. The staff was arrested. Footnote 40 Lagos staff striked due to unpaid bonuses and poor working conditions. Footnote 41 A government survey on the company's work has widely discovered embezzlement and fraudulent use of funds. Footnote 42 Nigerian Trader Madam Bilicis Oraemi has filed a lawsuit against the Lagos High Court for over 10, 000 pounds. Note 43

In the late 1970s, the democratic administration in the early 1960s was forced to take in military administration, although corruption and embezzlement were widespread. Niger pool also lost the trust of Nigeria's pool stakers, and they began to use a private pool company that has been guaranteed stable dividends. FMG has been concerned about the internal investigation committee's claim that pool gambling is still profitable, but still holding the company as federal assets and permitted the continuation of pool gambling. Slot machines, including Nigerians and Lebanon businessmen, were not so lucky. < SPAN> If the gambling was so widespread, why did the federal government steer from promoting pools to ban in 20 years? It is certain that the reputation of this industry did not help the cause. However, the influence of the military acquisition and the accompanying soci o-economic policy was similar.

By the 1970s, financial miscellaneous and fraud became synonymous with public and private gambling operators. Nigail Purs, a pool company, partly owned by the Federal 39 Federal Government, was regarded as one of the leading culprit. Executives are diverted to private accounts in private accounts, issued a valu e-free check, and "become a sponsor of the steaker submitted after the result announcement", so that the company has inhaled more than 200, 000 pounds from the company. The staff was arrested. Footnote 40 Lagos staff striked due to unpaid bonuses and poor working conditions. Footnote 41 A government survey on the company's work has widely discovered embezzlement and fraudulent use of funds. Footnote 42 Nigerian Trader Madam Bilicis Oraemi has filed a lawsuit against the Lagos High Court for over 10, 000 pounds. Note 43

In the late 1970s, the democratic administration in the early 1960s was forced to take in military administration, although corruption and embezzlement were widespread. Niger pool also lost the trust of Nigeria's pool stakers, and they began to use a private pool company that has been guaranteed stable dividends. FMG has been concerned about the internal investigation committee's claim that pool gambling is still profitable, but still holding the company as federal assets and permitted the continuation of pool gambling. Slot machines, including Nigerians and Lebanon businessmen, were not so lucky. If gambling was so widespread, why did the federal government steer from promoting pools to ban in 20 years? It is certain that the reputation of this industry did not help the cause. However, the influence of the military acquisition and the accompanying soci o-economic policy was similar.

By the 1970s, financial miscellaneous and fraud became synonymous with public and private gambling operators. Nigail Purs, a pool company, partly owned by the Federal 39 Federal Government, was regarded as one of the leading culprit. Executives are diverted to private accounts in private accounts, issued a valu e-free check, and "become a sponsor of the steaker submitted after the result announcement", so that the company has inhaled more than 200, 000 pounds from the company. The staff was arrested. Footnote 40 Lagos staff striked due to unpaid bonuses and poor working conditions. Footnote 41 A government survey on the company's work has widely discovered embezzlement and fraudulent use of funds. Footnote 42 Nigerian Trader Madam Bilicis Oraemi has filed a lawsuit against the Lagos High Court for over 10, 000 pounds. Note 43

‘Part and parcel of the people’: the partial revocation of the ban

In the late 1970s, the democratic administration in the early 1960s was forced to take in military administration, although corruption and embezzlement were widespread. Niger pool also lost the trust of Nigeria's pool stakers, and they began to use a private pool company that has been guaranteed stable dividends. FMG has been concerned about the internal investigation committee's claim that pool gambling is still profitable, but still holding the company as federal assets and permitted the continuation of pool gambling. Slot machines, including Nigerians and Lebanon businessmen, were not so lucky.

On the first day of 1977, without warning, FMG announced that slot machines would henceforth be banned from being imported and operated in the country. 44 The decision was in keeping with its duty to "guide the social habits of the nation," particularly those of the lower classes, adolescents, and children. 45 The operators were shocked by the ban, which they claimed came as a "bolt from the blue." 46 However, the decision was expected for a military government led by a general who had come to power only after the assassination of his predecessor and who had almost immediately publicly denounced the "high level of social indiscipline" and stressed the need "to fine-tune the social order in Nigeria above all else." 47 In the midst of high inflation, Obasanjo saw the potential for slot machines to "create intense social discord and chaos, leading to the breakdown of society," but the ban served a practical purpose. Footnote 48 The aim was to generate popular support and appease the Nigerian public, who were chronic victims of corruption in the gambling business and in Nigerian society at large and believed that the slot machine business was largely controlled by Lebanese businessmen who were among the targets of the indigenization program expanded by the Obasanjo administration in 1977.

The decision by the FMG led by Obasanjo to ban slot machines elicited a muted reaction from the Nigerian public, but the slot machine operators unsuccessfully challenged the ban in the press and in court. Footnote 49 However, when the same military government announced a nationwide gambling ban two years later in 1979, the public reaction was very different.

The recent budget has not been particularly good for the health of most Nigerians. I think the Nigerian Medical Association should create a medicine to combat a new disease that has become known as "budgetitis."

- Tony Talkative, columnist 50 On the first day of 1977, without warning, FMG announced that it would henceforth ban the importation and operation of slot machines in the country. 44 It claimed that the decision was in keeping with its duty to "guide the social habits of the nation," particularly the lower classes, adolescents, and children. 45 Operators were shocked by the ban, which they claimed came as a "bolt out of the blue." 46 However, the decision was expected of a military government led by a general who had come to power only after the assassination of his predecessor and who had almost immediately publicly denounced the "high level of social indiscipline" and stressed the need to "fine-tune Nigeria's social order above all else." Footnote 47 In the midst of high inflation, which Obasanjo saw as having the potential to "create intense social discord and chaos, leading to the breakdown of society," the ban on slot machines served a practical purpose. Footnote 48 It was intended to generate popular support and appease ordinary Nigerians who were chronic victims of corruption in the gambling business and in Nigerian society at large, and who believed that the slot machine business was largely controlled by Lebanese businessmen who were among the targets of the indigenization program expanded by the Obasanjo administration in 1977.

The decision by Obasanjo's FMG to ban slot machines elicited a muted response from the Nigerian public, but slot machine operators unsuccessfully challenged the ban in the press and in court. Footnote 49 However, when the same military government announced a nationwide gambling ban two years later in 1979, public reaction was very different.

Recent budgets have not been particularly good for the health of most Nigerians. I think the Nigerian Medical Association should make a medicine to combat the new disease that has come to be known as "budgetitis." - Tony Talkative, columnist 50Without warning, on the first day of 1977, FMG announced that it would henceforth ban the importation and operation of slot machines in the country. 44 It claimed that the decision was in keeping with its duty to "guide the social habits of the nation," particularly those of the low-income class, adolescents and children. 45 The operators were shocked by the ban, which they claimed came suddenly like a "bolt out of the blue." 46 However, the decision was only to be expected for a military government led by a general who had only just come to power after the assassination of his predecessor and who had almost immediately publicly denounced the "high level of social indiscipline" and stressed the need to "fine-tune Nigeria's social order above all else." Footnote 47 In the midst of high inflation, which Obasanjo saw as having the potential to "create intense social discord and chaos, leading to the breakdown of society," the ban on slot machines served a practical purpose. Footnote 48 It was intended to generate popular support and appease ordinary Nigerians who were chronic victims of corruption in the gambling business and in Nigerian society at large, and who believed that the slot machine business was largely controlled by Lebanese businessmen who were among the targets of the indigenization program expanded by the Obasanjo administration in 1977.

The decision by Obasanjo's FMG to ban slot machines elicited a muted response from the Nigerian public, but slot machine operators unsuccessfully challenged the ban in the press and in court. Footnote 49 However, when the same military government announced a nationwide gambling ban two years later in 1979, public reaction was very different.

Recent budgets have not been particularly good for the health of most Nigerians. I think the Nigerian Medical Association should develop medicines to combat the new disease that has come to be known as "budgetitis." - Tony Talkative (Columnist) Footnotes 50

On April 1, 1970, the head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo, used the opportunity of a national radio and television broadcast of the military junta's "farewell budget" to announce an immediate nationwide ban on gambling, particularly pools and casino gambling. 51 He argued that the ban on gambling was necessary because its negative social effects outweighed its economic benefits. 52 The ban on gambling was part of a broader crackdown on frivolous spending and social decadence, which the general declared to be impeding "the creation of a decent, responsible and humane society." 53 Obasanjo further defended his position by blaming the country's foreign currency shortage on the repatriation of gambling proceeds by foreign operators. Gambling was no longer merely a vice; as Obasanjo put it, it was now actively hindering the nation's development. There was no mention of the Niger pool. The 1979 budget included fiscal policies ostensibly to combat inflation, but without a clear implementation plan. The FMG merely asked Nigerians to save more and consume less. Along with a total ban on gambling, it banned or licensed the import of over 100 goods, suspended car loans and the "basic car allowance" for civil servants, increased taxation on capital transfers from parent to child, and froze the wages of senior civil servants. 54 Everyday Nigerians were outraged. They were dissatisfied with the selective "tightening mentality" that had been the FMG's modus operandi for several years after the fall in global oil prices. 55 Nigerians recognized the importance of prudence in socio-economic development projects. But they rejected the unrealistic and unfair notion that only the non-elites, already most affected by the FMG's austerity measures, should make further concessions. Nigerians perceived that rather than working to improve their lives, the FMG was actively “crucifying” its own citizens, as depicted in the cartoon below (Figure 1):

Figure 1. FMG’s “crucifixion” of pool forecasters, senior workers, and ordinary citizens

Conclusion

Source Ghost Man, “Behold the Farewell Budget,” Sunday Tribune (Ibadan), April 8, 1979

On April 1, 1970, the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, used the opportunity of a national radio and television broadcast of the military junta’s “Farewell Budget” to announce an immediate nationwide ban on gambling, particularly pool and casino gambling. Footnote 51 He argued that the ban on gambling was necessary because its negative social effects outweighed its economic benefits. Footnote 52 The ban on gambling was part of a broader crackdown on frivolous spending and social decadence, which the general declared to be impeding "the creation of a decent, responsible and humane society." Footnote 53 Obasanjo further defended his position by blaming the country's foreign currency shortage on the repatriation of gambling proceeds by foreign operators. Gambling was no longer merely a vice; as Obasanjo put it, it was now actively hindering the nation's development. There was no mention of the Niger Pool.

The 1979 budget included fiscal policies ostensibly to curb inflation, but without a clear implementation plan. The FMG merely called on Nigerians to save more and consume less. Along with the total ban on gambling, the government banned or sanctioned the importation of over 100 goods, suspended car loans and the payment of "basic car allowances" to civil servants, intensified taxation on parent-to-child capital transfers, and froze the wages of senior civil servants. Footnote 54 Everyday Nigerians were outraged. They were dissatisfied with the selective "tightening mentality" that had been FMG's modus operandi for several years after the fall in global oil prices. Footnote 55 Nigerians recognized the importance of prudence in socio-economic development projects. But they rejected the unrealistic and unfair notion that only the non-elites, already most affected by FMG's austerity measures, should make further concessions. Instead of working to improve their lives, Nigerians saw FMG as actively "crucifying" its own citizens, as depicted in the cartoon below (Figure 1). Figure 1. FMG's "crucifixion" of pool forecasters, senior workers, and ordinary citizens. Source Ghost Man, "Behold the Farewell Budget," Sunday Tribune (Ibadan), April 8, 1979 On April 1, 1970, the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, used the opportunity of a national radio and television broadcast of the military junta's "Farewell Budget" to announce a nationwide ban on gambling, particularly pool and casino gambling, with immediate effect. 51 He argued that the ban on gambling was necessary because its adverse social effects outweighed its economic benefits. 52 The ban on gambling was part of a broader crackdown on frivolous spending and social decadence, which the General declared were impeding "the creation of a decent, responsible, and humane society." 53 Obasanjo further defended his position by blaming the country's foreign exchange shortage on the repatriation of gambling proceeds by foreign operators. Gambling was no longer merely a vice; as Obasanjo put it, it was now actively hindering the nation's development. There was no mention of the Niger Pool.

The 1979 budget included fiscal policies ostensibly to curb inflation, but without a clear implementation plan. The FMG merely asked Nigerians to save more and consume less. Along with the total ban on gambling, it banned or licensed the import of over 100 goods, suspended car loans and the "basic car allowance" for civil servants, intensified taxation on capital transfers from parent to child, and froze the wages of senior civil servants. Footnote 54 Everyday Nigerians were outraged; they were dissatisfied with the selective "tightening mentality" that had been the FMG's modus operandi for several years after the fall in global oil prices. Footnote 55 Nigerians recognized the importance of prudence in socio-economic development projects. But they rejected the unrealistic and unfair notion that only the non-elites, already most affected by the FMG's austerity measures, should make further concessions. Nigerians perceived that instead of working to improve their lives, FMG was actively "crucifying" its own citizens as depicted in the cartoon below (Figure 1):

Acknowledgements

Figure 1. FMG's "crucifixion" of pool forecasters, senior workers and ordinary citizens