Troops Parade 10 For Banditry, Kidnapping

LEADERSHIP :

Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have arrested and paraded 10 suspects for armed banditry and kidnapping  with various kinds of arms and ammunitions recovered from them. Parading the suspects at the OPWS headquarters in Makurdi , the Operation Commander,  Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini said the troops would  no longer condone any act of criminality […]

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Source: Leadership News

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PMB Has Special Love For Anambra – Osinbajo

LEADERSHIP :

Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo says that President Muhammadu Buhari certainly have special love for the people of Anambra state, noting that despite the very low votes the president recorded in the state during the last Presidential election, he still favoured the state with two ministerial slots in his coming federal cabinet. Vice-President […]

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Source: Leadership News

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Group Hails Proscription Of IMN

LEADERSHIP :

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) has hailed the proscription of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), describing it ban as a relief to Nigerians. It would be recalled that the federal government of Nigeria on Friday, obtained a court order to banish the Shiite organisation, following violent protests in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. […]

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Source: Leadership News

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Allegation Of Bribe-for-Ministerial Slot Untrue – APC Chieftain

LEADERSHIP :

A chieftain of the APC in Kaduna State, Yusuf Ali (Rabagardama), has called on Nigerians to disregard a Facebook post by one Farooq Kperogi, claiming that ministerial nominees had to pay bribe of N2.5 billion each to some presidency officials to secure the nomination. Ali made the remarks in a statement issued to newsmen in […]

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Source: Leadership News

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Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen says she's in favor of an interest rate cut

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she supports a 25-basis-point cut in the U.S. benchmark interest rate due to a weaker global economy.
Source: CNBC World News

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ALSCON’s Closure Risks Over 61,200 Jobs – Group

The Institute of Chartered Economists Of Nigeria (ICEN), Port Harcourt, has warned that closure of Alminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), would cost Nigeria, a loss of 61,200 jobs if issues militating against the resuscitation of the plant is not resolved with urgency.

Mr. Friday Nathaniel Udoh, The chief Coordinator, South-South, Institute of Chartered Economists Of Nigeria (ICEN), Port Harcourt, has in a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, urged him to sack Mr. Alex Okoh, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) over the lingering disagreement that borders on the privatisation of ALSCON, saying that the issues bother on fraud, and are impinging on the nation’s commonwealth, warning that “ a stitch in time saves nine”.

The letter partly reads that “With the inert desires and firm commitment of His Excellency toward improving economy and the well-being of Nigerians, that premised my conscientious conviction, and perhaps other Nigerians too, over the BPE direct or indirect action on the ALSCON ill-fated privatisation programme would have attracted correspondently and extant action of Mr. President given the magnitude and grave consequences of its position on the economy. 

Even as, I consider  Justice Anuli Chikere about 26 weeks delays on ruling over, Mr. Alex Okoh currently facing charges bothered on contempt of Court (Committal to Prison) as immaterial and inestimable, distinct- apart the  ‘time and sequence needed for disposal of matter of this magnitude given the circumstances and the veracity of the matter.

“After a tortured and long journey to Implementation of Appellate court judgment which  BPE of course, scuttles the process, the BFIG Group executed form 48 and 49 within April 10, 2019 and approaches the Federal High Court Nr. 4 Maitama, Abuja,  court issued a formal  notice directing the Director General and BPE to appear in court on May 13,2919 which he dishonoured following further adjournment for June 10,2019 which neither Alex Okoh  nor the BPE  lawyer were available  for second time that  precedes  the third adjournment for  July 3,2019,  Still the DG could not show up, making the fourth adjournment.

“Mr. President what are we turning Nigeria to and, please does it means that we Nigerians are taking for a ride with this pretense?

Ostensibly to buttress the seriousness of the allegation, the economist said there is no gain condoling or overlooking the dastardly act of Mr. Okoh anymore, adding that he was not pleased just the way other Nigerians were not. 

He said, “Similarly, commitment to constructive contributions; adopting same  remains  not only pro tanto justified but, also un-balance  as it  grows the  indivisibly  teeth  toward a successful  campaign for  not only crafts and stealing, but recursive behaviour as attested to  the  insidious conduct of  the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) under the leadership of Mr. Alex Okoh, the incumbent Director General  of the agency given his utterly disregards to extant rulings of the  Appellate court in the country i. (a)the Supreme Court through  its  6 July 2012 -No. SC 12/2008 judgment as upholds through the; (b) Appeal Courts, January 11, 2019 – No. CA/A/637/2014 judgment, which constitutes a law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but to contrary subverted by the BPE.

“That Dayson Holding Ltd  /UC Rusal, a Russian state sponsored firm acquisition of ALSCON was shrouded in fraught, also the transfer of Strategic National Asset (Import Substitution Industry (ISI)) as declared  by the Supreme Court judgment of 2012 remains illegal;

“Ineptitude to the ‘Rule of Law’ and desecration of judiciary power by insisting on the illegal occupation of DHL /UC Rusal occupation of the plant, against Article 2, 3 of the Supreme Court judgments of July 6, 2012.

“Thereby allowing the supposed  owners unrestricted access to strip the plant-dismantling machines’, some equipment and spent anode (that supposedly for recycling for further production-and further use) stolen under the guess of scrap.”

“The arrant, tethering of the economy and utter defiance of the subsisting Supreme Court judgments and enforcement orders which have been confirmed and reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal on January 11, 2019 climaxed the   non-implementation of the Appellate court judgment supposedly a surreptitious behaviour and manner sufficiently justifying   an action within the confine of the law against Mr. Alex Okoh”.

He asserted that the spending-waste of public fund for appealing of the case, against DHL/UC Rusal; as a regulator would have constituted a ‘neutral’ or in a position of arbiter at specific moment is and a snap on Nigerians, and noted that the action and inaction of BPE had not only resulted in the country spending over $230.52million in importation of Aluminum product, even at the expense of tight monetary regime of the administration, yet the closure of the plant has not only deprived Nigerians of over 61,200 jobs positions, so far it has turned arable land to desertification due to ozone layer depletion-global warming by gas flaring “

He added that the purpose to which the plant was conceived have been defeated thereby depriving indigenous people everything including their natural habitation, again, organic of insurgency and conflicts have cost humans and material resources of the country, adding that BPE has fail to hold DHL/UC Rusal  for the $120 million  “Dredging Fund” deducted and treated as loan since 2007 from the supposedly $250million  agreed bided  purchase price accountable, including interest since the project never happens.

Okon also alleged that the Bureau’s Director-General has continued to remained dastardly defiant to subsisting Supreme Court judgments and the enforcement orders which have been confirmed and reaffirmed by the Court of Appeals on January 11, 2019.

Okon also noted that  the BPE’s Director General has consistently defiled the extant order and the  position of various judiciary dispositions, and especially the court Supreme Court Judgment of 2012 to take over the plant from whosoever at ensuring the security of the assets and property by illegally keeping the Dayson Holdings/UC Rusal personnel’s in the plant that have seen the plant nearing scrap occasioned by the nefarious activities of these estranges owner illegal occupation of the plant which accords them unrestricted opportunity to trade on all  left over materials meant for production and equipment being dismembered and sell such as scrap, a  deal assumed  brokered at the instance of the BPE.

Okon, however,  prayed that Mr. President should vacate Mr. Alex Akoh of his position as the BPE boss, saying that he should be made to face the law even as he is currently standing trial at the Federal High Court on mater that is bothered on the contempt of court, considered too slow against reasonableness of time in similar matter.

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Source: Independent

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Don’t Exclude Dairy Investors From Forex Market, LCCI Cautions CBN

The Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yussuf, yesterday cautioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to suspend its proposal to exclude the dairy industry investors from the foreign exchange market.

He counseled that the development was necessary in order to save the economy of the consequential shocks, business disruptions, investment dislocations and job losses.   

Yussuf, who commended the apex bank for its commitment to the backward integration agenda of the Federal Government, said the Nigerian economy is not un ripe for the policy to exclude dairy investors from forex..

He added that for all practical purposes, it tantamount to a ban on importation of milk in whatever form as most banks would not process Form M for any product on the CBN forex exclusion list.

He argued that the forex exclusion policy being contemplated by the CBN will create a crisis of immense proportions in the dairy industry supply chain and put investments worth billions of dollars at risk, stressing that the entire food and beverage sector would be adversely affected as many are dependent on the use of milk as intermediate products.

According to him, the policy will boost smuggling, create scarcity and put the prices of the products beyond the reach of the average Nigerian as well as cause loss of revenue to the government.

He specifically said: ’’We currently do not have dairy cows in the country.  The dominant milk producing system in Nigeria is the Fulani Nomadic System whose cows have a milk yield of less than two litres a day.  Whereas a good dairy cow will produce an average of 28 litres of milk per day over ten months.  During peak lactation, a high yielding dairy cow can produce as high as 60 litres of milk per day. 

T

he reality is that Nigerian cows have very low yield because of poor genetic composition, poor feeding practices and the laborious nomadic system of breeding. 

“These are fundamental issues that we need to fix before contemplating any form of import restriction.  These are challenges to be posed to the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources at the federal and state levels as the present administration moves to the next level. These are the agencies of government that have primary responsibilities for such matters. The environment needs to be created for these investments to happen”

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Source: Independent

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N2.5trn Investments In Danger Over Non-Assent To Automobile Policy Bill

Lagos – It has been revealed that the N2.5trn investments by automobile assembly plants in Nigeria may go down the drain, following the failure of the Federal Government to give assent to the National Automotive Industry Development Programme (NAIDP) Bill presented to it by the National Assembly.

This much was revealed over the weekend in Lagos by Dr. Oscar Odiboh, an Automotive Communication Consultant, Nigeria in a paper, ‘Zero Patronage, Zaro Tariff and the Redefinition of Patriotism: A Look at Nigeria’s Automobile Industry,’ at an event organised by automotive stakeholders in Lagos.

Odiboh in the paper regretted that since the policy was introduced in 2014, Nigerian Government had not showed the zeal to make it work, rather the government had been inconsistent with the same policy, an act, which he said was gradually killing the industry.

As at present, there are 40 assembly plants in Nigeria with many of them investing billions of naira.

Odiboh decried that former President Goodluck Jonathan, who introduced the policy through the Nigerian National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), declined to give his assent to the bill before handing over power to President Muhammadu Buhari, while the incumbent a few weeks ago also refused to give assent to the same bill.

He warned that the refusal of the government to give assent to the bill may eventually lead to the collapse of the automobile industry in the country in the next few years.

Odiboh, therefore, advised the Federal Government to drop the policy since it never had confidence in it, stressing that some people in the automobile industry were also not comfortable with the policy.

He explained that since the policy was introduced five years ago, only handful genuine automobile plants were working in the country, while many others were in comatose.

He emphasised that five years cumulative installed capacity for the 40assmebly plants was supposed to be 450,000 vehicles, with 15,000 output.

He added that the average cumulative annual capacity was to be 90,000 vehicles with an average annual output at 375 vehicles, adding that average annual capacity per assembly was to be 2,250 vehicles, but decried that an average annual output per assembly in the country today was just 10 units.

He added: “To make matter worse, the government didn’t budget for acquisition of vehicles in the 2019 budget. As we all know, government is our major client in the industry. This will further add to drop in sales in the financial year.

“In the past five years that the government came out with the policy, 23,000 jobs have been lost in the sector, yet we don’t seem to be doing anything. The government should just drop the policy once and for all because it has refused to sign it into law.

“The government should allow the automobile assembly plants to evolve by themselves. This was what happened in the 1960s. The government should only play its own role by creating a conducive environment for the business to thrive.”

Odiboh, also advised the NADDC to restrict itself to design, development of infrastructure and campaigns on patriotic patronage of made in Nigeria vehicles. There can’t be patriotic without patronage. Government should buy from the auto assembly plants in the country.”

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Source: Independent

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Involve us in your ‘Next Level’ agenda, professionals urge Buhari

Tribune Online
Involve us in your ‘Next Level’ agenda, professionals urge Buhari

Professionals in the country, under the aegis of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to avail himself of the services of seasoned professionals to enable him effectively carry out the ‘Next Level’ agenda of his administration.

Making the charge at the just-concluded 8th annual summit of the Association, its president, Olumuyiwa Ajibola, also stressed the need for professionals in the country to be ethical in their conducts if the journey to the ‘Next Level’ was to be sustained.

The APBN boss noted that in order to fast-track socio-economic development of Nigeria and give positive expression to the ‘Next Level’ mantra, the nation’s professionals, just like others, also have a huge role to play.

“No doubt, there is the need for us, as professionals, to remain ethical, since this will be of uttermost importance in the journey to a sustainable next level.

“It is also our belief that in order to give positive expression to the ‘Next Level’ mantra of the Federal Government, the nation’s professionals have an indispensable role to play amidst other compatriots,” he stated.

Ajibola explained that the 2019 edition of the summit was specifically designed to address the ‘Next Level’ desire as promised during the president’s electioneering campaign at the 2019 election.

“We interpret this to mean a commitment of the government to repositioning our dear nation, Nigeria, amongst the comity of nations, to a higher nexus in all aspects of governance so as to bring benefits to the people,” the APBN boss stated.

• Environmental Refugees: Unravelling the causes and proffering solutions to Ogoniland’s many-sided ordeal

He however cautioned that without the professionals, it might be difficult to attain the Next Level dream, since professionals possess the expertise to effectively execute such plans by government.

According to him, the association’s annual retreat is designed to facilitate intra-professional interaction with a view to finding solutions to issues relating to the professional practices of member-bodies, codes of conduct and standards of presentation; as well as address external policies of government/private sectors that tend to impact on members’ practices.

Ajibola also used the opportunity to appeal to the nation’s professionals to increase their participation in national development process, by taking advantage of federal government policies which support local content, especially Executive Orders 5 and 7 declared by the president.

“In view of the low times being experienced by Nigerian professionals due to lower participation in the development of many sectors of the economy, the association’s Council and Board decided to examine government’s declared panacea for the involvement of Nigerian experts in the rapid development of infrastructure going on in the country at this time, but which appear to be mainly dominated by foreign companies,’’ he stated.

In his keynote speech, Lere Baale, a pharmacist, attributed the exodus of indigenous professionals from Nigeria to government’s failure to avail itself of their services, adding that efforts at turning the economy around might turn out a pipe dream if the government failed to arrest the negative trend.

He, however, recommended the formation of a Public Professional Partnership Forum to be situated within the Presidency to liaise between government and the association of professionals in the country.

Involve us in your ‘Next Level’ agenda, professionals urge Buhari
Tribune Online

Source: Tribune

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King of the world

Tribune Online
King of the world

Giants once walked the green and pleasant shores of England. Before Churchill there were statesmen such as the Pitts, Disraeli and Gladstone. And Churchill begath Attlee. And Attlee begath Eden. And Eden begath Macmillan. And Macmillan begath Sir Alec Douglas-Home. And Sir Alec begath Wilson. And Wilson begath Heath. And Heath begath another Wilson. And another Wilson begath Callaghan. And Callaghan begath the Iron Lady. And the Iron Lady begath Major. And Major begath unknown elements. And unknown elements begath Boris Johnson.

I have always been partial towards Britain. For one thing, we were lucky to have been colonised by the British rather than, say, the godless French or the atrocious Portuguese. The British were smart enough to aim for our natural resources while pretty much leaving us to our own devices. Some of our cultures go back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs. The Borno monarchy goes back over a thousand years of unbroken succession. The Bini throne goes back more than 800 years. The British monarchy is a mere 600 years by comparison, with its foreign ancestry traceable to the Prussian Saxe-Coburg Hanover royal dynasty. We Nigerians possess some of the most ancient and most venerable cultures known in the history of mankind. Our collective tragedy is that we have never had leaders worthy of our destiny. British rule over our people was comparatively benign. We happily share in the great heritage of Newton, Shakespeare, Adam Smith, Shelley and Rupert Brooke.

On Wednesday, July 24, Boris Johnson was elected by the conservatives to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister. At the grounds of No. 10 Downing Street, Johnson spoke in Churchillian terms about making Britain “the greatest nation on earth.” He promised to make the streets safer, improve education and health and enhance the welfare of the people. He also promised to put together a formidable team that will help him run the country; pointing out that the buck stops with him, “behind that black door.” It was a clarion call for a New Britain, as the country faces the prospects of Brexit by this coming October, with or without a deal from Brussels.

Alexander Boris de Pfefell Johnson was born in New York on 19 June 1964. His father, Stanley Johnson, was at that time a graduate student at Columbia University. His ancestry is as complex as Britain itself. On his father’s side he is the grandson of a former Turkish-Ottoman official Osman Ali Kemal; while on his mother’s side he comes from a succession of French nobility, his great grandmother being Marie Louise, Baroness von Pfefell.

Boris Johnson’s father became a high official of the European Commission in Brussels, where the future Prime Minister grew up. A little-known fact is that his mother Charlotte had a mental breakdown in Brussels and his parents’ marriage eventually ended in a divorce. Some psychologists might point to this little-known judicial fact as lying at the roots of Boris Johnson’s anti-Europeanism.

Boris Johnson attended a minor preparatory school, Ashdown House, in East Sussex; eventually winning a King’s Scholarship to the famous Eton College, where he excelled in rugby, English and Greek. He was later admitted to Balliol College, Oxford, where he majored in Classics. He moved to London where he pursued a career in journalism, becoming Editor of the highly influential New Statesman. He was once a controversial correspondent in Brussels. He later veered into politics as a member of the Conservative Party; eventually becoming Mayor of London and later Foreign Secretary.

Johnson has been trailed by controversy throughout his career, not least by the white elephant projects that dogged his time as Mayor of London. In 1990 he was secretly recorded agreeing to give the home address of a colleague to his fraudster Etonian friend Darius Guppy, who wanted to get the man’s ribs “cracked” for investigating his activities. A few weeks ago neighbours called in the police when a violent night brawl was allegedly overheard from the house where Johnson, a divorcee, was living with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds. He is one of the few bachelors that have ever occupied the exalted seat of the high magistracy of Great Britain.

German philosopher Nietzsche defined the will-to-power as one of the dark forces that drives human beings. Different folks camouflage their will-to-power in different strokes. Some cloak it in the cassocks of a priest or by accumulating stupendous amounts of wealth; others in royal pageantry and yet others in the hood of the professoriate. As a boy, when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Boris Johnson replied that he wanted to be “the King of the World”. A man of ability and ambition, he has sometimes projected the persona of a bungling but harmless clown. Only the gullible are deceived.

The biggest item on his in-tray is Brexit. The shambolic handling of this issue says much about the quality of the people who govern Britain today. I lived in Brussels for five years, working as Chief of Staff of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group; a multilateral organisation of 79 member countries that  has a cooperation treaty with the EU. I was in a position to closely follow the Brexit debate from its beginning to its current chaotic morass. When I watched the vulgar antics of Nigel Farage, leader of the British Brexit Party in the hallowed chambers of the European Parliament, I was completely aghast. He once addressed them in the following tones: “You guys are dishonest fat cats; you’ve never held down an honest day’s job in your miserable lives. We want out, blah blah blah”. The President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, quietly and timidly asked him, “If you feel so bad about us, what are you still doing here?” Farage, of course, had no answer.

I think I know the moving spirit behind the New Europe. It is the spirit of anti-Christ – of those who want to build a new Tower of Babbel devoid of faith. They believe they can relieve the people of the burden of conscience by entertaining them with bread and circuses. Europe, admittedly, has brought an unprecedented peace to the Old Continent, and, with it, the prospects of material abundance. But remains an empty shell with no real spiritual core.

The tradition of Euro-scepticism is as old as Winston Churchill. The great judge Lord Denning bemoaned the passing of the English precepts of equity and good conscience by the invasion of an alien system of jurisprudence from Luxembourg, the seat of the European Court of Justice. Baroness Thatcher was innately opposed to Europe. She would gnash her teeth at the mere mention of the name of Jacques Delors, at the time President of the Commission. The greatest political theorist ever produced in these shores, Billy Dudley, famously asserted that scepticism is the hallmark of intellectual virtue. It is healthy to be sceptical. But scepticism must be kept within the bounds of reason.

The whole Brexit project from beginning to end was an exercise in unreasonableness. It was in the manner of a public schoolboys’ prank that went awry. Prime Minister David Cameron staked his entire political career on the referendum on Europe, believing in his heart that the majority would vote overwhelmingly to remain. The outcome was a very narrow margin 51.89% for leaving and 48.11% against. As it transpires, the majority of young people between ages 18 and 34 voted to remain, as did Scotland, the South East and the London financial community. In the first place, such a destiny-changing sovereign decision ought to have been subjected to three-quarters and not a simple majority. Nobody also reckoned with public opinion manipulation by shadowy groups such as Cambridge Analytica.

• Our mumu neva start

It’s no surprise that when the results came out on 23 June 2016, most of the Brexiteers went into hiding for several weeks – Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and their fellow tribesmen. Then as now, it appears it is evident that they had little or no real plans for Britain outside Europe. It has been said that the British Empire was founded in a feat of absentmindedness. We could equally say that Brexit was stumbled upon in a feat of collective delirium. It is, of course, not for us to second-guess what is in the best interest of the great British people. But once the die is cast, somebody must bite the bullet.

What the incoming Prime Minister must do is to take the most creative approaches to mitigating the chaos that will likely accompany the worst case scenario of a “no-deals” Brexit. There are other challenges awaiting Boris Johnson. Bonaparte once dismissed Britain as a nation of “shop-keepers”. If he were to resurrect from his resting place at the Panthéon today, he would describe Britain as a land of “money-changers”. Britain is no longer a global manufacturing hub. That prize goes to Beijing. But Britain has excellent universities and a world-class technically qualified populace. It needs to leverage on its comparative advantage to bolster manufacturing and high tech. It must wean its population against welfare dependency in favour of work and high productivity. It needs to invest in its young people while making education more affordable to all.

 

Britain will also need to look more and more towards North America and the Commonwealth as alternative trading partners when trading across the English Channel proves more difficult as seems likely in the years ahead. The world needs both a united and prosperous Europe as well as a vibrant, flourishing Britain. Let a thousand flowers bloom!

King of the world
Tribune Online

Source: Tribune

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The power of choice

Tribune Online
The power of choice

Before Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer in 1996, he had built a reputation as a successful professional cyclist, having won the World Championship in 1993, the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, and Tour DuPont both in 1995 and 1996. His victory over cancer and the subsequent establishment of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now Livestrong Foundation) to assist other cancer survivors conferred on him the image of a global icon. He was hailed for his dexterity as a cyclist and his positivity about life. On his return to cycling in 1998, he continued with his winning streak. Every year from 1998 to 2005, he won the Tour de France title, he also won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, becoming the most successful cyclist ever. He retired from professional cycling in 2005, though he returned briefly in 2009 before his final retirement in 2011.

However, Armstrong’s world came crashing in 2012 after an investigation instituted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found him culpable of using performance-enhancing drugs, and named him as the ringleader of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen.” Consequently, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. He was also banned for life from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. Sequel to the ban, Armstrong lost US$75 million in one day as sponsors dropped him. Even his charity organization, Livestrong, cut all ties to him.

What took Armstrong to the zenith of his career? His choices. What destroyed him? His choices.

 

Pre-eminence of choice

Life is a journey in choice making. Every moment, choices are made and the choices make or mar men because every choice has consequences, good or bad. Only a choice can keep a man on a spot, only a choice can make a man slide from a spot, and it is only a choice that can advance a man from his spot to a higher level.

Choices are powerful, they determine whether we are healthy or sick, buoyant or broke, glad or sad, successful or not, celebrated or derided, knowledgeable or ignorant, progressing or retrogressing. Our choices determine the course of our lives.

Choice determines attitude, attitude determines behaviour, behaviour determines output and output determines destiny. When men get their fingers scorched as a result of wrong choices, they blame their destinies. But that is a delusion. As Cassius tells Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” So, whether we become giants or we end up as minions or something in between the two, is a function of the choices we make.

 

Factors affecting choices

Most people want to choose right but certain factors come between them and making the right choices.

 

Ego vs goal

In almost every situation that a choice has to be made, two factors spring up. These are ego and goal. Ego is a person’s feeling of self-importance, self-worth or self-esteem. Ego prods a leader to focus on his needs rather than that of the organization. This results in the personalisation of issues. Personalisation results in a loss of focus because at that point, he is willing to sacrifice corporate good for personal interest. When a leader pushes his personal interest above corporate interest, his choice will likely be at variance with the overall purpose of the organisation he runs. When leaders pander to their own interests, they squander great opportunities to make a difference and later wonder why they are unable to hit their goals.

Robert Mugabe presided over a country where everything was going wrong, yet he decided to stay on in power at 93 years of age because of his personal interests. He manipulated the electoral process and pocketed the military to hold on to power. He sacked the former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to pave the way for his wife, Grace, to succeed him. As far as Mugabe was concerned, governance was about himself and his interests. Little wonder he was disgraced out of office at the twilight of his life. Now, he lives to regret his selfishness.

When a leader makes his needs his focus, his choice will not be right.

 

Goal

To prevent ego from getting in the way of making the right choice, the leader has to make corporate goal his focus. When a leader focuses on the corporate goal and makes its attainment his priority, he will be able to make choices that are in tandem with the corporate objectives of his organization. Not only will he deny himself of unnecessary benefit, he will also be able to say no to those who want to take advantage of his position.

Another pair of issues that comes into play when it is time to make a choice is the pair of convenience and excellence.

 

Convenience

When John Rohn wrote “Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom”, the message he was trying to pass across is that those who want to go far should avoid the easy way out. For the average people, the easy way is the better option. Therefore, average people make convenient choices and as a result never get to see life at its best.

Those who opt for the convenient when it is time to make a choice really trade away the best because of the eagerness to have it their way rather than the hard way. Consequently, not only do they end up making choices that limit the realization of their potential, those choices stunt their growth and rob the world of their utmost contribution.

 

Between Patrice Evra and Cristiano Ronaldo

Patrice Evra, the former French national football team captain, shared a story of a lunch date with Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

According to Evra, while he and Ronaldo were playing for Manchester United, the latter invited him over to his house for lunch one day after training. He said though he was tired, he decided to honour the invitation.

Evra said when he got to Ronaldo’s house there was only salad and plain white chicken on the table, so he thought that would be the first course.

Evra said, “We started eating and I was thinking some big meat would be coming after that but there was nothing. He just finished and stood up and started playing with a ball, doing some skills and he said, ‘Let’s do some two-touch.’”

A flabbergasted Evra asked if he could have some more food but Ronaldo declined insisting that they should practice.

“We started playing two-touch. After that he said we should go to the pool to swim. I said, ‘Cristiano, why have we come here, have we come here because we have a game tomorrow, or just for lunch?”

Evra said he thought he was going to have lunch not knowing that Ronaldo would turn that to another training session. So, he counseled anyone who might get a Ronaldo invitation for lunch not to think twice before turning same down because there would not be any lunch.

But that marks the difference between Ronaldo and Evra as well as their destinies. While Evra is a successful footballer in his own right, having won a number of trophies with Manchester United Football Club and Juventus, but his accomplishments pale into almost nothingness when compared with Ronaldo’s and this is principally because while Evra thrills himself with good food but spares himself the pain of strenuous training, Ronaldo denies himself the luxury of sumptuous meals but subjects himself to the pain of hard training. This also explains why Evra, who started from Monaco and left for Manchester United, from where he moved to Juventus (all top-rated clubs) ended up at West Ham United. On the other hand, Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid in Spain and in 2018, when he was 33 years of age, signed a €100million four-year contract with Juventus.

 

Excellence

Excellence is always looking for the best possible way to perform a task. Excellence is taking the time to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s. It is refusing to settle for anything but the best. It is shunning compromise and adhering to the highest standards. Excellence is sparing no effort to achieve set goals. It is also pushing the envelope to find new ways of performing a task. Excellence is saying, like the Carthaginian commander, Hannibal, when he was told by his generals that it was impossible to cross the Alps into Italy by elephant during the Second Punic War, that, “I will either find a way or make one.”

• Need to reduce comparisons

Excellence does not come cheap, it is exacting, it is tasking, it stretches, but it also makes us better, stronger and wiser. Excellence, when it becomes a pattern, is highly rewarded. Hence, those who prefer excellence to convenience never end up in the gutter of life.

 

How to make the right choice every time

To consistently make the right choice, the following steps will be of help.

 

Be continuously conscious of the whole picture

Organisations are run on vision, which is the encapsulation of their aspirations. Individuals should also have goals which tell the story of their current situation and their desired destination. This should be borne in mind every waking moment of their lives. This should determine what they embrace and what they refrain from, where they go and where they avoid. If you are conscious of the whole picture, then you know that every choice you make at any point ultimately affects your goals and aspirations. The question to ask as a guide to making the right choice is: Will this choice take us to our envisioned future?

 

Align your choices with your values

Your values are what you stand for and what you hold dear. Your values create your world and determine others’ perception of you. So, when you make a choice, ensure that the choice is in alignment with your value. The questions to ask are: Does this choice represent what I stand for? Is this choice in consonance with who I am? How will this choice affect my reputation? Answering these questions will help in making the right choice every time.

 

Consider the effects of not making the choice

To be sure you are making the right choice; ask yourself what would happen if you did not make the choice you are contemplating. Would you be better or worse off without the choice? What is the best thing that could happen with the choice? What is the worst that could happen without the choice? The analysis will help in making the appropriate choice.

 

Consider the effect of the choice on others

Making the right choice often entails taking into cognizance the effect of the choice on others. The world is racing towards the dumping of the use of fossil fuels because of their effect on the environment. Fossil fuels release large quantities of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide which have contributed to global warming and its effects on the ozone layer.

 

Follow through to the end

Having a good intention does not amount to making a good choice. Taking a few steps in the right direction is not the same as making a right choice. The hallmark of a good choice is the result that it produces. Until the desired result is produced, the right choice has not been made.

In 1979, Nigeria conceived the construction of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex based on two factors. The first was the understanding that the nation’s hope of industrialisation would be a mirage without a functional steel industry. The second was to make Nigeria one of the leading steel producing countries in the world and position it to earn revenue from it. So, the government of General Olusegun Obasanjo pursued the project with gusto and scheduled it for completion in 1986 at the cost of $650million. But 40 years after, and with over $5billion spent, the steel complex lies prostrate, though at a point it reached 99 per cent completion.

Embedded in the project is a thermal power plant with the capacity to generate 110 megawatts of electricity. But with the abandonment of the main project, the fate of the plant was already decided.

However, the effect of the non-completion of the Ajaokuta project exceeds the money spent on it and the failure of the country to improve its electricity supply. The neglect of the project has also been responsible for the depletion of the nation’s resources as a total of N2.1 trillion was spent on the importation of steel between 1986 and 2012.

Nigeria had a very good intention of having a local industrial revolution through the Ajaokuta Steel Mill project. But her inability to follow through made the project fall through.

 

Last line

He does not lead well who fails to make good choices.

 

The power of choice
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Great at Work

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Great at Work

For his latest book, Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better and Achieve More, Morton Hansen spent five years researching more than 5,000 employees in dozens of industries, to better understand the deceptively simple question of why some people perform better at work than others do.

Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are spent on recruitment, onboarding, skills training and leadership development to produce model employees capable of extraordinary individual performance — those elusive star performers who will set the top-performance benchmark for their department or their entire company. Hansen’s research challenges the assumption that it’s just a matter of hiring people willing to work “longer and harder.” He presents seven distinct practices that will enable employees to embrace a growth mindset and find ways to work smarter rather than harder:

Mastering Your Own Work

Do less, then obsess: Taking on more responsibility in the hope of proving your worth is, the author argues, a flawed strategy because it misses the focus component. As a result, you spread yourself too thin, devoting too little attention to each responsibility. Better to “wield the razor” and shave away as many unnecessary commitments as you can.

Redesign your work: Hansen’s research demonstrates that beyond a work week of 65 hours, adding more hours causes performance to decline. Taking the time to analyze the pain points of your work — the administrative “fluff” and low-value inefficiencies — allows you to better manage the “value equation” to create “output that benefits others tremendously and that is done efficiently and with high quality.”

Don’t just learn, loop: The author challenges the traditional 10,000 hours of practice needed for mastery by proposing a learning loop in which the quality of each experimental iteration generates more improvement than simple repetition does. Making small modifications to your daily work and then immediately incorporating feedback supports a much faster improvement cycle.

• PDP to NASS: Probe ‘missing’ $1bn ECA security fund

P-Squared (passion and purpose): Doing work you love is believed to guarantee personal fulfillment and success, but Hansen’s research reveals that those who match that passion with purpose perform at a significantly higher level. Finding something that you love to do and that contributes value to others brings more focused energy to your work, allowing you to get more done in each hour of work.

Mastering working with others

Forceful champions: Pushing new projects through by sheer force of will and perseverance is inefficient. Star performers understand the value of inspiring others to support their cause and then applying “smart grit” to adjust and tailor their tactics to break down opposition.

Fight and unite: Eighty percent of Hansen’s research respondents identified leading teams as being important in their jobs, but most of them complained that team meetings weren’t productive. The “work harder” approach is to keep meeting until the team “gels” at some point. The “work smarter” approach is to encourage positive team debate to build unity sooner.

The two sins of collaboration: Organizations and employees swing between two extremes: “under-collaboration” and “over-collaboration.” Time-sensitive projects are often pushed through with little opportunity for input, whereas projects that are deemed to need “buy-in” are delayed by too much input. Hansen’s research argues the case for “disciplined collaboration,” where the need for and amount of talking is established up front as a project parameter.

Hansen started with the question of why some employees perform better than others. The result is a relevant, insightful and rigorously empirical study that draws on a wide range of fascinating examples designed to help anyone looking to maximize their time and performance.

Great at Work
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The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business

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The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business

If you dream of starting your own business, there are plenty of resources. Coaches, books and websites detail specific steps you should take or rules you should follow. But to be successful, you have to break the rules. You must be unapologetic about who you are and dare to be different. Here’s my advice for anyone ready to do that.

1. Realize there’s nothing special about successful people

It’s common to separate yourself from those who are successful. You think, “She’s confident,” or “He knows how to speak publicly. I’m not like that.” But you’re wrong.

Everyone feels that way. I still wake up with those fearful voices in my head; I just don’t listen to them anymore. Most people who meet me are often surprised by how shy I am. I’m an introvert, and it takes effort to put myself out there. If I can do it, so can you.

2. Try the megaphone exercise

Many entrepreneurs struggle to get started because their message isn’t clear. You might think you don’t know what you’re meant to put out in the world — but you do.

The megaphone exercise helps you clarify your mission. Imagine you are standing on a balcony above thousands of people. You’re holding a megaphone and have one minute to tell them what life is about. What would you say? Whatever comes out in that minute is your message.

3. Don’t wait for permission

Your inner voice may make you doubt your message with thoughts like “That idea isn’t big enough,” “No one will listen to me,” or “Someone else already does that.” But no one does or says it like you — so do it anyway.

Our whole lives, we’ve been taught to wait for permission or approval. The reality is you’re allowed to share your message with the world. You just have to give yourself permission.

• Oyetola mobilises contractors back to sites of road construction

No one is going to knock on your door and tell you they need you or your ideas. You need to start somewhere, even if you don’t feel ready. Let go of whatever is holding you back. Get out of your own way.

4. Seize your responsibility

How do you start when you don’t feel ready? Realize that your message and calling is bigger than you. If you have something that can help people right now, you have a responsibility to take that message to the world.

You also have a responsibility to yourself. If you were your own employee, would you fire yourself? This is your job. Just like anyone else, if you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid.

5. Ignore strategy and identify your non-negotiables

To make it real, you need to act. What you don’t need is strategy. If you sit around planning, you’re unlikely to start. The path will become clear once you take the leap, and it won’t look like anything you could have planned.

Identify a small list of non-negotiables that will move the needle daily. Ask yourself what three to five things would change your life if you did them every day. Then do them.

Here are the four things on my list that I do every day before anything else: First, I connect with myself by journaling. Don’t start the day reacting to everyone else; set your internal compass by writing down your vision.

Next, I create content. Then it’s sales activity, even if it’s just a call to action at the end of a blog post. If you aren’t selling, you aren’t an entrepreneur. Last is fitness, which isn’t negotiable for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life.

The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business
Tribune Online

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How you can win always as a leader

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How you can win always as a leader

The more I write and teach about leadership in Nigeria and on this continent as a whole, the more I get to comprehend that the major problem that many people who are in varied leadership positions have is that they do not know how to lead. There are too many leadership experts in Nigeria, but true leaders are scarce as an Eagle. I make bold to say that what Nigeria and Africa as a whole need aren’t leadership experts, what we need are spot on leaders. Nigeria is the way she is because true leaders are in short supply. Remember, you can be a leadership expert without being a leader!

Leadership is learned behavior that becomes unconscious and automatic over time.  For instance, leaders can make several important decisions about an issue in the time it takes others to understand the question.   Many people wonder how leaders know how to make the best decisions, often under immense pressure.  The process of making these decisions comes from an accumulation of experiences and encounters with a multitude of difference circumstances, personality types and unforeseen failures.

More so, the decision making process is an acute understanding of being familiar with the cause and effect of behavioral and circumstantial patterns;  knowing the intelligence and interconnection points of the variables involved in these patterns allows a leader to confidently make decisions and project the probability of their desired outcomes.

The most successful leaders are instinctual decision makers.  Having done it so many times throughout their careers, they become invulnerable to the pressure associated with decision making and extremely intuitive about the process of making the most strategic and best decisions. This is why most senior executives will tell you they depend strongly upon their “gut-feel” when making difficult decisions at a moment’s notice.

Beyond decision making, successful leadership across all areas becomes learned and instinctual over a period of time. Successful leaders have learned the mastery of anticipating business patterns, finding opportunities in pressure situations, serving the people they lead and overcoming hardships.   No wonder the best CEOs are paid so much money. If you are looking to advance your career into a leadership capacity or you have already assumed leadership responsibilities, I am here today to unveil a few things you must do automatically, every day, to be a successful leader in either the workplace or wherever you find yourself a leader:

Many times, leaders intimidate and coerce their colleagues with their title and power when they walk into a room, but successful leaders do deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions.  They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their presence as a leader to create an approachable environment. True leaders do not make people become voiceless. Over the years, does your presence take people’s voice away or does it help them to find their voice? It is failure in leadership when people lose their voice just because you are leading them.

Winning leaders are expert decision makers. They either facilitate the dialogue to empower their colleagues to reach a strategic conclusion or they do it themselves.  They focus on “making things happen” at all times – decision making activities that sustain progress.   Successful leaders have mastered the art of politicking and thus do not waste their time on issues that disrupt momentum.  They know how to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes!

Successful leaders are great communicators, and this is especially true when it comes to “performance expectations.”   In doing so, they remind their colleagues of the organization’s core values and mission statement – ensuring that their vision is properly translated and actionable objectives are properly executed. I have met with many leaders—who are very poor—when it comes to communicating the company’s core values, vision and mission statements to those under their leadership. On the condition that you want to become a successful leader, you shall need to keep honing your capacity to communicate crystal clearly. This is non-negotiable.

Shiites not banned from practising religion ― Presidency

I had a leader who managed the team by reminding us of the expectations that she had of the group. She made it easy for the team to stay focused and on track.  The protocol she implemented – by clearly communicating expectations – increased performance and helped to identify those on the team that could not keep up with the standards she expected from us. Many leaders do not know how to communicate their expectations clearly to their followers, and they are wondering why their groups, teams, companies, institutions and nations are doing very well.

The most successful leaders understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities and areas for improvement.  They use this knowledge to challenge their teams to think and stretch them to reach for more. These types of leaders excel in keeping their people on their toes, never allowing them to get comfortable and enabling them with the tools to grow. If you are not thinking, you are not learning new things and if you are not learning, you are not growing – and over time you shall become irrelevant in your work.

Successful leaders allow their colleagues to manage them.  This does not mean they are allowing others to control them – but rather becoming accountable to assure they are being proactive to their colleagues needs. Beyond just mentoring and sponsoring selected employees, being accountable to others is a sign that your leader is focused more on your success than just his own success.

Leading by example sounds easy, but few leaders are consistent with this one. Successful leaders practice what they preach and are mindful of their actions. They know everyone is watching them and therefore are incredibly intuitive about detecting those who are observing their every move, waiting to detect a performance shortfall.

Last but not least, successful leaders always have a strong “pulse” on business performance and those people who are the performance champions. Not only do they review the numbers and measure performance ROI, they are active in acknowledging hard work and efforts (no matter the result). Successful leaders never take consistent performers for granted and are mindful of rewarding them.

 

See you where unbeaten leaders are found!

How you can win always as a leader
Tribune Online

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Snake Scare At Ondo Assembly: Akeredolu Fumes, Claims Blackmail

Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, the grey-bearded governor of Ondo State, has berated members of the state House of Assembly over their claim last week of having been chased out of the legislative chamber by mysterious snakes while in session.

Speaking with select newsmen, the enraged governor, alleged that the lawmakers had actually cooked up the story just to blackmail his government.

Meanwhile, he has vowed not to condone such attitude which to him, has fallen short of the public expectation from the honourable lawmakers.

He explained that he had gone to the State Assembly Complex premises to verify the claims only to discover that the snake stories were all lies and an attempt to ridicule his government through blackmail.

“All I have come to do here (House of Assembly premises) is to verify what happened and I have seen that there’s an attempt to blackmail this government. We won’t take it.

“I made sure that the Speaker and most of the principal officers were here and I have heard from them in order to know what exactly happened. They have told us that no snake fell here. They were not sitting when the ceiling came down, they only met the ceiling down.

“There’s an attempt to blackmail the government and I don’t believe that is the best approach.

“This (legislature) is an arm of government; they have their votes and the ones they are entitled to, is the ones we give them. This place is termite-infested and certainly, the termites have been dwelling here for several years.

“We just spent two years and there is no way termite infestation in less than two years can cause such destruction.

“Something is wrong, this place has not been maintained”; Akeredolu noted.

The furious governor queried what the lawmakers had been doing about the maintenance of the legislative complex and its environment.

“If they have not been concerned about this place, we all have to sit down and work things out.”; he posited.

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Source: Independent

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Iran To Reactivate Arak Power Plant

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced on Sunday that they will be restarting activity in the Arak heavy water facility to the east of the country.

Iran’s official news agency ISNA ran a story, citing the source as MP Ali Akbar Salehi.

The heavy water plant can be used to manufacture plutonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.

The announcement by Iran came before the meeting in Vienna, Austria on Iran’s nuclear activities.

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South Africa Presidential Panel Backs Limited Land Seizures

A presidential panel in South Africa has proposed expropriation of land without compensation, but in limited circumstances.

Land held purely for speculative purposes or occupied by tenants should be given away, it advises.

White people, who make up just 9% of the population, own 72% of the farmland that is held by individuals.

President Cyril Ramaphosa backs land expropriation, which is popular with the black majority.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) has repeatedly pledged to accelerate land transfers to the black majority since taking office in 1994, after white-minority rule ended, but progress has been slow.

Those opposed to land expropriation point to Zimbabwe where a similar policy by former President Robert Mugabe wrecked the economy and scared away investors.

President Ramaphosa set up the team of experts last year as the ANC was coming under pressure from opposition parties, especially from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The panel proposed that the government expropriate

It said those who had bought property since the end of apartheid should be treated differently to those who had inherited land that was held under the apartheid system.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance party rejected the report’s recommendations, saying land expropriation without compensation would “further batter our ailing economy”.

Parliament is due to debate proposed changes to the land expropriation bill in October.

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China Resumes Agricultural Purchases From US Companies

China gradually takes over the purchase of agricultural products from US companies, one of the key drawbacks of the trade war between both nations, official sources reported here on Sunday.

A shipment with millions of tons of soybeans was shipped from the United States to China, which means the resumption of an activity that was stopped due to the worsening in relations between the two powers.

According to a Chinese official quoted by the local press, the resumption of soy purchases from US producers is part of the steps towards understanding after the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Japan during the G20 Summit.

Past May, China decided to curb the acquisition of soybeans from the United States due to the intensification of the conflict and the repressive measures of Washington against Asian companies.

The halt of soybean imports by China occurred amid ups and downs in the price of the oilseed and US producers complaining about the damage caused by the commercial war initiated by the White House.

Although President Trump announced a $16 billion dollar aid for farmers affected by escalating tensions, many feared that China would decide to buy that raw material in other countries, even after the dispute ended.

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2019 European Investment Bank/Global Development Network (GDN) Special Recruitment Drive in International Finance

The Global Development Network (GDN) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have partnered to create the EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance to study the impact of projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries financed under EIB’s Impact Financing Envelope. The purpose of the program is to provide a select group of highly qualified… Read More

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Brazil Has Lost 1,330 Square Miles Of Amazon Rainforest Under Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is facing rapid deforestation under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The Amazon, the largest and most biodiverse rainforest on the planet, plays an essential part in slowing global warming. The seas of greenery absorb and store carbon dioxide, preventing the gas from overwhelming our atmosphere. But when trees are plowed, carbon has nowhere to go, risking further increases in global temperatures.

The big picture: Bolsonaro campaigned on opening up the Amazon to new economic ventures. Just 7 months into his presidency, he’s keeping true on the promise, with the Brazilian part of the rainforest shedding 1,330 square miles of forest cover — 39% more than was lost during the same period last year, according to the Times. About 80% more forest cover was lost this June compared to 2018.

Bolsonaro has also cut the budget for Brazil’s main environmental agency by 24%.
A New York Times analysis showed environmental enforcement measures like fines or seizures have fallen 20% in the first 6 months of the year compared to 2018.
The administration has hinted at the possibility of ending a $1.3 billion Amazon restoration fund, fueled in part by Germany and Norway. Bolsonaro has said that the “Amazon is ours, not yours,” and insisted it should not be a concern to non-Brazilians.
Between the lines: Deforestation for the sake of economic growth had already been a marketable stance prior to Bolsonaro’s leadership. Per the New York Times: “As the economy plunged into a recession in 2014, the country became more reliant on the agricultural commodities it produces — beef and soy, which are drivers of deforestation — and on the powerful rural lobby. Land clearing began to tick upward again.”

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STARTLING! Kwara Uncovers 246 Ghost Schools

The Abdulrazaq AbdulRahaman-led Kwara State government has made public a startling discovery of 246 non-existent schools yet fully funded by former administrations in the state.

Details later.

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Democrats Blast Trump Over Tweets Attacking Cummings

President Trump’s two days of tweets ripping Rep. Elijah Cummings and his district as a “rat and rodent infested mess” brought swift rebukes from Democratic lawmakers and a defense from his acting chief of staff Sunday. ​

“It’s unbelievable that we have a president of the United States who attacks American cities, who attacks Americans, who attacks somebody who is a friend of mine​,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Elijah Cummings is one the most decent and outstanding members of the House of Representatives.​”​

Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, said a president should be uniting the country.

​”​Our job is to bring people together to improve life of all people, not to have a racist president who attacks people because they are African American. That is a disgrace and that is why we’re going to defeat this president​,” he said. ​

​But acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Trump is just retaliating against Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, for criticizing acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan over the administration’s family separation policy.

“The president didn’t like it. Does the president speak hyperbolically? Absolutely. Have we seen this type of reaction from him before? Yes,” Mulvaney said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And you will again because he pushes back, he fights back when he feels like he’s attacked.”

“I understand that everything that Donald Trump says is offensive to some people,” ​Mulvaney added.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who ​was among four minority Democratic congresswomen attacked by Trump, said he continues to trash American cities.

“Our president has a hate agenda. He doesn’t have a policy agenda. That’s what he falls down on​,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”​

​Rep. Will Hurd, the only African-American Republican in the House, said Trump’s tweets about Cummings aren’t ​the same as the “go back” postings about Tlaib and her three colleagues — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.

“I wouldn’t be doing those. I wouldn’t be tweeting this way,” the Texas Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“Chairman Cummings is someone I worked with closely on all kinds of legislation,” Hurd said. “He is someone that cares passionately about his community and has been working tirelessly his entire adult life on behalf of his country and his community and he is someone — he can defend himself.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, accused Trump of trying “to distract people from the larger reality of this country” with his tweets.

“There is a con-man reality to Donald Trump — it’s a classic bait-and-switch issue every time. The real issue in this country is that working people are stuck economically. There’s tremendous frustration out there in working America that folks aren’t getting ahead,” de Blasio, who is also a presidential hopeful, told ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

Trump over the weekend has been ​unleashing his furor over Cummings, writing that he “has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore.”

On Saturday, Trump told Cummings that if he spent more time in Baltimore “maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”

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Source: Independent

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