President Olusegun Obasanjo, who twice led Nigeria — first as military head of state (1976-1979) and later as an elected civilian president (1999-2007) — can claim to have seen it all. Born on March 5, 1937, the 86-year-old retired general has been a constant in Nigeria’s history in and out of office, offering comments — even if controversially — on political and economic issues. In this interview with TheCable, he gives his opinions on a wide range of issues.

TheCable: Increasingly, we are witnessing an era of military coups in Africa again. What do you think is going on? 

Obasanjo: In 2021, when Col Mamady Doumbouya overthrew President Alpha Condé of Guinea, I recall that I travelled to Conakry. I spent two nights there. The coup leader didn’t want to meet with me because he didn’t know what I would say. They said he was out of town, which was not true. But I met every other important government official. I met his No 2 and his speaker. I listened to them and concluded that we had a new phenomenon on our hands. I realised that they had the support of the youths and were not thinking of staying in power for four, five years years. They are in for a generation.

When I noticed this, I went to Addis Ababa to meet the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. I told him that maybe he had not seen what I was seeing. That I saw this in Guinea Conakry. He said I was talking about Guinea Conakry, what about his own country, Chad? He said Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea Conakry, and Chad were thinking the same way and they were connected. I said that was a new phenomenon in Africa. I said I was the one who in 1999 advocated that if you are not a government backed by the constitution, you should be suspended from the African Union, and these chaps don’t even mind any suspension. I told him that all the instruments we had used in the past would not work and asked what he would do about it. He told me about his challenges, especially with his country. So we have a situation where we have a continent where we have to rethink democracy. The liberal democracy we are copying from settled societies in the West won’t work for us.

TheCable: What type of democracy would work for us? 

Obasanjo: I don’t know. But we have seen that the liberal type of democracy as practised in the West will not work for us. We have to put our heads together.

TheCable: Some would say it is working in Nigeria, that it has survived 24 years…

Obasanjo: I won’t answer you (laughs).

TheCable: But what can work?

Obasanjo: You have to put your heads together to fashion it out. You can give it any name. But we have seen that this is not working. Out of the six countries that have experienced coups, three of them are directly from elections. Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, and Gabon that we have just had are directly from elections. The other three are indirect, if you like.

TheCable: Would you say ECOWAS could have handled the Niger coup differently? 

Obasanjo: What I said about the Niger is now what we did with Gabon, not a threat of force. Tinubu said “we are watching”. In Niger, ECOWAS has beaten the drum, and they have seen that it didn’t work. The point is this: where in Africa have the people benefited from the dividends of democracy? Tell me.

TheCable: Maybe Botswana…

Obasanjo: You don’t know the inside of Botswana. Ian Khama, the former president, cannot go to Botswana today. His father was the first president. I worked with him. As they were settling down, I thought they were making progress because the president after his father was the one who became minister of finance. When I was military head of state, he used to come and visit us, and we would render assistance to them, and he later became vice president and president. The next one was the same way. Ian Khama, who became the head of the army, moved the same way. The one that succeeded him now is chasing him from pillar to post. That is not liberal democracy.

TheCable: What of Ghana?

Obasanjo: (laughs)

TheCable: Even if not in terms of dividends of democracy but liberal democracy…

Obasanjo: Maybe Namibia is the closest to it.

TheCable: Coming back home now. There is a raging issue regarding Mambilla hydropower over the award of a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power by your government in 2003. It is now a subject of arbitration. Sunrise is asking for $2.3 billion in compensation, alleging breach of contract. But the federal government is arguing that the contract was invalid…

Obasanjo: Did you say my government awarded the contract to Sunrise?

TheCable: Olu Agunloye, your minister of power in 2003, wrote to Sunrise announcing the award of the contract…

Obasanjo: Who gave him the authorisation? When I was president, no minister had the power to approve more than N25 million without express presidential consent. It was impossible for Agunloye to commit my government to a $6 billion project without my permission and I did not give him any permission. If a commission of inquiry is set up today to investigate the matter, I am ready to testify. I do not even need to testify because all the records are there. I never approved it. When he presented his memo to the federal executive council (on May 21, 2003), I was surprised because he had previously discussed it with me and I had told him to jettison the idea, that I had other ideas on how the power sector would be restructured and funded. I told him as much at the council meeting and directed him to step down the memo.

I find it surprising that Agunloye is now claiming he acted on behalf of Nigeria. If I knew he issued such a letter to Sunrise, I would have sacked him as minister during my second term. He would not have spent a day longer in office. When I was in office, Leno Adesanya, the promoter of Sunrise Power, ran away from Nigeria. I would have jailed him if he was in the country because of the things I knew about him. After I left office, he returned and I saw him. I told him that he was lucky I was no longer president. Otherwise, I would have jailed him.

TheCable: You took a different route over the power sector, coming up with the power sector reform and building power plants such as Geregu, Papalanto, and Omotosho. But the problems of the power sector remain. What else can we do?

Obasanjo: You can only get the power sector right when you get all the fundamentals in the power sector right. In 2006, we ordered 42 turbines that should have been completed if not by 2007 then in 2008. My target was 10,000 megawatts of power by 2007. Up till today, I understand that five of the turbines have yet to be installed. I have been out of the office for 16 years. If after 18 years when those turbines had been ordered, five have still not been installed, what are you talking about?

TheCable: One major issue was that the turbines could not be transported to location because of issues with bridge and water depth in some places. The feeling was that you did not do a proper assessment before ordering the turbines.

Obasanjo: We did what we should do before I left office. I targeted 10,000 megawatts but today, we are still struggling with 4,000. Then you had President Goodluck Jonathan doing privatisation. If that privatisation was done the way we did privatisation, it would have been okay for the country. When you see these things and still ask me the questions you ask, I feel like punching you (laughs).

TheCable: Let’s discuss the refineries. They are still not working…

Obasanjo: They will not work as long as the government is keeping hold of them. When I was president, I invited Shell to a meeting. I told them I wanted to hand over the refineries for them to help us run. They bluntly told me they would not. I was shocked. I repeated the request and they stood their ground. When the meeting was over, I asked their big man (MD) to wait behind for a little chat. Then I asked him why they were so hesitant on not taking over the refineries. He said did I want to hear the truth? I said yes. He listed four reasons. One, he said Shell makes its money from upstream and that is where its interest lies. Two, he said they only do downstream or retail as a matter of service. Three, he said our refineries would be bad business for them, that globally, companies are going for bigger refineries because of the economics of refineries. Four, he said there is too much corruption in refineries.

I thanked him for his honesty. I knew we had a big problem in our hands. I had virtually given up hope on the refineries when God did a miracle. Alike Dangote and Femi Otedola approached me and said they would be interested in buying two of the four refineries. They said they would buy 51 percent stake in Port Harcourt and Kaduna. I was over the moon. I said, finally, this burden would be taken off the neck of the government. They offered $761 million and paid in two instalments. Unfortunately, Umaru (President Yar’Adua) cancelled the sale and returned the refineries to NNPC. Today, we are still where we were. Someone told me Tinubu said refineries would work by December. I told the person the refineries would not work. This is based on the information I received from Shell when I was president.

TheCable: When you were military head of state, you believed in state ownership. You were a changed man when you returned as president in 1999. What happened? 

When I was military head of state, we ordered 19 new ships to be built for the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), which was owned by the federal government. We had about five at the time, and with 19, we were to have 24 ships. We took delivery of some before we left office. President Shehu Shagari took delivery of the remaining balance. When I returned after 20 years, the shipping line had been liquidated. Not one ship left. Let me tell you the story of one of the ships. They sold it for half a million dollars. Then, they started the Oron merchant navy school and needed a ship for training. They bought the ship they had sold for half a million dollars for $2 million and spent another $1.5 million to refit it so it could be seaworthy.

The ship went on the first voyage a week after I became president in 1999. One of the first things they brought to me was that the ship had been arrested for not being seaworthy and that I should bring $1 million to pay as fine for the ship that had been detained. I requested that they allow me time to look at the issues, and when I studied the issues, I told them to inform those who arrested the ship that I had gifted them the ship. The following day, the ship was released without Nigeria paying a dime. You can guess what happened there.

We left 32 aircraft for Nigerian Airways in 1979, but we had only one serviceable aircraft 20 years after I left office. When you look at that and what happened to Nigerian Airways, some directors formed an offshore company, and it was the company that they gave the maintenance and repairs to. The same company would then engage the people that would actually carry out the maintenance and repairs. The payment would be to the offshore company who, in turn, did not pay the contractors. When I returned in 1999, I took a stance that I didn’t owe Nigerians an airline. What I owed Nigerians was secure and safe traveling. So, when they talked about this Nigeria Air project, you would know it is nonsense. When I say certain things, people say Obasanjo has started again. It is because I know what I am talking about.

TheCable: Our economy is currently in a bad shape with a heavy debt burden. With your experience, how do you think we can come out of this? 

Obasanjo: Tinubu said the other day that it was unacceptable that he would spend 90% of his revenue to service debts. I wasn’t spending 90% when I went worldwide to get debt relief. Do you think that anybody would give you debt relief today? Buhari was spending money recklessly. I know Buhari didn’t understand economics. I put that in my book. But that he could also be so reckless, I didn’t know. Who would you go to today and ask for a favor? Tinubu says he has trimmed the number of people attending the United Nations General Assembly. Is that news? He will meet with Justin Trudeau, and he will meet with  Emmanuel Macron. That will not solve any problem.

TheCable: You’ve pointed to a number of your policies reversed or abandoned by President Yar’Adua. Since he was never an insider in your government, why did you support him to be your successor?

Obasanjo: See, I set up a committee headed by Olusegun Agagu, of blessed memory, to search for a successor. They considered many names and did an extensive assessment of all them. They made their recommendation. Umaru was top on the list. Their biggest argument in his favour was that he had integrity and would not steal. The issues concerning his health were raised and I gave his medical reports to an expert for an opinion. Umaru’s name was redacted so that the expert would not know who it was and why I was seeking his opinion. After assessing the reports, he said the patient appeared to have done a kidney transplant and if that was the case, there was nothing to worry about and he would be as healthy as any other person. That was it. All insinuations that I knew he was going to die and that was why I supported him to be president were false. This is the true story I have told you.

The Cable

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, will today begin a two-day warning strike after shunning a meeting with the Federal Government over increasing hardship and suffering across the country caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

This came as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, yesterday warned that the strike will worsen the plights of ordinary Nigerians and urged NLC to shelve the action.

The NLC had on Friday, given notice of a two-day warning strike to protest the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment experienced around the country, threatening a total and indefinite shutdown of the economy within 14 working days or 21 days after the warning strike, if government did not take steps to address the hardship experienced across the country.

While briefing on Friday after its NEC’s meeting, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said: “NEC in session of NLC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from today until steps are taken by the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and the impoverishment experienced around the country.”

Why NLC shunned meeting with FG

Though sources in the NLC leadership told our correspondent that the strike would go ahead, despite yesterday’s scheduled meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Lalong, it was gathered that a media briefing by the minister allegedly castigating labour leaders, ahead of the meeting, forced NLC leaders to shun the meeting that would have been held at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat.

The minister was said to have threatened the NLC leaders at his briefing, foreclosing any chance that NLC would honour the meeting.

One of the visibly angry NLC leaders said that the minister’s alleged outburst a few hours before the scheduled meeting put the final nail to NLC’s resolve to proceed with the strike as resolved by members of its National Executive Council, NEC, last Friday.

His words: “We were scheduled to meet the Minister of Labour and Employment later today (yesterday), precisely by 3 pm but a few hours to the meeting, the minister called a media briefing where he castigated us and threatened us among other uncomplimentary words.

“Not that the meeting would have stopped the strike, but we intended to attend the meeting in the spirit of social dialogue. But as you are aware, the Minister of Labour, before the scheduled meeting, held a media briefing castigating and threatening us.

‘’You do not expect us to attend a meeting when we had been warned of a possible arrest.

In fact, we thank the minister for putting us on notice of their plan. So, the right thing to do is to keep away from such meetings and avoid any possible arrest.

“What the minister had done was nothing short of industrial dictatorship and naked blackmail. The Federal Government had already taken decision on the proposed meeting, the minister was kind enough to hold a briefing ahead of the meeting to disclose part of the government’s decision.

‘’Well, like I said earlier, the strike goes ahead as planned. After Wednesday, we will determine what next steps to follow. The NEC’s communiqué was loud enough. We cannot continue as if we are living in a different country from our political leaders and their cronies.

‘’You cannot continue to beat us and say we should not cry. Everywhere you go in every part of the country; people are complaining of hardship and suffering without concrete efforts by government to lessen our pains. Instead, the government is unleashing more policies to send us to untimely death.”

Minister waits for NLC delegation

Expectedly, the Federal Government said it waited for the NLC to attend a negotiation meeting at the Ministry of Labour and Employment headquarters, but the Congress refused to attend.

Labour and Employment Minister, Lalong disclosed this at the meeting attended by the delegation of the Trade Union Congress, TUC of Nigeria.

The minister also said that the ministry was yet to receive any formal communication from the NLC on the proposed two-day warning strike.

He said the strike notice came when he was receiving briefing from the various departments in the ministry, adding that he had to suspend the briefings to convene the meeting with the NLC because of the urgency of the issue at hand.

His words: “In the last two or three days, while we were receiving our briefing from the ministry to set the ball rolling, we were confronted few days ago with the strike notice.

“Because of the urgency of that strike notice, we quickly summoned a meeting today (yesterday) and we conveyed a notice of this meeting to the NLC and I must apologize too that your own meeting came this morning and all of you attended because in the course of some of the issues that were raised we needed to sort them out and we believe that it was within our capacity to see if we can sort out some of these problems, even today.

“Because we raised our own point in our press conference earlier today that we just came on board, receiving our briefing to set the ball rolling but suddenly we are confronted with strike notice so we suspended the briefing to carry on with this headlong because some of the issues are issues that we are already getting briefing from our department.

“So we thought that by commencing this briefing we will have a headway in solving some of the problems. So just yesterday we also got information that the TUC also met but when we got the information, we said if that’s the case we will combine the TUC and the NLC so that we see all the issues and if possible treat those issues holistically.

“So that’s the purpose for this emergency meeting which we convened and I fixed the time for 3 pm so we kept on waiting for the NLC from three o’clock till this time we have not received any information about their attending the meeting but I am happy that the TUC is here.

“So, the purpose of this meeting like I said is to quickly address those issues that were raised and see the possibility of averting this strike action that is scheduled to be embarked upon by tomorrow.

“Although, I am sure up to today, we have not received any communication of any strike from the NLC.”

Vanguard

Italy's Eni has agreed to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary to local company Oando, the two companies said on Monday, the latest international energy giant to divest onshore assets in the West African country.

With the deal on its Nigerian unit Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC), Eni takes another step in its long-term strategy to reduce oil exposure in favour of natural gas following its disposal in June of oil activities in Congo Republic.

The Italian group will keep its offshore activities in Nigeria.

The acquisition of NAOC Ltd will nearly double Oando's reserves to 996 million barrels of oil equivalent, the Nigerian company said.

Oando added that the purchase would enable it to "significantly increase production" and "brings to bear the important role indigenous actors will play in the future of the Nigerian upstream sector".

Neither company commented on the price. Investment bank Jefferies pegged the deal at more than $500 million.

It is the latest move out of Nigeria's onshore sector by an international oil major. Nearly all of them, notably Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp, have sales underway amid rampant oil theft and spills, perpetual clashes with communities and more focused exploration budgets.

Most oil majors have kept stakes in offshore assets in Nigeria, typically Africa's largest oil exporter, which has struggled to pump in the past several years due to theft and years of under-investment. Some energy majors are loathe to pour cash into developing assets they want to sell.

The country, which relies on oil for the bulk of its much-needed foreign exchange, urgently needs investment in the sector, but other planned deals have hit legal and regulatory hurdles.

Exxon's proposed sale to local firm Seplat is in regulatory limbo, and is opposed by state oil company NNPC Ltd, while court cases have complicated Shell's asset sales.

NAOC Ltd, which focuses on oil and gas exploration and production, has interests in four onshore blocks, two onshore exploration leases and two power plants, Eni said.

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The deal is subject to local and regulatory authorisation. After the sale, Eni will retain the unit's 5% stake in the Shell Production Development Company (SPDC) joint venture operated by Shell, it said.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's counteroffensive has 'failed' – Putin

Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive has not “stalled” but failed, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Monday. With Ukrainian losses mounting and Kiev ramping up its conscription efforts, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu affirmed his commander-in-chief's assessment.

The Ukrainian operation “is not stalled; it is a failure,”Putin declared, following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the resort city of Sochi.

“At least, this is how it looks today,” he continued. “Let’s see what happens next. I hope this will continue to be the case.”

In early June, Kiev launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, using Western-provided tanks and armored vehicles to attack multiple points along the Kherson-Donetsk frontline. According to Russian figures, advancing through minefields and without air support, Ukraine lost at least 43,000 men in the first two months of the operation alone. It failed to penetrate even the first line of Russia’s multi-layered defensive network.

The Ukrainian military has since switched tactics, relying on lighter and more mobile infantry units to seize individual buildings and positions. However, losses remain high, and with Russian forces effectively counteringthese advances with drone-corrected artillery fire, Kiev is urgently seeking to draft more troops. 

Ukraine has loosened its medical requirements for military service and is reportedly considering extraditing draft dodgers who managed to flee the country since last February.

In separate remarks to the media on Monday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu confirmed Putin’s assessment of the counteroffensive. “Today everything is exactly as our president said,” Shoigu declared. The minister noted that the Ukrainian military has "for the last ten days at least"been carrying out "violent attacks with large forces,” but has not managed to break Russia’s defenses.

Much of the fighting over the last two weeks has centered around the village of Rabotino, located in the Zaporozhye sector of the front and near the city of Artyomovsk/Bakhmut in the Donetsk Region. Although Kiev and its Western backers claim to be making incremental progress at Rabotino, The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that it repelled a Ukrainian attack on the village the previous night, killing up to 115 Ukrainian troops and destroying multiple armored vehicles and US-made artillery guns.

** Up to 50 flights delayed at Moscow airports after reported drone attacks

Up to 50 flights were delayed and six more cancelled at Moscow airports, according to online schedules of the Russian capital’s airports.

As of approximately 6:00 a.m. Moscow time six flights were delayed and two cancelled at the Domodedovo Airport, 17 flights were delayed and another one cancelled at the Vnukovo Airport, 23 flights were also delayed at the Sheremetyevo Airport, while the Zhukovsky Airport cancelled three flights.

The Russian Defense Ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced earlier about an attempted attack of Ukrainian drones on the Russian capital. The drones were destroyed en route to Moscow in the air space over the Kaluga, Moscow and Tver Regions.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Give Russia security guarantees for lasting peace in Ukraine, Hungary says

The West should give Russia security guarantees and ban Ukraine from joining NATO, a senior Hungarian minister said on Sunday in comments likely to further strain Budapest’s already rocky relations with Kyiv.

To ensure lasting peace, “the Western world that supports Ukraine must give security guarantees to Russia, but definitely not NATO membership to the Ukrainians,” said Gergely Gulyás, minister in charge of the prime minister’s office, at a university event.

The remarks echoed comments by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last week that the West “should make a deal with the Russians on the new security architecture to provide security and sovereignty for Ukraine but not membership in NATO.” Orban also said Ukraine has no chance of winning the war against Russia. In June, Orbán said that Kyiv was “no longer a sovereign state” and financially “non-existent,” sparking fury from Ukraine.

“Ukraine does not trade its territories or sovereignty,” Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson at Kyiv’s foreign ministry, said in response to Orbán’s most recent comments.

The repeated calls for giving Moscow security guarantees are likely to further fuel tensions between Hungary and Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers last week were unable to green-light an eighth tranche of military aid for Ukraine worth €500 million after Hungary blocked the disbursement of funds on the grounds that Kyiv had designated Budapest’s OTP bank an international sponsor of war.

Still, in a sign that Hungary wants to avoid a total collapse in relations, Hungarian President Katalin Novák visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month in a bid to improve bilateral ties.

Since 2018, Hungary has blocked Ukraine attending NATO ministerial-level meetings over claims Kyiv is discriminating against Hungarian ethnic minorities by limiting their rights to education in their native tongue.

Meanwhile, Hungarian lawmakers continue to delay the ratification of Sweden’s entry to NATO. While admitting the military alliance would become stronger if Sweden joined, Gulyás said Sunday that Budapest first wanted clarification from Stockholm on previous comments where it “accused our country with unworthy and baseless accusations.”

** Ukraine says it retakes more ground as Zelenskiy visits front lines

Ukraine said on Monday its troops had regained more territory on the eastern front and were advancing south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited two front-line areas.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's forces had retaken about 3 square km (1.16 square miles) of land in the past week around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of heavy fighting.

She also reported unspecified "success" in the direction of the villages Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, but gave no details.

Ukraine has now taken back about 47 square km of territory around Bakhmut since starting its counteroffensive in early June, Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters was not able to verify the reports and Russia has not confirmed the Ukrainian advances. Both sides have counted gains of tiny villages or pockets land as recent successes.

Videos posted on the Ukrainian presidential website on Monday showed Zelenskiy visiting troops in the eastern Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, and in Zaporizhzhia region, where Kyiv's forces are trying to push southward to the Sea of Azov.

Zelenskiy was shown presenting medals to soldiers at a number of sites and offering thanks to medics at a field hospital on the southern front.

In his nightly address, delivered from a train, the president said the soldiers' feedback on the course of the conflict would be taken seriously.

"Everything that our fighters talked about will be put to participants in meetings of the command, especially regarding electronic warfare. Guys, we heard you clearly", he said.

Kyiv officials have bristled at criticism in Western media reports that the counteroffensive has been too slow and hindered by poor tactics -- particularly positioning troops in too many locations.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last week that critics should "shut up".

Kyiv has retaken a number of villages and settlements in its three-month-old offensive but its soldiers have been hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.

Maliar said last week that Ukrainian troops had broken through the first line of Russian defences, and Ukraine's military expects now to advance more rapidly.

Moscow has continued to carry out air strikes on Ukrainian targets including port infrastructure, and has reported drone attacks on Russian territory.

A Russian Defence Ministry account on Telegram on Monday quoted an officer with the code name Hedgehog as saying: "The enemy is attacking in a strong and serious fashion, but we are standing firm. We will not let them through."

RT/Tass/Politico/Reuters

A developer has built an AI "disinformation machine" using OpenAI-powered technology like ChatGPT.

The project, named CounterCloud, took its creator two months to complete and cost less than $400 a month to operate, highlighting how cheap and simple it can be to create mass propaganda.

The creator, who chose to remain anonymous, used the name Nea Paw and claimed to be a cybersecurity professional, Wired reported.

In a video posted on YouTube, Paw described how the project was carried out and why they were doing it.

They said they wanted to see AI disinformation "work in the real world," adding that "strong language competencies of large language models are perfectly suited to reading and writing fake news articles."

Paw said they started by inputting "opposing" articles into ChatGPT and writing prompts instructing it to write a counter article.

The AI bot would then offer different examples of the same article, written in different styles and with different viewpoints.

They said it would do this by "creating fake stories, fake historical events, and creating doubt in the accuracy of the original article."

A gatekeeper module was then added so that the AI would only respond to the most relevant content, while audio clips of newsreaders reading the fake AI-generated articles and photos were added to create authenticity.

They also created fake journalist profiles and fake comments below some articles.

The system was then told to like and repost messages that aligned with its narrative or write "counter" tweets to those that didn't.

In two months they had a fully autonomous AI-powered system that generated "convincing content 90% of the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The creators haven't yet set the model live on the internet, as "it would mean actively pushing out disinformation and propaganda. Once the genie is out on the internet, there is no knowing where it would end up," Paw said.

But they added that they thought more good would come from publishing CounterCloud and educating the public about how these systems work from the inside.

The threat AI poses to democracy through its ability to accelerate the creation and spread of online disinformation has been one of the biggest concerns in the AI debate.

CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, recently voiced his concern about the issue, saying that "personalized 1:1 persuasion, combined with high-quality generated media, is going to be a powerful force."

Business Insider

Over the years, I have personally witnessed counter-productive thinking patterns that hold people back (many of them my own coaching clients). Some examples include lacking emotional intelligence or leading through coercion.

But there's one specific mindset that demands attention. I've seen it stifle collaboration and slow down their own and other people's productivity on the job. It's often what answers the question, "Why aren't things working the way I planned?"

There's only one word for it: Perfectionism.

Perfectionism is a thinking pattern that can be harmful to a team, even if it often goes unnoticed. It usually partners with denial, and together they cause self-defeating thoughts and unhealthy behaviors. 

To prevent its negative effects, one must be willing to recognize and take responsibility for their actions. Otherwise, it will continue to cause damage. Let's look at how a perfectionist mindset typically derails one's and other people's productivity, self-esteem, and morale. 

1. Goals are often unrealistic

Sometimes, people who strive for perfection set their goals or standards at an extremely high level that they cannot realistically achieve. As a result, when they fall short of meeting these unreachable standards, they may give up on an important task. 

Additionally, if a colleague performs better than them, they may feel like they have failed and struggle to recover from it. They may also hide their mistakes from others due to feeling ashamed of their perceived failure.

2. There's a fear of taking risks 

Someone who strives for perfection may be hesitant to take risks while completing a task or finding a solution. They may fear that they will not be able to achieve perfection if they take a risk. 

As a result, they may opt for safer tasks that they are confident they can complete, even if it is not the best approach for the team. Studies have found perfectionists to be risk-averse, which can inhibit innovation and creativity.

3. Too much reliance on the opinion of others

Some individuals who strive for perfection may struggle with the process of acquiring new knowledge, experimenting with new ideas, working alongside others or considering alternative perspectives. 

This may stem from an excessive reliance on the opinions of others, and a fear that revealing their flaws could lead to rejection from their peers. Consequently, they may become fixated on achieving a particular outcome, rather than enjoying the journey.

4. Failure to delegate

Perfectionists often struggle with delegating tasks to others because they worry that the task won't be performed as well as they would do it themselves. This can lead to difficulties in trusting others who may be just as competent as the perfectionist.

5. Procrastination

People who strive for perfection often become preoccupied with the fear of making mistakes, causing them to become stuck in a state of indecision and ultimately fail to take any action. 

This issue is compounded when perfectionism is driven by a need for social validation, as it can lead to procrastination. Research shows that this type of perfectionism is strongly associated with delaying tasks.

6. Black-and-white thinking

Individuals who exhibit perfectionist tendencies often approach things with an extreme mindset. They may only take on new projects or tasks if they feel confident in their ability to succeed, and may avoid anything that carries a risk of failure. 

For them, life is a binary game with no middle ground. Once a perfectionist decides to pursue a goal, their intense drive can sometimes lead them to disregard the feelings or needs of others in their determination to achieve success.

If I've described you or someone you know, here are some positive changes to put into play in a work setting:

• Set realistic goals – short and long-term – and break them down into smaller goals: weekly, daily or even hourly goals.
• Ask yourself, "Did I set the bar too high? Your emotions may be telling you that you're trying to hit an unrealistic target, which may lead to self-sabotage.
• Don't fear failure. Look at your mistakes as a part of the learning journey – your professional development evolution.
• Identify self-imposed, rigid rules you live by, and reword them so they're more flexible and forgiving.
• Be careful of using black-and-white thinking or verbalizing these thoughts; it will often lead to unrealistic expectations. Ask yourself, "Am I thinking in terms of extremes?"

Inc

The much-anticipated verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPT) is expected to be delivered on Wednesday, September 6th.

The Court of Appeal Registrar, Umar Bangari, confirmed this to Channels Television on Monday, saying the proceedings will be open to live broadcast by interested television stations.

The Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), as well as their presidential candidates, had petitioned the tribunal seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

The results of the polls announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are being contested in no fewer than 25 states out of the 28 states where elections were conducted.

CTV

Oil marketers, on Sunday, confirmed that they have received the nod of domestic and international financiers to develop about 30,000 gas stations nationwide.

It was also gathered that many of the stations are currently being converted to start dispensing gas, following the decision of the Federal Government to deploy about 11,000 vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas, as part of plans to cushion the removal of fuel subsidy.

Providing updates on the move by marketers to build about 30,000 gas stations to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Okonkwo, told our correspondent that financiers of the project were responding positively.

It would be recalled that in April, marketers wrote to the Federal Government over their proposal to build about 30,000 gas stations to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.

In the letter to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the marketer had also asked the Federal Government to make the Central Bank of Nigeria release the N250bn intervention fund for the National Gas Expansion Programme as loans to vehicle owner to acquire gas conversion kit.

“Our partners, Gas Analytics & Solutions Ltd, have an agreement with the independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to co-locate natural gas dispensers on our network of over 30,000 filling stations in Nigeria.

“This collaboration with IPMAN presents the most economic and expedient platform to deploy the necessary infrastructure to support a fast national roll-out of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) for vehicles,” IPMAN had explained in its letter.

When contacted on Sunday for updates on the initiative, Okonkwo said IPMAN was working with its financiers and were getting the desired responses for the project.

“The ultimate alternative is the use of gas or CNG, which will reduce the financial burden in fueling a car. So CNG should be encouraged. We are still working with our financiers. Getting money is not a day job, there are things you need to do.

“Our solution is something that will help. A distance that would have taken you between N50,000 to N70,000 when covered using PMS, you are now using N5,000 to cover such distance. So you would have saved over N50,000,” he stated.

Probed further on whether this significant cut in cost was possible when using CNG, Okonkwo replied, “It is very possible. That is why we are bent on deepening this initiative. It is not everybody that can buy PMS. You that with the current cost of PMS, you don’t move anyhow.”

The IPMAN president, however, refused to name the amount being sort by the association from its financiers for the development of the gas stations, stressing that “nobody throws their business plan open like that.”

Asked whether IPMAN was discussing with international or local financiers, Okonkwo replied, “both,” adding that marketers were currently handling the conversion process for the filling stations.

On whether marketers were getting endorsements from their financiers, Okonkwo said, “That’s yes, and we are doing what they have asked us to do.”

The IPMAN president said the government was showing interest in the use of autogas and expressed optimism that marketers would get the support they require from the government.

“They (government) said they will provide about 11,000 vehicles to run on CNG and they have established a presidential committee for that and this means they are thinking about it,” Okonkwo stated.

Punch

Federal government is discussing the creation of a state company to regulate its mineral extraction industry and provide funding for local businesses.

Africa’s second biggest economy has sizable untapped deposits of metals, including gold, zinc, lithium and iron ore. But nearly all extraction is done by so-called artisanal miners on a small-scale or manual basis, which means that the government misses out on tax revenue.

“The proposed corporation will seek and secure partnership-investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide,” Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals, told a briefing in Abuja on Sunday. The new body would aim to secure “massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector,” he said.

The proposed entity will focus on the development of the country’s essential commodities, such as gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron-ore and baryte, the minister said.

Africa’s top crude producer is also introducing a new law aimed at cracking down on smuggling and providing best oversight practices for the operations in the sector, Alake said. The regulation, which is under review, will be presented to lawmakers in the coming days, he said.

Bloomberg