Every business organization, large or small, has a variety of individual and team member types that factor into your ability to innovate and change the business to meet evolving customer needs and competition.

In addition, in my experience as a consultant, I have found that it is important to have the processes and discipline in place to integrate and manage the innovation you need.

Overall, I believe the people and their personas, are as important, maybe more, than any process you can implement for timely problem-solving and innovation.

Thus I was happy to see both addressed very well in a new book, Decision Sprint, by Atif Rafiq. He brings over 25 years of experience with Silicon Valley leadership companies in highlighting winners and losers.

I particularly like and agree with his characterization of the eight top team member personas that comprise the majority of professionals in these companies and drive or hinder innovation and new initiatives to stay ahead of the pack.

I will paraphrase those personas here, adding insights from my own career in business and consulting:

1. Standalone innovator: idealizes full autonomy

As standalone innovators, these may have trouble recognizing where the mother ship skills and expertise can be applied to develop innovation ideas properly.

As a result, these people often end up disheartened. If you fit here, I recommend you find a senior sponsor or leave to strike out on your own.

In my experience, new startup businesses are initiated primarily by these standalone innovators, popularly called entrepreneurs. These people are free thinkers, enjoy their independence to make their own decisions and are willing to accept disruptive risks.

2. Intrapreneur: visionary within corporate boundaries

Professionals in this category are wired for new territory but deliberately work through the organization to build support and create momentum for an initiative.

It's a rare and ideal combination for a large company and you need to have the patience to evangelize with key decision-makers.

3. Analytical: synthesizer of hypotheses and data

These personas are sought out in every company to better understand an initiative and plug gaps in ideas and plans and recommend required resources and tactical moves.

Your contribution can help a number of other personas overcome doubts and concerns and validate visions with real data.

4. Pragmatist: open to change but recognizes realities  

As one of these, It is important to surround yourself with "solution-oriented" supporters, open to finding reasonable ways forward with new ideas.

Lean on your neutral instincts until the right domain experts can explore them. Don't let pessimists convince you that all unknowns are too risky.

5. Pessimist: constantly raise the specter of risk

You will recognize this persona as always highlighting the risks and displaying a "wait and see" attitude, rather than jumping in to be a driver of change.

If you find yourself here, you need to get out of your comfort zone with haste and shift from a "know-it-all" mentality to "learn-it-all" and move forward.

6. Change agent: likes to drive novel ways of working

If you are a high-energy leader and see something that can enhance the customer experience or push the business forward, you always lean toward making it happen.

You should team up with intrapreneurs to land their ideas and translate them into the language that the company can understand. 

7. Action junky: ready to move, with little patience

Before jumping to conclusions, these personas should ask a few questions to gauge the rate of learning and clarity being created in a project.

Channel your energy into feedback on the alignment and decision-making process. Pivot your focus upstream from implementation mode to exploration.

8. Coach: force for stability and mentoring

The challenge here is to find the right people to mentor, typically people with bright ideas but less understanding of reading the tea leaves, concerns and barriers to alignment.

Coach them on building these inputs for stability in the organization, minimum conflict and building support with senior leadership.

Each of these personas brings value to the workplace, so there is no right and wrong here. I'm simply suggesting that business has changed, so you need to look at the mix in your company, for needs and adjustments.

It's also time to look at your own fit, as it may be time for some new views and new career opportunities. Innovation and change can be a good thing for everyone.

 

Inc

Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze has said Nigeria is fast exceeding its limited borrowing space.

Akabueze stated this at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, during the induction of newly-elected lawmakers of the 10th National Assembly, on Wednesday.

He said: “While the size of the FG budget for 2023 created some excitement, the aggregate budgets of all governments in the country amount to about 30 trillion Naira. That is less than 15 percent in terms of ratio to GDP.

“Even on the African continent, the ratio of spending is about 20 percent. South Africa is about 30 percent, Morocco is about 40 percent and at 15 percent, that is too small for our needs.

“That is why there is a fierce competition for the limited resources. That can determine how much we can relatively borrow. We now have very limited borrowing space, not because our debt to GDP is high, but because our revenue is too small to sustain the size of our debt. That explains our high debt service ratio.

“Once a country’s debt service ratio exceeds 30 percent, that country is in trouble and we are pushing towards 100 percent and that tells you how much trouble we are in. We have limited space to borrow.

“When you take how much you can generate in terms of revenue and what you can reasonably borrow, that establishes the size of the budget. The next thing would be to pay attention to government priority regarding what project gets what.

“The budget is not a shopping list. In the end, the budget only contained expenditure”.

 

Daily Trust

Shell Plc won its fight at the UK’s Supreme Court over a lawsuit into one of the largest oil spills off the coast of Nigeria after Britain’s top judges dismissed arguments that the oil giant could still be held responsible over a decade later.

The Bonga oil leak in 2011 — said to be the largest spill in the Niger Delta for at least 20 years — was an environmental “catastrophe” that caused billions of dollars of damage, a group of almost 28,000 Nigerians had argued. 

Lawyers for two of the Nigerian claimants said that the spill of some 40,000 barrels of oil, which happened during a transfer of oil between two vessels, wreaked havoc across communities. The two had attempted to argue that the oil spill could be considered a “continuing nuisance” allowing for statutory time limits to legal action to be extended.

But the panel of five judges rejected those arguments Wednesday.

“The leak was a one-off event or an isolated escape,” Judge Andrew Burrows said.

Shell said the ruling brings an end to the claims in England.

“It was clear from the start that these claims were unfounded and brought entirely out of time,” the company said in a statement. “While the 2011 Bonga spill was highly regrettable, it was swiftly contained and cleaned up offshore.”

Shell has a fraught history in the West African nation, where frequent spills and challenging relationships with local communities have led it to reassess the future of its onshore and shallow water operations. These leaks, many of which Shell blames on sabotage and theft rather than mechanical failure, have destroyed the livelihoods of fishing and farming populations in the south of the country and have led to ongoing legal battles in Nigeria, the UK and the Netherlands.

The case had the potential for broader ramifications for other lawsuits, with the judges considering whether oil giants can be held responsible for spills at sea until the oil has been cleaned up. 

When considering whether a leak can be considered a continuing nuisance, “the important point is that it is continuing day after day or on another regular basis,” the judges said.

 

Bloomberg

Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned hearing in Peter Obi’s petition challenging Bola Tinubu’s victory as Nigeria’s president-elect.

Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi of Labour Party (LP) in the 25 February presidential election.

A five-member panel of the court headed by Haruna Tsammani adjourned the petition until 17 May following a request by Obi’s lawyer.

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Livy Uzoukwu, Obi’s lead lawyer, informed the court of an agreement by lawyers to parties in the petition to file and exchange necessary documents for a smooth hearing of the substantive petition.

Respondents’ lawyers – Abubakar Mahmoud (INEC), Wole Olanipekun (Tinubu’s lawyer), Lateef Fagbemi (APC), confirmed Ozoukwu’s submissions before the court.

The court which had its inaugural sitting on Monday adjourned Obi’s petition until Wednesday.

Obi, who was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, came third in the election.

He is, however, challenging Tinubu’s election as president-elect.

Obi is praying the court to nullify the poll over allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act by Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC.

The Labour Party candidate also accused INEC and Tinubu of manipulating the poll in favour of the latter.

 

PT

President-elect, Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, left Nigeria for Europe on a working visit.

A statement from the office of the president-elect signed by Tunde Rahman on Wednesday said Tinubu, during the visit, will engage with investors and other key allies with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations.

This is the second time Tinubu will be travelling out of the country after he was declared president-elect on 1 March. He returned to Nigeria on 24 April after a four-week vacation in France.

The statement said the president-elect will use the opportunity of the trip to fine-tune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions.

Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community, including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up, a part of the statement noted.

The statement also said that Tinubu hopes to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partnerships premised on job creation and skills acquisition.

“Reviving the country’s economy forms a major plank of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and the meeting is part of his efforts to re-establish Nigeria’s importance in the global economic chain and create empowering opportunities for the country’s huge youth population,” the statement said.

The president-elect has hitherto promised to hit the ground running and the visit is reflective of his commitment to the promise as he has already begun talks with global actors in the important areas of the economy and security.

The statement said he is scheduled to return soon for preparations towards his official swearing-in as the 16th president of the country on 29 May.

Tinubu’s victory is being challenged at the presidential election petition tribunal which started hearing on Monday.

 

PT

The Federal High Court Abuja, on Wednesday, gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines, henceforth, on broadcast stations in the country.

The judge, James Omotosho, in a judgement, also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed, on 1 March 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations.

Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.

He further held that the NBC Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law.

Omotosho said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law.

He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at the same time, the court and the judge on its own matter.

The judge agreed that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, being a subsidiary legislation that empowers an administrative body such as the NBC to enforce its provisions cannot confer judicial powers on the commission to impose criminal sanctions or penalties such as fines.

He also agreed that the commission, not being Nigerian police, had no power to conduct criminal investigation that would lead to criminal trial and imposition of sanctions.

“This will go against the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said.

Omotosho held that what the doctrine sought to achieve was to prevent tyranny by concentrating too much powers in one organ.

“The action of the respondent qualifies as excessiveness” as it had ascribed to itself judicial and executive powers.

NBC had, on March 1, 2019, imposed N500,000 each on 45 broadcast stations in the country over alleged violation of its code.

Suit

However, the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda had, in an originating motions marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1386/2021, sued the NBC as sole respondent in the suit.

In the motion dated November 9, 2021 by its lawyer, Noah Ajare, the group sought a declaration that the sanctions procedure applied by the NBC in imposing N500,00Q fines on each of the 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019 was a violation of the rules of natural justice.

The lawyer also said that the fines were in violation of the right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Articles 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap AQ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The group argued that this was so because the code, which created the alleged offences of which the broadcast stations were accused was written and adopted by the NBC, “and also gives powers to the said commission to receive complaints of alleged breaches, investigate and adjudicate the complaints, impose sanctions, including fines, and ultimately collect the fines, which the commission uses for its own purposes.”

They, therefore, sought an order setting aside the N500,000 fines purportedly imposed by the NBC on each of the 45 broadcast stations on Friday, 1 March 2019.

They also sought “an order of perpetual Injunction restraining the respondent, its servants, agents, privies, representatives or anyone acting for or on its behalf, from imposing fines on any of the broadcast stations or any other broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged offence committed under the Nigerian Broadcasting Code.”

Delivering the judgment, Omotosho described the NBC’s act as being ultra vires.

He held that the fines imposed by the NBC as punishment for commission of various offences under its code were contrary to the law and hereby declared as unconstitutional, null and void.

The judge also made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the commission from further imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country.

 

NAN

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says it routs Russian brigade, Kremlin acknowledges 'very difficult' campaign

A Ukrainian unit said on Wednesday it had routed a Russian brigade near the stronghold of Bakhmut in an incident underlining the task facing the Kremlin as it carries out what it calls a "very difficult" military operation.

The unit's claim appeared to buttress comments by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private army, who on Tuesday said the Russian brigade had abandoned its positions in Bakhmut, Moscow's primary target in its winter offensive and scene of the bloodiest ground combat in Europe since World War Two.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who heads Ukraine's ground forces, said Russian units in some parts of Bakhmut had retreated by up to two km (1.2 miles) as the result of counter attacks. He gave no details.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the situation on the ground. Wagner units have led a months-long Russian assault on the eastern city, suffering heavy losses, but Ukrainian forces say the offensive is stalling.

"The special military operation continues. This is a very difficult operation, and, of course, certain goals have been achieved in a year," Tass new agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling a Bosnian Serb television channel.

"We managed to beat up the Ukrainian military machine quite a bit," said Peskov, citing Russian missile strikes in Ukraine. "This work will continue".

Peskov said he had no doubt that Bakhmut "will be captured and will be kept under control". He also said the Russian campaign in eastern Ukraine was proceeding slowly because Russia "is not waging war".

"Waging war is a completely different matter - it means complete destruction of infrastucture, it means complete destruction of cities," he said. "We are not doing this. We are trying to preserve infrastructure and preserve human lives."

Peskov's comments did not address claims that Russia's 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade had abandoned positions on the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut.

In a statement, Ukraine's Third Separate Assault Brigade said: "It's official. Prigozhin's report about the flight of Russia's 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians left behind is true."

A Russian brigade is typically formed of several thousand troops.

"Our army is fleeing. The 72nd Brigade pissed away three square km this morning, where I had lost around 500 men," Prigozhin said on Tuesday, complaining his troops were receiving only 10% of the shells they needed.

In a statement later on social media, Prigozhin said Wagner forces had advanced 170 metres (530 feet). Ukrainian troops were confined to an area of 2.25 sq. km. (just under a square mile) and were coming under pressure in western districts dotted with high-rise apartments.

MERCENARY CHIEF TAKES ON THE MILITARY

Prigozhin has clashed with Russia's defence ministry and expressed concerns about a promised Ukrainian counter-offensive to recapture territory Russia occupied after the invasion was launched on Feb. 24, 2022.

Ukrainian military analyst Roman Svitan said the successes

near Bakhmut amounted to the beginning of the counter-offensive.

"We are the ones who launched the moves to advance," Svitan told Ukrainian NV Radio. "We can say that the offensive that we have been expecting for at least the past six months got underway about a week ago."

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Telegram that pro-Kyiv units had not lost a single position in Bakhmut on Wednesday.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine in what Moscow calls a special military operation and initially captured large amounts of territory, but Kyiv's forces pushed back. Western officials estimate more than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded.

In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy named the Third Brigade and noted its report "about the flight of Russia's 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut".

In Brussels, NATO's top military official said the war would increasingly be a battle between large numbers of poorly trained Russian troops with outdated equipment and a smaller Ukrainian force with better Western weapons and training.

Admiral Rob Bauer, a Dutch officer who is chair of NATO's military committee, noted Russia was deploying T-54 tanks - an old model designed in the years after World War Two.

In Washington, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he had authorized the first transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Drone hits government building in Russia – governor

A Ukrainian drone has struck a government building in Russia’s Bryansk Region, which shares a border with Ukraine, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said in the early hours of Thursday. The statement came shortly after a drone attack was reported in Russia’s Belgorod Region, which also borders Ukraine. 

Bogomaz said the raid took place in Starodub, a town of 17,000 people, and that that no one was hurt. Telegram channel Baza reported that the targeted building was a military enlistment office.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday evening that two drones “exploded over a residential area,” damaging two houses and a car. An hour later, he said that a third UAV was shot down by air defenses. According to the governor, there were no casualties.

Russia’s border regions have been repeatedly shelled and targeted by drones after Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine more than a year ago. On Wednesday, the shelling of the city of Shebekino in the Belgorod Region claimed the life of one person.

Spokesman for Transneft oil company said on Wednesday that there was an attempt to carry out a “terrorist attack” on the section of the Druzhba pipeline in the Bryansk Region that transports oil to EU countries.

** Putin signs annual decree on military training of Russian reservists

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on military training of Russian citizens in reserve in 2023. The document was published on the official legal information website Wednesday.

"Call up Russian citizens in reserve for military training in the Russian Armed Forces, Russian National Guard forces, state security agencies and Federal Security Service (FSB) bodies in 2023," the document reads.

The Russian government and executive power bodies were tasked with implementation of events connected to the call-up and the training itself. The decree enters into effect since the day of publication.

Military training of reservists is a planned event on improvement of reservists’ military proficiency and takes place annually. The call-up decree is being signed by the President of the Russian Federation. Based on the presidential decree, the Defense Ministry’s mobilization department prepares a corresponding directive for regional conscription stations. Only once this process is complete, reservists will begin to receive call-up notifications.

** Russian assault teams push ahead in Artyomovsk offensive, top brass reports

Russian assault teams continued offensive operations in the northwestern and western outskirts of Artyomovsk over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.

‘In the Donetsk direction, the assault teams continued their offensive operations to capture urban areas in the northwestern and western outskirts of the city of Artyomovsk. Airborne Force units immobilized the enemy on the flanks," the spokesman said.

Russian operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery struck units of the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanized, 80th air assault and 5th assault brigades near the settlements of Krasnoye and Stupochki in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the western outskirts of Artyomovsk, the general specified.

"Aircraft flew ten and helicopters two sorties in that area over the past 24 hours. Artillery of the southern battlegroup accomplished 98 firing objectives," Konashenkov reported.

 

Reuters/RT/Tass

Battles shake Sudan's capital, ceasefire talks reported to make progress

Fighting in Sudan's capital escalated on Wednesday with fierce clashes and air strikes, but rival military factions were reported to be close to a ceasefire agreement in talks in Saudi Arabia.

Residents reported ground battles in several neighbourhoods of Khartoum between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as heavy gunfire in the north of Omdurman and the east of Bahri, two adjacent cities separated from Khartoum by the River Nile.

The army has been pounding targets across the three cities since Tuesday as it tries to root out RSF forces that have taken control of large residential areas and strategic sites since early in the conflict that erupted on April 15.

"There's been heavy air strikes and RPG fire since 6:30 a.m.", said Ahmed, a resident of the Bahri neighbourhood of Shambat. "We're lying on the ground and there are people living near us who ran to the Nile to protect themselves there under the embankment."

Army and RSF delegations have been meeting since the end of last week in talks sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia in the Saudi city of Jeddah on the Red Sea.

Negotiations aim to secure an effective truce and allow access for aid workers and supplies after repeated ceasefire announcements failed to stop the fighting.

After days of no apparent movement, a mediation source told Reuters on Wednesday that the negotiations had made progress and a ceasefire agreement was expected soon.

A second source familiar with the talks said a deal was close. Talks continued late into the night.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland earlier said U.S. negotiators were "cautiously optimistic" about securing a commitment to humanitarian principles and a ceasefire but were also looking at appropriate targets for sanctions if the warring factions did not back this.

The conflict has created a humanitarian crisis in Africa's third-largest nation by area, displacing more than 700,000 people inside the country and prompting 150,000 to flee to neighbouring states. It has also sparked unrest in Sudan's western Darfur region.

The U.N. World Food Programme said that up to 2.5 million more Sudanese were expected to fall into hunger in the coming months because of the conflict, raising the number of people suffering acute food insecurity to 19 million.

Since the battles began on April 15, the RSF have dug in across Khartoum neighbourhoods, set up checkpoints, occupied state buildings and placed snipers on rooftops.

The army has been using air strikes and heavy artillery to try to dislodge them.

The RSF on Tuesday said the historic presidential palace in central Khartoum, which has symbolic importance and is in a strategic area that the RSF says it controls, had been hit by an air strike and destroyed, a claim the army denied.

Drone footage filmed on Wednesday and verified by Reuters appeared to show the building, known as the Old Republican Palace, intact, though smoke could be seen coming from the southeast edge of the palace compound.

The fighting has left more than 600 people dead and 5,000 injured, according to the World Health Organization but the real figure is thought to be much higher.

Witnesses have reported seeing bodies strewn in the streets. Most hospitals have been put out of service and a breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting. Fuel and food supplies have been running low.

"Our only hope is that the negotiations in Jeddah succeed to end this hell and return to normal life, and to stop the war, the looting, the robbery and the chaos," said Ahmed Ali, a 25-year-old resident of Khartoum.

Aid agency Islamic Relief said many aid operations in Darfur and Khartoum remained suspended due to extreme insecurity.

It plans to provide aid to thousands of people in Al Gezira state, southeast of Khartoum, where some 50,000 people have fled, as well as to people in parts of Khartoum State and North Kordofan, where fighting has raged.

Conflicts are not new to Sudan, a country that sits at a strategic crossroadbetween Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the volatile Sahel region, although most unrest in the past occurred in remote areas.

The United Nations has projected that 5 million additional people will need emergency assistance inside Sudan while 860,000 are expected to flee to neighbouring states.

 

Reuters

As I reflect on the fifth anniversary of the passing of my father, Khalifa Sheikh Isyaku Rabiu (Khadimul Quran), I am filled with both sadness and gratitude. While it is difficult to believe that five years have already passed since he left us, I am grateful for the time that we had with him and the legacy that he left behind.

Khalifa was a man of great faith and determination. He was a devout Muslim who dedicated his life to serving Allah and spreading the teachings of Islam. He was also a successful businessman who built a global empire through hard work, perseverance, and a deep commitment to excellence.

But what I remember most about Khalifa is his kindness and generosity. He had a heart of gold and was always willing to help those in need, regardless of their race, religion, or social status. He believed in giving back to the community and made significant contributions to various charitable organisations and causes throughout his life.

Khalifa’s passing was a great loss, not only to our family but also to the wider community. However, his legacy lives through his works and various programmes we have established in his memory to continue his charitable work, and support various initiatives aimed at improving the lives of people in Nigeria and beyond.

On this fifth anniversary of his passing, I am reminded of Khalifa’s words, which continue to inspire me every day: “Success is not measured by wealth or power, but by the impact you make in the lives of others.” Khalifa’s impact on the world will continue to be felt for generations to come, and his memory will forever be cherished in our hearts.

I am also reminded of the verse in the Quran that says, “And say, ‘My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.'” (Quran 17:24).

May Allah grant him Jannah (Paradise) and may his soul continue to rest in peace.

** Abdul Samad Rabiu Abdul Samad is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate.