Oil prices rose to their highest level in 10 months on Friday, after China cut banks' cash reserve requirements to boost its economic recovery, and on expectations that major global interest rate hike cycles were nearing their end.

Brent crude rose 46 cents, or 0.5%, to $94.16 as of 0027 GMT, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 0.6% at $90.74. Both the benchmarks were trading at their highest levels since November.

Analyst Tina Teng at CMC markets said China's reserve requirement cuts were instrumental in lifting energy and industrial metal prices in general, adding that Chinese industrial output and retail sales data could be market movers later on Friday.

Persistent worries about supply, and expectations of the U.S. central bank holding rates after Europe hinted its Thursday hike would be its last, have put oil prices on track to finish higher for a third straight week.

Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, which could slow economic growth and reduce oil demand.

"Betting on oil is becoming a favourite trade on Wall Street. No one is doubting the OPEC+ (oil-producing nations) decision at the end of last month will keep the oil market very tight in the fourth quarter," said analyst Edward Moya at OANDA.

The International Energy Agency said this week it expects Saudi Arabia's and Russia's extended oil output cuts to result in a market deficit through the fourth quarter. Prices briefly pulled back on a bearish U.S. inventories report, but soon resumed their ascent as supply worries prevailed.

Reuters

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Zacch Adedeji as the new acting executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Tinubu also directed Muhammad Nami, the current FIRS chairman, to proceed on three months of pre-retirement leave, as provisioned by Public Service Rule (PSR) 120243, with immediate effect.

The leave would lead to Nami’s eventual retirement from service on December 8, 2023, according to a statement on Thursday, by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media and publicity.

Ngelale said Adedeji’s appointment, according to directives of the president, takes immediate effect.

“Zacch Adedeji is hereby appointed in acting capacity for a 90-day period before his subsequent confirmation as the substantive executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service for a term of four (4) years in the first instance,” the statement reads.

“Adedeji is a first-class graduate in accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University. He most recently served the nation as the special adviser to the president on revenue.”

Prior to his appointment as special adviser, Adedeji served as the commissioner of finance in Oyo state.

He was also the executive secretary and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC).

The Cable

Federal Government, on Thursday, said there was no timeframe for resumption of Emirates and Etihad flights that were put on hold amid the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arabs Emirates (UAE).

After a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and his UAE counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi, Ajuri Ngelale, Presidential spokesman, had said both leaders reached a historic agreement, which resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers.

He added that both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines were to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, “without any further delay”.

But the UAE authorities were silent on the visa ban lift and resumption of flights by its airlines, sparking curiosity among Nigerians.

In its statement, the Middle East country said Nigeria and the UAE would work together to reinforce their ties and explore opportunities for further bilateral collaborations.

But speaking during the Aviation Africa Summit in Abuja on Thursday, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, said the terms of agreements were being finalised.

He said: “So, we are beginning to work out all the tiny details. I have met with Emirate before I left UAE, and we are working out the details. We cannot say the time frame. Kicking off an airline operation again on a route, does not mean you will go and grab one empty plane sitting in a place.

“There is no idle plane sitting anywhere, they have to reschedule their flights and restart their routes again. All kinds of permission will be taken from local authorities and of course, I made the point in speaking with them and I made it clear that they will have to give our airlines reciprocal rights under our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs).

“That is the point I insisted on, and they did say that any spot we need, they will give us as much as we give them those spots within Nigeria.”

Daily Trust

Federal government says the collapse of the national grid was caused by a fire outbreak on the Kainji/Jebba 330 kilovolt (kV) line.

On Thursday, in a series of posts on X, Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, said the fire led to about 356.63MW generation loss.

Yesterday, the national grid suffered a total system collapse — the first in more than a year.

Giving updates, Adebulu said the fire has been fully arrested “and over half of the connections are now up and the rest will be fully restored in no time”.

“At 00:35Hrs this morning, Fire outbreak with explosion sound was observed on Kainji/Jebba 330kV line 2 (Cct K2J) blue phase CVT & Blue phase line Isolator of Kainji/Jebba 330kV line1 was observed burning. This led to sharp drops in frequency from 50.29Hz to 49.67 Hz at 0:35:06Hrs with Jebba generation loss of 356.63MW,” he said.

“Kainji started dropping load from 451.45 MW at 00:35:07Hrs to zero.

“At 00:41Hrs frequency dropped further from 49.37 Hz to 48.41Hz then resulted in system collapse of the grid.

“We are on top of the situation and speedy restoration is in progress.”

Adelabu said the delay in providing an update was deliberate, so as not to cause panic and to also be able to give update on the progress of remedial actions taken so far. 

This, he said, is to ensure economic and security saboteurs do not take advantage of every reported situation.

The Cable

A survey of more than 36,000 people in 30 countries has found that younger people increasingly believe that democracy is incapable of producing solutions to the issues that affect them most.

The results of the wide-ranging poll, which was conducted between May and July of this year by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF), indicate that while democracy remains the preferred option for the vast majority of respondents, just 57% of the 18-35 age group view it as being preferable to other means of governance.

“Our findings are both sobering and alarming,” OSF president Mark Malloch Brown said of the poll, the findings of which were released on Tuesday. “People around the world still want to believe in democracy but, generation by generation, that faith is fading as doubts grow about its ability to deliver concrete changes to their lives.”

Some 35% of younger people, the report adds, believe that having a “strong leader” who does not hold elections or engage with legislatures is a “good way to run a country.” In the same age group, 42% indicated support for military rule, while 20% of older respondents answered similarly.

However, the poll also indicated overwhelming support (between 85% and 95%) across all age groups and income levels for a variety of issues, principally that it is wrong for governments to discriminate against individuals on the basis of appearance, religion, sexual or gender identity.

Poverty, inequality and the climate crisis were also cited as being the most pressing issues facing people today – but over half (53%) said they felt their country was going in the wrong direction. About a third also indicated that they believed politicians are not working in the best interests of their constituents.

“Confidence in the foundational elements of democracy coexists with profound doubts and its real-world practice and impact,” Brown said.

An average of around 70%, meanwhile, said they were concerned that the climate crisis would have a negative impact on their livelihoods in the next 12 months.

The survey also found that, while the topic of migration has been ever-present in the headlines in recent times, only 7% thought it to be a major concern – with 66% saying they favored the introduction of safer and more legal means for migrants.

Russia Today

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian forces press on in east, inflict casualties in south, officials say

Ukraine on Thursday pressed on with a gruelling campaign to regain ground near the shattered Russian-held city of Bakhmut and inflicted heavy casualties on Russian forces on the southern front, senior military officials said.

The Ukrainian accounts outlined fierce fighting in many parts of the eastern front, but no new breakthroughs in the three-month old counter offensive.

Ukrainian advances have been much slower than gains they recorded last year in recovering territory in the northeast, as they proceed methodically in the face of deep Russian entrenchments.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials have dismissed Western critics who say the three-month offensive is too slow and hampered by strategic errors, like placing troops in the wrong places.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled eight attacks in the east in hotly contested areas south of Bakhmut.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, said Kyiv's forces were making gains around three villages south of Bakhmut - including Andriivka.

"Progress has been made there," she said on the Telegram messaging app.

Maliar initially reported that Andriivka had been brought under Ukrainian control, but later said that was inaccurate as fighting was still raging around the village.

Russian forces captured Bakhmut in May after months of battles left the city in ruins. Ukrainian forces have since been chipping away at Russian positions, notably south of Bakhmut.

Maliar made no mention of the towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka, further south in Donetsk region, a day after she said both were being subjected to heavy Russian attacks.

On the southern front, where Ukrainian forces have focused on capturing clusters of villages in a drive towards the Sea of Azov, Maliar said Russian troops had sustained "significant losses" in attacks on key towns.

The Russian casualties, Maliar said, had "significantly reduced their ability to defend themselves".

The drive southward is intended to split a land bridge created by Russian forces between the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and areas they hold in the east, expanded by their full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.

Oleksander Shtupun, spokesperson for troops on the southern front, underscored the heavy extent of Russian losses in Moscow's attempts to recover lost positions.

"The enemy, as a result of attempts to recapture at least some of the lost positions in the Tavria (south) direction in the last two days has lost 15 tanks and 12 armoured vehicles," he said on national television.

He put Russian personnel losses at 665 over the two days.

Reuters could not verify any of the battlefield reports.

** Ukraine attacks Russian warships in Black Sea, destroys air defences in Crimea, Kyiv says

Ukraine said on Thursday it attacked two Russian patrol ships and destroyed a sophisticated air defence system in the west of occupied Crimea, ramping up its strikes to challenge Moscow's dominance in the Black Sea region.

The attacks come a day after Kyiv said it seriously damaged a Russian submarine and landing ship undergoing repairs in a missile strike on a shipyard in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian military, in a post on Telegram messenger, said it hit two Russian patrol boats in the southwest of the Black Sea, causing "certain damage" in a morning attack.

"The (Sergei) Kotov was hit," military intelligence official Andriy Yusov told Reuters, sharing a grainy video circulated online by a Ukrainian government minister that appeared to show sea drones attacking a vessel at sea.

The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed an attack on the Sergei Kotov in a morning statement, but said the assault involving five sea drones was repelled. It made no mention of damage.

Reuters could not independently confirm the reports or the video.

The southwestern location of the attack would indicate Ukraine's ability to strike Russian targets far from its coast.

While Kyiv's counteroffensive in the south and east has been slowed by minefields and Russian defensive lines, fighting has escalated in the Black Sea region where Russia is imposing a de facto blockade on Ukraine's seaborne exports.

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Russian drones have regularly attacked Ukrainian port infrastructure along the Danube River, a vital alternative export route for the major grain producer. It uses its Black Sea Fleet to rain down missiles on Ukrainian targets from afar.

Ukraine's embattled navy has used sea drones to strike back, hitting the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship near Russia's naval base at Novorossiysk early last month and a Russian fuel tanker.

'THREE KEY TASKS'

Senior presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine was focused on three key tasks aimed at the de-occupation of the peninsula, which lies far behind the battlelines of southern Ukraine.

Kyiv, he said, was targeting air defence systems to open up the path to more strikes on Russian military and warehouse infrastructure. Kyiv was also attacking transport logistics to "stop the large-scale continuous supply of resources and reserves into the area of active hostilities," he said.

"We need to chase away remnants of the Russian Black Sea fleet from Crimean territorial waters and beyond and reinstate the status of the Black Sea as the sea of external jurisdiction," he wrote in English.

Russia regards the peninsula as strategically important and uses its Black Sea Fleet to project power.

Ukraine's military said it had hit Russian air defence systems in a long-range attack in the early hours of Thursday near the town of Yevpatoriya in the west of Crimea, which was seized by Moscow in 2014.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defences shot down 11 drones overnight over the peninsula and did not mention damage.

Footage circulated on social media showed powerful explosions and a plume of smoke rising in the night sky illuminated by a blaze. Reuters could not verify the video.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters that drones blinded the Russian air defence system by attacking its radar and antenna, and that two Neptune cruise missiles were fired at its launchers.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the account.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Expansion of US sanctions targets Russia's defense, energy, financial sectors — Blinken

The United States is expanding Russia-related sanctions lists targeting more companies in its defense industry, energy and financial sectors, as well as elites, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

"The Departments of State and the Treasury are imposing further sanctions on over 150 individuals and entities <…>, " according to a written statement by Blinken. It is specified that sanctions are imposed in connection with the special military operation in Ukraine.

"As part of today’s action, the U.S. government is targeting individuals and entities engaged in sanctions evasion and circumvention, those complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and those responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production," the US top diplomat says.

In a similar statement by the US Treasury it is noted that the sanctions are imposed "on Russia’s elites and its industrial base, financial institutions, and technology suppliers."

According to Blinken, the Department of State is applying the current sanctions in an attempt to limit not only Russia's oil and gas production, but also its "export capacity potential" and "operating in Russia’s metals and mining sectors." In addition, the restrictions are aimed at "numerous entities producing and repairing Russian weapon systems, including the Kalibr cruise missile."

These restrictive measures were also introduced against Russian Pavel Shevelin, "an individual affiliated with the Wagner Group involved in the shipment of munitions from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation," the Department of State claims.

Finally, the sanctions affected the "Georgian-Russian" businessman Otar Partskhaladze, Blinken said. According to his version, this businessman "has leveraged to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia."

Reuters/Tass

It’s not often that you meet Supreme Court justices, serving or retired. I first met retired Justice Sunday Akinola Akintan casually at a reception in Abuja, for my friend and radical lawyer, Yinka Olumide-Fusika, who had been admitted to the inner bar. Then, we met again about one year later, this time, through his book.

Years after his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2008, Akintan wrote a book, entitled, “Reminiscences: My Journey Through Life,” which Olumide-Fusika asked me to review. What struck me was one of Akintan’s motivations for writing the book. It was an answer to T.O.S Benson’s advice not to be buried without writing a book, which would be a waste of a life’s worth of library. 

If his lordship decided to write just to remember the road he travelled and to share his odyssey, it would still have been a good book. But it was even better because in a profession where the burden of office elevates discretion almost to the oeuvre of a cult, his desire to shed light is a valuable gift. 

There are a couple of rare insights in the book. One of them, which has assumed significant monstrosity over the years, is how the judiciary could not see that getting more and more involved in deciding electoral outcomes would drag it in the mud. 

Or maybe the judiciary saw it but decided, with a helping hand from the inner bar, to take Oscar Wilde’s advice to overcome the problem by yielding to it. And now, it’s beyond entanglement; the Bench is enmeshed!

Over 10 hours of studiously reading a judgment which five judges of the Court of Appeal must have thought was their utmost to deliver justice still left behind a trail of disenchantment, suspicion and criticisms. Not a few, rather sadly and regrettably, still believe it was the judicial equivalent of a grudge match.

As it was…

The judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) last week in the case involving the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP); and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in which the panel dismissed the petitions against the February 25 election of President Bola Tinubu, has once again put the judiciary in the spotlight.

In the midst of the outrage that followed the judgment, especially among the supporters of Abubakar and Obi, I turned, once again, to Akintan’s book for help to find my way through the maelstrom. And he should know. He’s seen election petitions since 1979.

It's a measure of how we have learnt to forget that the account of the retired justice of the Supreme Court of what happened 20 years ago reads like excerpts from today’s newspapers. If we had paid any heed then, it’s unlikely that the country would be in a place today where the outcome of virtually every election depends not on who voters choose at the ballot, but on who the courts decide.

In Reminiscences, Akintan writes that one of the two most significant things that happened to him when he returned to the Port Harcourt division on a rare second tour of duty as Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, was dealing with matters arising from the 2003 general elections. 

There was something about the 2003 election that set his hair on edge and raked his conscience over the coals of the sacred pledge he had made to himself and his family at the beginning of his career not to stain his name. Post-election litigations up and down the country were fierce and bitter. 

But the one between ANPP’s presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari and candidate of the PDP, Olusegun Obasanjo, after the 2003 election was so bitter and so fierce that Buhari called for nationwide protests, because he said the judiciary had been compromised.

Clear, present danger

That was only a foreshadow of what was to come. As the years went by the judiciary came under increasing strain. The stakes, for politicians, got even higher. “They exposed the judges and the entire staff of the judiciary to contacts with the politicians,” Akintan writes, “with the attendant possibility of exposing them to corruption.” What was then a possibility is now a consuming danger.

Akintan was assigned 52 petitions in Port Harcourt alone. On top of that, the President of the Court of Appeal told him he had to go to Jos for eight pending governorship election petitions, which the president of the court obviously needed a trustworthy judge to handle.

To avoid contact with litigants and their lawyers, never mind the felicity of some determined folks even thinking of sending him Sallah ram directly or by proxy as we heard in a recent case in Kano, Akintan moved his base from Port Harcourt to his home town, Idanre, Ondo State.

In spite of the severe scarcity of petrol at the time, it was from Idanre that he commuted weekly to Jos through Abuja. Even in Jos, he still could not trust his driver would not be used to get him.

“Once we arrived in the court in Jos,” he recalls, “I used to collect the car ignition key from my driver to ensure there was no breach of the car being taken into town for any reason.”

According to Akintan, by the time he retired from the Supreme Court in 2008, the system had almost been overwhelmed with politicians working hand-in-gloves with lawyers to suborn elections. Trust and confidence had become casualties.

“The position grew so wild after the 2015 elections,” he writes, “that the number of election petitions far outstripped all other cases filed in all the courts in the country. Many of the senior lawyers who had cornered the very lucrative briefs from the election petitions amassed stupendous wealth.” 

Unfortunately, and in spite of the valiant efforts by a few conscientious judges still on the Bench, the cloud of suspicion has, regrettably, thickened. 

Abuja special status

Apart from Akintan’s personal decision to be different, there was something else in Reminiscences that caught my attention: the judgment in Joseph Ona & another V. Diga Romani Atenda (2000), in which he played a leading role. This judgment by the Court of Appeal, in my view, addressed one of the vexatious points in Obi’s petition that a candidate must have 25 percent of the votes cast in Abuja or else cannot be declared validly elected. 

Until I read the summary judgment in the book, I was under the impression that Abuja residents had two heads; that apart from having a special political status, the dichotomy between “settlers” and “indigenes” was also real.

But in the judgment in the case under reference – a case of trespass, harassment, humiliation and defamation in a land dispute – which was, in fact, referred from the High Court to the Court of Appeal for determination, the court made it clear residents of the Federal Capital Territory are by no means special.

In the words of Akintan, “It is (therefore) totally illegal for any of them to claim any special right over any other Nigerian occupier of the territory.”

Conclusion of the matter

If there is no dichotomy in the status of residents, and they have no exclusive proprietary right over and above citizens anywhere in the country, how can they claim a casting vote that holds the country to ransom at elections? It would be interesting to see how the Supreme Court answers this and other questions that would come before it in the Abubakar-Obi appeal. 

What I hear former Supreme Court Justice Akintan say, clearly in Reminiscences, is that the fewer court-imposed candidates we have – and one might add, the less crooked the political parties, the election management body and the media – the better for the electoral system and the judiciary.

** Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP 

A 6-year longitudinal neuroimaging study in Germany found that social isolation contributes to brain atrophy (progressive loss of brain tissue) and cognitive decline in humans. More socially isolated individuals tended to have smaller volumes in the hippocampus, reduced cortical thickness, and poorer cognitive functioning. Results indicate that dementia risk might be reduced by promoting better social connectedness, particularly among older adults. The study was published in eLife.

As the average duration of human life increases, there are more and more individuals experiencing cognitive and brain changes associated with old age. These changes are multifaceted and can vary from person to person. With age, brain volume tends to shrink, particularly in regions associated with memory and learning, such as the hippocampus. This can result in mild cognitive decline, with some forgetfulness and slower processing speed being common. As the person ages, working memory, the ability to hold and manipulate information, may also decline.

Older adults often compensate for these cognitive changes by relying on accumulated knowledge and experience. However, the impairments sometimes become very severe indicating conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Dementia is the collective name for a group of disorders characterized by a severe decline in cognitive function, affecting memory, thinking, and daily functioning.

Studies have indicated that social isolation, the objective lack of contact with other people, may be one of the factors accelerating the cognitive decline of older adults. Neuroimaging studies have found adverse changes in the microstructure of the brain and lower volumes of neural tissue in brain regions like the hippocampus in socially isolated adults. The data point to a clear adverse effect of social isolation on brain health. But previous studies often used small samples and did not observe changed over time.

Study author Laurenz Lammer and his colleagues wanted to examine how the volume of the neural tissue in the hippocampus region of the brain changes with age and whether it is associated with social isolation and its change over time. They also wanted to examine whether atrophy of specific regions of the brain, i.e., a progressive loss of brain tissue, the reduction in their volume and size, and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms are associated with social isolation. They hypothesized that more socially isolated individuals will have smaller volume of the hippocampus, thinner brain cortex and poorer cognitive functioning.

“Research on drugs targeting dementia development have not yet yielded any results with a clear clinical benefit, offering at most a minor alleviation of symptoms,” said Lammer, a MD student at University Hospital Leipzig and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. “Therefore, preventative measures aimed at stopping or delaying the onset of the disease are of utmost importance, and identifying risk factors for developing the disease may be our most promising target.”

The researchers analyzed data fromLIFE-Adult-Study run by the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases. This study includes over 10,000 adult participants, mainly between 40 and 79 years of age, from Leipzig, a large city in Germany. Data used in this study were collected between 2011 and 2014 and six years later – 2017-2020.

The researchers used data of 1,335 cognitively healthy participants over 50 years of age who completed magnetic resonance imaging scans at the start of the study. Of these, 912 completed magnetic resonance imaging scans and assessments 6 years later. The average age of participants at the start of the study was 67 years. It was 73 at the follow-up. For specific analyses, researchers included additional participants up to a total of 1,992 for the start of the study and 1,409 for the follow-up. 60% of participants had hypertension.

Participants also completed assessments of social isolation (the Lubben Social Network Scale), chronic stress (the Trierer Inventar zum chroniches Stress, TICS) and cognitive functions (assessments of executive functions, working memory, and processing speed). Cognitive testing was performed in the early part of the day, between 9:00 and 13:00.

The results showed that participants not living alone, married, employed, younger, with no migration background tended to feel less socially isolated. Participants who were more socially isolated at the start of the study and whose social isolation increased after 6 years (in the follow-up) had a smaller volume of the hippocampus region of the brain. These individuals also had poorer performance on the cognitive assessment, particularly on the assessment of the executive function.

“Simply put, assuming that everything else remains stable, the difference between having three or four close and supportive friends is comparable to a one-year difference in hippocampal ageing,” Lammer said in a news release.

Poorer memory was also associated with higher social isolation, but this link disappeared when researchers controlled for potential confounding factors. Processing speed was not associated with social isolation.

The researchers further identified eight clusters of neural cells in the brain associated with social isolation. More socially isolated participants tended to have thinner clusters of brain cells in the left precuneus, cuneus, precentral gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus and cuneus regions of the brain cortex. Increase in social isolation over time was linked with decreased cortical thickness in one cluster in the right superior frontal gyrus region of the brain.

“We showed a significant link between stronger baseline social isolation and increases in social isolation over the course of ~6 years and smaller hippocampal volumes. Both predictors had an effect size per point on the LSNS [measure of social isolation] comparable to a 2.5 months difference in baseline age in this age range. Simply put, assuming that if everything else remained stable, the difference between having 1 or 3–4 close and supportive friends is comparable to a 1-year difference in hippocampal ageing,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between social isolation and brain changes in older adults. However, study authors note that attrition during the 6-year period i.e., the fact that some participants dropped out of the study during the six-year period, might have affected the results. Additionally, all participants were from Germany. Studies on individuals from other cultures might not yield equal results.

“Our study adds support to the view that social isolation is associated with accelerated brain ageing and cognitive decline in mid- to late-life adults,” said senior author Veronica Witte. “Our findings further imply that social contact prevents detrimental processes and thereby preserves brain structure and function. Henceforth, targeting social isolation through tailored strategies might contribute to maintaining brain health into old age and preventing the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s dementia.”

PsyPost

When I worked in manufacturing, I regularly visited other facilities to assess productivity, waste, costs, retention – basically everything the plant measured. (And to recommend a few areas they should measure.) 

I was fairly good at spotting problems and creating plans to address those problems, but I didn't follow a formal structure. A little pattern matching, a dollop of experience – those were my guides.

What I needed was the approach described by Jocko Willink, a former Navy SEAL, bestselling author, and leadership instructor in his new class on MasterClass. 

"There are four laws of combat leadership," Jocko says. "Cover and move, simplify, prioritize, and decentralized command. Almost every company has a problem in one or more of those areas."

Take decentralized command. In most startups, the founder naturally makes all the important decisions. As a company grows, that command and control leadership structure makes less and less sense.

"If you're doing everything yourself," Jocko says, "if you are the 'easy' button, you're doing a terrible job as a leader. When most decisions flow through you, your primary focus remains down and in when it needs to be up and out. Making longer-term plans. Developing employees. Building relationships with key vendors, suppliers, and customers."

That's just one example. A company without priorities is a company that may have empowered its employees, and is quick to move – but doesn't necessarily do things that best move the needle.

The four laws of command leadership are a simple framework for assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, leadership, and overall focus of any business. Thinking back, few facilities I assessed scored highly on decentralized command. Most also lacked focus; again, just because you can act quickly doesn't mean you are acting on or reacting to what is truly important.

Because you, as a leader, haven't made your "why" as clear and simple as possible.

"Clearly if an employee understands why," Jocko says, "they tend to make a connection. But that's not enough. Even more important is that the leader understands the employee's why. It may be love for the industry. It may be a step on a career path. It may be as simple as wanting to pay the bills. When a leader understands each person's why, then they can create opportunities that are important to that person."

"In the SEALs, we say if you take care of your gear, your gear will take care of you," Jocko says. 

"The same thing applies to people. If I take care of you, you will take care of me. That's why it's so important to understand why people are working for you, what goals they're trying to achieve, and help them move in that direction." 

And then there's you. To start a company you need to possess irrational optimism. You must embrace self-belief and push aside all the self-doubt: the feeling you aren't smart enough, dedicated enough, adaptable enough, or simply that, in spite of your best intentions and best efforts, you won't succeed.

"As an entrepreneur," Jocko says, "you have to take risks. You have to have an egocentric attitude to move forward. You need to believe in yourself. 

But at some point, you have to shift to a decentralized leadership structure. That means you have to put your ego aside. Your attitude has to shift from "I think I'm right" to "I think I'm wrong, and I need to listen." 

Try it. Take a step back and assess your business using the four laws of combat leadership. 

Does every person both understand and embrace the same priorities? Can you move quickly? (If you can't, the problem likely isn't your employees; the problem is you haven't given them the authority to make decisions.) Are your goals simple and easy to understand?

Most important, have you set your ego aside?

Because, as your business grows, you'll need to. Otherwise, you won't tap into the collective wisdom, talent, and experience of the people around you.

Check out Jocko's class on MasterClass. It's great.

And it will definitely – especially if you're willing to do a little soul-searching – make you a better leader.

Inc

Investors on the stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) have lost N757 billion in two days over the demotion of the exchange from frontier to unclassified market status by FTSE Russell.

The downgrade by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), was against the backdrop of Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) challenges, which was a new source of negative sentiment capable of triggering stock sell off on the market.

The stock market, which had closed last week at N37.295 trillion, dropped by 2.07 per cent or N757 billion to close yesterday at N36.538 trillion.

The NGX All Share Index (NGX ASI) also depreciated by 2.03 per cent or 1,383.14 basis points to 66,760.20 basis points yesterday, from the 68,143.34 basis points it closed for trading last week.

The NGX banking Index, with highest foreign investors participation between last week and yesterday, had declined significantly, amid downward performance in some banking stocks.

Specifically, the NGX banking index dropped by 8.54 per cent in two days to 653.15 basis points, from 714.16 basis points it opened for trading this week.

Despite being dominated by local investors, the downgrade affected stock market performance on the first two trading this week, as most indices recorded notable sell pressures while year-to-date (YTD) returns tumbled to 30.3 per cent yesterday.

Activities in the local bourse have been dominated by local investors, who accounted for 94 per cent of market participants, while foreign investors accounted for six per cent as of July 2023, as analysts noted that the report might not be a major concern for the local market, saying greater concerns are the local dynamics.

Speaking on the report, Vice President, Highcap Securities Limited, David Adnori, attributed the decline in stock market performance to possible downgrade by FTSE Russell, stressing that foreign investors since the report was released have shown negative sentiments.

According to him, “I think the FTSE Russell report may be relevant to foreign investors who have been suffering from the inability to repatriate their dividend for several years.”

FTSE Russell is a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group that produces, maintains, licenses, and markets stock market indices. The division is notable for the FTSE 100 Index and Russell 2000 Index, among others.

Nigeria’s downgrade, which had reportedly been ratified by the FTSE Russell Index Governance Board, takes effect from September 18, 2023.

Effectively, the Nigerian index constituents would be deleted at zero value (0.0001 NGN) from five FTSE Russell equity indices, including the FTSE Frontier Index Series, the FTSE Frontier 50 Index, FTSE Ideal Ratings Islamic Index Series, and FTSE/JSE All Africa Index Series.

Others are FTSE Middle East & Africa Extended Index Series and FTSE/MV Exchange Index.

In a report obtained by THISDAY, yesterday, the group stated that the reclassification was further to the June 30, 2023 FTSE Equity Country Classification – Watch List Status for Nigeria, which had analysed feedback from market participants on repatriations.

The ratings agency affirmed that although Nigeria had adopted a floating FX regime for the naira in the Investors & Exporters’ (I&E) FX Window, which is now operating on a “Willing Buyer, Willing Seller” basis, the lack of liquidity in this window continued to adversely affect the ability of international institutional investors to replicate benchmark changes.

The group stated that the country’s downgrade became inevitable as “index changes for Nigeria within FTSE Russell equity indices have been suspended since September 2022 and with no improvement in the ability of international institutional investors to repatriate capital at a foreign exchange rate that would be used in FTSE Russell equity indices.”

It, however, explained, “Nigeria will be retained in the FTSE ASEA Pan Africa Index Series, with the implementation of certain corporate events suspended until further notice.”

Thisday