Social Media Roundup: $21k School Fees, Oil Price Slump and the Ever-Increasing COVID-19 Figures

Yay! Thank God it’s Friday. But I guess most of us have been home throughout the week anyway so every day must have felt like Friday

Quick question. What will you do if your child fails his exams at school and even misses two important papers – the Almighty Mathematics and Indispensable English, after paying a school fee of $21,000 (N8.19 million)?

During the week, a video surfaced of a Zambian man slapping his son over his woeful school results despite paying over $21k in school fees.

The results showed the boy had aced Music, passed Geography, failed Civic Education, CRK, Biology, and Science, and, wait for it…, he was absent for both Maths and English exams.

Surprised GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Nigerians online were almost immediately split into groups. Some felt that the physical assault was not needed as there are alternatives to that, for example, talking.

https://twitter.com/NKondjashili/status/1252610240304025600

Others saw nothing wrong in what the father did.

https://twitter.com/LovethIdowu3/status/1253206743531892736

Others felt the school failed in their duty and for the kind of fee they charge, they should have done better and informed the parents of their son’s truancy.

Others felt it was the parent’s fault and there might be some underlying issues in the family – like maybe the boy wants to be a musician.

Some people brought on the old tales of similar encounters with their parents, taking us down memory lane.

And of course, the funny reactions.

https://twitter.com/Damii_aros/status/1253090563194306560

You can check out more reactions here.

However, the whole event happened in 2018, and the boy had graduated. The father has also responded to the criticisms, opening up the vacancy for those who felt he did too much to come and adopt the boy.

Humpty Barrels Sat on a Wall, Oil Prices Had a Great Fall

On Monday, a grim situation played out in the oil market. Oil prices fell to below zero dollars for the first time in history, going as low as -$38 per barrel from $18 which it traded earlier in the day.

This spectacular collapse in the oil market indicates that dealers were paying buyers to take delivery of their barrels of oil to avoid the storage costs.

The TL economists immediately began to explain what it means for the global economy.

The implications for Nigeria were also highlighted

https://twitter.com/theOluwatosin/status/1236919089349701633

The memes and funny reactions did not fail to roll in.

However, the Nigerian bonny light crude oil remained stable despite the oil crash and currently trades at $17.70 per barrel.

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise

Nigeria began the week with just 541 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. And in just about 6 days, the country is close to doubling that figure.

On Tuesday, April 21 it recorded its highest number of confirmed cases till date with 117 cases. Yesterday, it recorded its second-highest number yet too, with 108 new cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 981.

Nigeria Coronavirus Map

People are also flouting the lockdown order in states it has been declared.

Kano citizens have also been calling on the NCDC to increase testing in the state which has the 3rd highest number of cases in the country, 73, despite confirming its first case just last week.

Contrary to the #NCDCFAILEDKANO hashtag trended by some users, many observers are of the opinion that #KanoFailedKano.

https://twitter.com/YoungOtutu/status/1253294279851638785?s=19

However, with the increasing figures, it is unclear if there will be an extension of the lockdown or if it will be lifted and other measures put in place across the nation.

There you go, that’s all of the major happening from the world of social media this week. Do well to stay safe, and Ramadan Kareem to all our Muslim friends.


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