The first time I was in China, I became one of her lost girls. As I was taken from my birth mother’s arms and placed at a nearby train station, I became a statistic ―another baby uprooted by the country’s one-child policy. At 11 months old, I was plucked from China’s embrace and placed into that of my parents. My roots began to grow in the soil of a different land.

When I was old enough to comprehend the gravity of my truth, my parents sat me down and told me that I had been adopted from China. This supposed revelation did not alter the trajectory of my life as my parents feared it might. It was fairly easy, even as a child, to recognize that I did not look like those around me, especially my parents. In fact, I found it quite awesome to be different ― to have come from a country so rich with history and culture.

However, the reality of living in a town with a predominantly white population is that many of its residents ostracize anyone who is different. I tried desperately to fit in with the other kids, but it became clear early on that despite my parents’ whiteness, my Chineseness would always make me an outsider.

Growing up, I listened as friends discussed which parent they resembled the most, and I grappled with the guilt that came with wishing I could participate in those discussions. I laughed along with others as they asked me to talk to them in “my language” and proceeded to speak gibberish in a way that was supposed to imitate Mandarin. For years, I didn’t know how to feel, or if my feelings were even valid. I didn’t realize that these seemingly small acts of aggression were racist and that they would grow into hatred in the future.

The first time I returned to China with my parents, I was 9 years old and longing for a place filled with people who looked like me. I was completely in awe of the country that created me, and this is when I first realized that I needed to embrace being Chinese. This proved nearly impossible. It was obvious that I did not belong to those who lived in China. From the way I dressed to the language that I spoke ― or couldn’t speak ― to them, I was American through and through.

As the trip went on, I found myself becoming increasingly disconnected from China and Chinese culture. I felt like a foreigner in a country that I desperately believed should have felt like home. This was the revelation that changed the trajectory of my life: My identity as a transracial adoptee seemed to define me everywhere I went. I was too Chinese to be American in America, and I was too American to be Chinese in China.

As I grew older, it became more common for adults to ask me how lucky I felt to be adopted from China, and I became resentful at how their questions commodified me. If I did not respond with gratitude for being adopted, it was as if a switch flipped in their mind and they saw me as a selfish girl who owes her parents everything. I left an abundance of words unsaid. To these people, this topic seemed clearly black and white: I was adopted from China after being left at a train station and should be grateful for my parents’ generosity ― for the roof they put over my head and the food they put on my plate.

Obviously, I love my parents. They have given so much to me and I would not be where I am today without them. My epiphany occurred when I realized that I am allowed to simultaneously love my parents and grieve what I lost. While transracial adoptees may be placed into amazing, loving families, it does not change the fact that their culture was stolen from them.

I have always belonged to an in-between place: not quite Chinese, but definitely not white either. The spaces and resources available to transracial adoptees are few and far between despite how large our population is, especially in the United States. My parents never hid the fact that I was Chinese, and they did the best that they could to expose me to Chinese traditions, but their efforts had their limits. Still, I am lucky to have parents who wanted and pushed for me to be connected to the country in which I was born.

When I came to them about wanting to feel more connected to China and Chinese culture, they searched for years to find someone who could teach me Chinese. Unfortunately this task proved immensely difficult, so instead I began teaching myself the basics. My parents promised to take me back to China as soon as possible, especially now that I was older and could understand the importance of the trip a little bit more. They could tell I was struggling to reconcile my identities and always made sure that I knew I could lean on them for support. Unlike others, my parents never held my emotions against me and were ― and still are ―pillars of support.

The second time I returned to China, I was 15 and felt more in touch with my emotions. I wanted to build connections with other adoptees and hear their stories. This trip, which catered to adoptees from the same agency, allowed me to spend time with others who had been taken into white families.

Together, we found and created a safe environment for each other where we could talk about our experiences and vent our emotions without fear of judgment. This visit was different for me. I felt seen and heard by others who experienced the same inner turmoil that I had. Together we laughed and cried and lamented what could have been. In another life, would we have been able to meet under different circumstances?

It didn’t matter, we answered. We realized that all that mattered was what we had now, a fragmented past blended with a found family, each other included. While we didn’t all have the same goals for our return to China, we did share one: to reconcile our guilt and our curiosity. For me, I held no anger toward my birth mom for giving me up, especially when I understood the state of China and the one-child policy. But the curiosity of knowing about where and who I came from was there, and probably always will be. By the end of the trip, I cannot say that this goal was completely achieved. But while it might sound cliche, we adoptees did find each other, and in some way that was worth more to us than our original goals.

When I returned to the United States, I finished high school with a different perspective than the one I entered with. I felt able to embrace my in-between identity and reconcile the parts of me that had always felt at odds. Still, I lean on those I have found on my journey and continue to search for others who help me feel whole.

All transracial adoptees deserve to have a place where they can release their emotions and feel a sense of community. While I know not all transracial adoptees will want or be able to return to their country of birth and connect with others who have shared experiences, I hope they can find another way to build a community, perhaps through local groups or online. Being able to share my thoughts, emotions and challenges ― which I worried only I was thinking, feeling and facing ― with people like me has changed my life for the better.

It has been a difficult adventure to reach a place where I feel comfortable with who I am ― Chinese, American and an adoptee ― but it has allowed me not only to deepen my roots, but also to make flowers bloom in my life today.

** Iris Anderson is studying biology and psychology at Columbia University and is part of the class of 2026. She loves to write in her free time and is inspired by her personal experiences and those around her. Iris would like to thank her University Writing professor, Emily Weitzman, and her Literature Humanities professor, Taarini Mookherjee, for their support of her writing endeavors.

HuffPost

There are basic barriers to learning that can stop even the most intelligent person from understanding something.

Your small business is no different than a big company in that everybody you have on your payroll is there because they bring something great and unique to the table. But, unlike a big company, you probably have to do all your training yourself, and often the most realistic way to get people working quickly is through on-the-job work and training where the new hire watches you or another employee.

Many times you thought you explained something very clearly yet the new hire doesn’t do what you asked or trained them to do. You end up frustrated and think that they just don’t get it. However, in the majority of cases, you don’t have any cognitive issues to deal with, but, rather, a communication problem. Adjust your communication and you’ll probably find that the worker performs really well, just like you want them to.

The importance of starting with a big step back

It’s super easy when you’re training someone to forget that you were once in their shoes. You tend to think that just because you understand it, they should too. But, that’s not always the case. 

A major key to successful training is to slow down a little and take a step back. Remember that people don’t want to look stupid or be embarrassed. They’re probably going to just nod “yes” if you plow through a bunch of stuff and ask them on the spot if they get it. Tell them flat out to stop you if they don’t understand. Let them know that you can pause any time to answer a question and that you’d rather do that and get a great result than have them be confused and not do the job correctly.

The 4 major hurdles to jump through for great training results

Once you acknowledge that you can’t just prattle on and you shift into the right mindset to empathize a little, there are four common barriers to understanding, based on Hubbard’s learning technology, that you’ll still have to overcome with your trainees.

1. Lack of substance

Sometimes when you’re trying to teach somebody, you might have to deal with more abstract concepts. It’s important to give people examples or tools that help them fully visualize the concept. 

For example, if you’re a dentist and your patient doesn’t know anything about implants, you might have to show them a physical model. The model is something tangible they can see and touch, which makes it easier for the patient to form a working definition of what you’re talking about. 

In the same way, when you’re training new employees, you have to figure out where you have information gaps. Use whatever you can to make what’s “imaginary” more concrete to the trainee.

2. Steep gradients

Imagine you’re teaching addition to a bunch of first graders. Then, all of the sudden, you throw exponents or all kinds of other more advanced math at them. What do you think would happen? Probably, just a lot of blank stares. The learning gradient is just way too steep.

You can’t just jump a bunch of levels and expect trainees to do well without knowing what in the world you’re even talking about, either. You have to take it step by step. If your worker looks lost, go back. Ask them where they got lost and figure out the pace they need to master the task you’re working on.

3. Misunderstood words

Typically, if you throw in a new word or phrase at a trainee, one they’ve never heard before or just don’t understand, you’ll lose them. This gets frustrating because you mistakenly think they’re checking out or bored, when, in reality, they didn’t understand the definition or meaning of something you said and it threw them for a loop. This fundamental problem of not having the right definition for a word or words is why we can sometimes get to the bottom of a page and completely forget everything we just read. 

Instead of forcing a trainee to piecemeal together what something means from context (which may or may not give them something accurate), encourage them to ask for a straight meaning, or have them look up the dictionary definition. Then have them practice rephrasing that term or defining it in their own words. Use it in a few sentences. If they can do that, they probably have a pretty good grasp of what it means.

4. Thinking you know everything

If you think you know everything, then it becomes difficult to want to keep learning, because you don’t think you have to or that there’s even anything left to learn. This know-it-all attitude can hold you back when you’re training others because you can become close-minded to the fact that you’re not seeing different issues or opportunities with the trainees. Always ask yourself if you’re missing something and be willing to hear the trainees out.

With an eye on your communication, training workers and obtaining great results is totally attainable

Small business leaders often have to train workers on their own. Good communication is crucial during that training in order for the leaders to get good results. If you feel like your new hire just doesn’t get it, start by slowing down and putting yourself back in the trainee’s shoes. Then pay close attention, not just to the specific language or tangible tools you use but also to the pace of what you’re doing and the attitude you do it with. With all of those hurdles properly addressed, your trainees will likely perform just the way you need them to in no time.

Entrepreneur

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its five-day warning strike.

President of the association, Orji Emeka Innocent, announced on Sunday that the doctors would resume by 8am on Monday (today).

The NARD president said, “progress made will be reviewed on 2nd June 2023 during the association’s general meeting where next line of action will be decided.”

The association had embarked on the strike on Wednesday following the failure of the federal government to meet its demands.

Before the strike, NARD had given the government a two-week ultimatum to meet its demands.

Some of the association’s demands include an immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to the tune of 200% of the current gross salary of doctors.

It also demanded the immediate withdrawal and jettisoning of the “ill-conceived” bill by Ganiyu Johnson, a member of House of Representatives, on the “enslavement of young doctors in Nigeria”.

NARD also demanded immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) in line with the agreements reached at a meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Health.

While calling for massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals, NARD also called for immediate infrastructural development in hospitals without further delay.

The association called for immediate implementation of CONMESS, domestication of MRTA, and review of hazard allowance by all the state governments as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is done, among others.

Daily Trust

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says more than 70 percent of food exported from Nigeria are rejected abroad.

Speaking at the official commissioning of the new NAFDAC office complex at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency’s director-general, said the issue was causing huge financial losses to the exporters and the country at large.

However, she said the incidence of rejection of food exports by other countries may soon become a thing of the past if collaboration between NAFDAC and other government agencies at the ports is strengthened.

Adeyeye said along with the port agencies, NAFDAC would ensure goods being exported are of requisite quality and meet the regulatory requirements of the importing countries before they are even packaged.

“Over 70 per cent of the products that leave our ports get rejected. Considering the money spent on getting those products out of the country, it is a double loss for both the exporter and the country,” she said.

Adeyeye added the mandate to safeguard the health of the populace and the quality of imports into a nation like Nigeria – which is “overwhelmingly dependent” on importation – can not be actualised “without the effective presence of NAFDAC at the ports and land borders.”

The director-general commended the police and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the symbiotic relationship that exists between its management and the agency.

“Without customs, we will not be able to do a lot of what we have been able to do,” Adeyeye said.

She also said that without the police, NAFDAC cannot do much in terms of investigation and enforcement.

“We have over 80 policemen with us in NAFDAC. They help us a lot when we are doing raids or investigations as the case may be.”

The Cable

No fewer than nine farmers were killed by bandits at Unguwar Danko near Dogon Dawa village in Birnin Gwari Area of Kaduna State. The incident happened on Saturday afternoon when the victims were working on their farms.

Residents said the bandits whisked away about three other farmers to an unknown destination.

Member-elect representing Kakangi Constituency, Yahaya Musa, confirmed the incident, saying all those killed were farmers and that those who sustained gunshot injuries were rushed to hospitals for treatment.

“Yes it was confirmed to me Sunday morning that nine farmers were killed by bandits at Unguwar Danko near Dogon Dawa village on Saturday afternoon and others sustained gunshot injuries,” he said.

He explained that some of the villagers also confronted the bandits which led to some sustaining gunshot injuries.

The state government has not reacted to the incident yet but the state police command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Jalige, promised to get back to our correspondent with details.

Daily Trust

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Zelensky tells Biden Ukraine no longer controls Artyomovsk

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky admitted at a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Hiroshima on Sunday that Kiev no longer controls Artyomovsk (the Ukrainian name of the town: Bakhmut), according to a CNN broadcast.

"I think not," he said, responding to a question from the audience about Kiev retaining control over Artyomovsk, "But you have to understand that there is nothing left there. It's a pity, it's a tragedy, but as of today Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing in this place".

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the liberation of Artyomovsk was completed as a result of the offensive by the Wagner assault detachments supported by the southern battlegroup’s artillery and aviation. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Wagner troops and Russian servicemen on the liberation of the city. According to the Kremlin press service, all those who distinguished themselves will be presented with state awards.

Artyomovsk is located in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic. It was an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian forces in Donbass, as well as a powerful Ukrainian outpost. Fighting for the city began on August 1, 2022. The battle became one of the largest battles during the liberation of Donbass since 2014. Prior to the start of the fighting, the city was home to about 72,000 people.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine aims to encircle Bakhmut as Russia says it captures city

Ukraine said on Sunday that its forces were still advancing around the edges of Bakhmut, aiming to encircle the ruined eastern city after Moscow congratulated the Wagner private army and Russian troops for capturing it.

Russia said on Saturday it had completely taken Bakhmut, which, if confirmed, would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his regular troops and the Wagner group.

On Sunday, however, a top Ukrainian general said Kyiv's forces still controlled what he accepted was an "insignificant" part of Bakhmut, although that would allow them to enter the city when the situation changed.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Telegram post that Kyiv's troops were advancing on Russian forces in the suburbs and getting closer to a "tactical encirclement" of the city, formerly home to 70,000 people.

Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said on Sunday he had visited front-line positions near Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for more than nine months. Syrskyi's assertion that Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance along the flanks of the city was echoed by Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar.

"Our forces have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy ... the enemy has to defend himself in the part of the city he controls," Maliar said on Telegram.

Ukrainian troops were still defending industrial and infrastructure facilities and had claimed part of the overlooking heights, Maliar said.

In the past 24 hours, the Russian offensive around Bakhmut has not let up, including air strikes on the city and the village of Ivanivske on its western approaches, said a statement by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Later on Sunday, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message on Telegram that his group's job was done and his forces would leave the conflict zone within days.

"Wagner today captured no territory. We have captured all the territory we promised to capture, right up to the last centimetre," Prigozhin said. "As we stated yesterday. We are handing over our positions to (Russia's) Defence Ministry and on the 25th (of May) we are leaving the conflict zone."

Bakhmut has no strategic value according to military analysts, although Moscow has said that capturing it would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the industrial region of Donbas it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports by either side.

ZELENSKIY COMPARES BAKHMUT TO 'RUINED HIROSHIMA'

Over the past week, Ukrainian forces have made their most rapid gains for six months on Bakhmut's northern and southern flanks, with Russia acknowledging some setbacks for its troops.

Kyiv says its aim has been to draw Russian forces from elsewhere on the front into the city, to inflict high casualties there and weaken Moscow's defensive line elsewhere ahead of a planned major Ukrainian counteroffensive.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Russia had suffered more than 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut, the destruction of which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy compared to the U.S. World War Two atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, in Japan.

"I'll tell you openly: Photographs of ruined Hiroshima absolutely remind me of Bakhmut and other similar settlements. Nothing left alive, all the buildings ruined," he said as he attended a Group of Seven summit in the Japanese city on Sunday.

"Bakhmut has not been captured by the Russian Federation as of today. There are no two or three interpretations of this," he told reporters.

In his nightly video address, on Sunday aboard an aircraft, Zelenskiy said: "The world hears our position. Defence, security guarantees, the recovery of all our territories and all our people, justice, the implementation of our peace plan."

Taking Bakhmut - which Russia refers to by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk - would represent Moscow's first big victory in the conflict in more than 10 months.

The battle for Bakhmut has shown a deepening split between Wagner, which has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants.

Leaders of the world's richest democracies at the G7 summit said they would not back down from supporting Ukraine.

Zelenskiy, who held a private meeting with Biden in Hiroshima, said he was confident Kyiv would receive F-16 fighter jets from the West after months of lobbying for the planes.

Biden said F-16s would not have helped Ukrainian forces with regard to Bakhmut but could "make a big difference in terms of being able to deal with what is coming down the road".

Tass/Reuters

Sudan ceasefire deal raises hopes for relief in Khartoum

Air strikes and clashes between Sudan's warring factions could be heard in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, residents said, after a Saudi and U.S.-brokered deal for a week-long ceasefire raised hopes of a pause in the five-week conflict.

The deal, signed on Saturday by the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, is due to come into effect on Monday evening with an internationally-supported monitoring mechanism. It also allows for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Repeated ceasefire announcements since the conflict started on April 15 have failed to stop the fighting, but the Jeddah deal marks the first time the sides have signed a truce agreement after negotiations.

Analysts say it is unclear whether army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan or RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are able to enforce a ceasefire on the ground. Both have previously indicated they are seeking victory in the war, and neither of them travelled to Jeddah.

The army and RSF reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire in statements on Sunday, even as fighting continued. Witnesses reported sporadic clashes in central and southern Khartoum on Sunday morning, followed by air strikes and anti-aircraft fire later in the day in eastern Khartoum and Omdurman, one of three cities that make up the greater capital.

Since the war began, 1.1 million people have fled their homes, moving either within Sudan or to neighbouring countries, creating a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region.

Those still in Khartoum are struggling to survive amid mass looting, a collapse in health services, and dwindling supplies of food, fuel, power and water.

Safaa Ibrahim, a 35-year-old Khartoum resident, told Reuters by phone that she hoped the deal could bring an end to the conflict.

"We're tired of this war. We've been chased away from our homes, and the family has scattered between towns in Sudan and Egypt," she said. "We want to return to normal life and safety. Al-Burhan and Hemedti have to respect people's desire for life."

According to the text of the Jeddah deal, a committee including three representatives from each of the warring parties, three from Saudi Arabia and three from the U.S. would monitor the ceasefire.

'WAITING FOR THE TRUCE'

The war erupted in Khartoum over plans for the generals, who seized full power in a 2021 coup, to sign up to a transition towards elections under a civilian government.

Burhan and Hemedti had held the top positions on Sudan's ruling council since former leader Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a 2019 popular uprising.

The Jeddah talks focused on allowing in aid and restoring essential services. Mediators say further talks would be needed to seek the removal of forces from urban areas to broker a permanent peace deal with civilian involvement.

"The people of Khartoum are waiting for the truce and the opening of humanitarian corridors," said Mohamed Hamed, an activist in the capital. "The health situation is getting worse day after day."

A U.N. bulletin said 34 attacks on healthcare had been verified during the conflict, and that looting of humanitarian supplies and attacks on health facilities had continued since the two sides signed commitments to protecting aid supplies and civilian infrastructure in Jeddah on May 11.

Senior army general Yassir al-Atta told Sudan state TV that the army had been trying to remove the RSF from homes, schools and hospitals.

Millions of civilians have been trapped as the army has used air strikes and shelling to target the RSF forces that embedded themselves in residential areas early in the fighting.

Asked about calls from some tribal leaders for civilians to be armed, Atta said this was not required but residents being attacked in their homes should be able to act in self-defence. "Let them arm themselves to protect themselves, that is a natural right," he said.

Since the conflict began, unrest has flared in other parts of Sudan, especially the western region of Darfur.

Some 705 people have been killed and at least 5,287 injured, according to the World Health Organization, though the true death toll is believed to be much higher.

Reuters

After four years, we finally have the full 316-page report from Justice Department special counsel John Durham, and it’s a damning indictment of some of our country’s leading institutions. 

Durham said the FBI should have never launched an investigation into alleged Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, given the slim evidence. 

That is a huge win for Trump, who has for years called out his unfair treatment by the FBI – and a media all too willing to find blame in the former president’s actions. 

The investigation into the "collusion" clouded Trump’s entire presidency, and Democrats harnessed the tale to paint Trump as an illegitimate president. 

The real-life implication is that some Trump supporters will see the Durham report as reason to believe the former president’s outrageous claims, including that the 2020 election was "stolen."

Failures at the FBI

Durham slammed the FBI’s investigation – dubbed Crossfire Hurricane – into the Trump campaign for its “serious lack of analytic rigor” and a “cavalier attitude” for accuracy. 

“...We conclude that the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report,” Durham wrote.

For its part, the FBI does not dispute the report’s findings, but says it has already taken action and added safeguards in its investigations.

Durham also called out the role of the (now-discredited) Steele dossier, the opposition research gathered for the Hillary Clinton campaign that was in turn given to the FBI. Durham said the dossier was “unvetted and unverified,” yet was used as justification for surveillance. 

“Indeed, based on the evidence gathered in multiple exhaustive and costly federal investigations of these matters, including the instant investigation, neither U.S. law enforcement nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," the report stated.

The political implications are clear, and the report highlights the favoritism shown to the Clinton campaign over Trump’s. 

Give Biden family the Trump treatment

As Durham details, the FBI fumbled the “collusion” investigation. But mainstream media outlets also deserve blame for breathlessly going along with the Trump-Russia allegations. 

The willingness to report negative rumors about Trump is in direct contrast to how the news media have protected President Joe Biden and his family.

For example, when the New York Post broke the Hunter Biden laptop story in October 2020, ahead of the presidential election, the rest of the media pretty much ignored it. Twitter even suspended the Post’s account for sharing its news reports. Emails from the laptop indicated Hunter Biden had used his dad’s position as vice president for his personal gain. 

The story was slammed by Democrats and the media as Russian “disinformation.” 

Nearly two years later, however, news organizations outside the right-leaning press finally admitted that the substance of the laptop story was real.

Now, the media are largely ignoring – or downplaying – the findings of a GOP-led House Oversight Committee investigation that last week announced it had evidence that nine Biden family members have allegedly received millions of dollars for no clear business purpose from foreign nationals, including entities in China and Romania. 

At the least, the allegations deserve further scrutiny. Imagine if these were members of the Trump family. The coverage would look vastly different, I’m sure.

The American people aren’t blind to these blatant discrepancies, whether from the FBI or the media. And once trust is broken, it’s very hard to rebuild.

USA Today

In the system of governance we practise, there are three arms – the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. The Legislature is said to be the first among the three. The arms are characterised by the principle of separation of powers as each is supposed to be independent of the other.

The doctrine of separation of powers was first formulated by one of the most important 18th Century political scientists, the French political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu, in his work De l'esprit des lois, or ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ (1748), which states that “There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person or body of magistrates … [or] if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers.”

English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) had earlier argued that legislative power should be divided between the King and the Parliament. Locke states that legitimate government is based on the idea of separation of powers. First and foremost of these is the legislative power. He describes legislative power as supreme in having ultimate authority over “how the force for the commonwealth shall be employed.”

His political philosophy is that multiple institutions can share the same power. The legislative power in his day was shared by the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the King. And since all three had to agree for anything to become law, all three were part of the legislative power.

The legislative arm, independent as it may be, is important in agenda setting, governance, checks and balances and the stability of a polity. And so to assume this toga of independence, people of high repute and strong moral fibre, who upcoming generations would see as role models, ought to be members as well as presiding officers.

The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are vested in the National Assembly, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives as enunciated in Chapter One, section four of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

Currently, who holds what position in the next National Assembly, the 10th, is what is agitating the polity.

Perhaps, with all the above postulations in mind, when the president-elect met with elected National Assembly members of his party at the State House conference hall in Abuja towards the selection of the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly on March 13, he declared, “I have no preferred candidate for the 10th NASS leadership; I wish all the contenders well.” Recent developments, however, seem to suggest that that position is no longer the case.

We have several people wanting to either be president, in the case of the Senate, or Speaker, in the case of the House of Representatives. Among them, we have the good as well as the bad and, not surprisingly, the ugly.

Unfortunately, the bad and the ugly, especially in the Senate, are those having the upper hand. We have those playing cat-and-mouse games with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission getting endorsements left, right and centre. Sadly, the issue of having someone above board to serve as a role model and beacon of hope at the top level in the Red Chamber is not what is important to stakeholders and “our leaders.”

There is a ray of hope in the Green Chamber, though, as many of those gunning for the number four job are great guys. Amongst them is Hon. Aliyu Betara, a fifth termer from Borno and chairman, House Committee on Appropriation. Maybe, he is encouraged by the fact that both current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, are from the same South West zone. There is also Yusuf Gagdi, a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, and Ahmed Wase, the incumbent Deputy Speaker of the House and five-time lawmaker.

Others include Tunji Olawuyi, the current chairman, House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, and Miriam Onuoha, a third termer who represents Okigwe North Federal Constituency in Imo State. She currently chairs the House Committee on Disabilities and is also known for sponsoring the controversial bill which seeks to decriminalise the growth and use of Cannabis.

But what we should be concerned with is how “independent” a legislature can be when a president or president-elect in the case of the National Assembly or a governor or governor-elect, in the case of a state assembly, determines who becomes the presiding or principal officers.

Again, a situation where the president and the state governors are leaders of their various political parties at the national and state levels and have great stakes in determining who becomes a legislator cannot make for any independence of the legislature. If what is playing out comes to be, we are most likely going to be saddled with another rubber stamp National Assembly.

Hilda, the chef who believes in Nigeria, not japa

Amidst the daily recurring stories of sadness and sorrow, political shenanigans, judicial rascality, youth crimes, and desperation of Nigerians to japa came a sliver of hope when 26-year-old Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, pushed Nigeria positively onto the world stage.

Hilda is a Nigerian chef, restaurateur and actress who believes in Nigeria. She hung on despite the many obstacles around breaking the four-year record of marathon cooking held by Lata Tondon, an Indian chef who set the record of 87 hours and 45 minutes of uninterrupted cooking in 2019.

By cooking non-stop for 100 hours and 40 minutes, she joined the elite holders of the Guinness World Record in what she termed Cook-a-thon, coined from the word marathon. Instead of japaing, she will now be hosted in various countries and would be dignified with red carpet receptions.

This recent feat is not the first time Hilda will be making her name ring out in the chef business. She had, in August 2021, won the maiden Jollof Faceoff competition, taking home the grand prize of $5,000 in the process.

** Hassan Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.

Nigeria’s U-20 male football team, the Flying Eagles, began their campaign at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina on a winning note on Sunday, claiming a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic in their opening match.

Placed in the same group with Italy and five-time champions Brazil, both Nigeria and the Dominican Republic knew they needed the best possible outcome from Sunday’s game.

It was thus not surprising, as the initial stage of the game at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza was fiercely contested, with both teams trying to take charge of the tempo of the game.

However, the Dominican Republic broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when 19-year-old Edison Azcona coolly converted a penalty awarded after a VAR review showed Nigeria’s Benjamin Frederick has committed a foul in the box.

Despite this early setback, the Flying Eagles, who came into the game on Sunday as favourites of the Group D tie, displayed commendable resilience.

They made many attempts to pierce through the Dominican’s defence, with Jude Sunday, who started on the left flank of the attack, in particular, proving to be a thorn in their side.

Finally, in the 32nd minute, Nigeria equalised thanks to an own goal by Guillermo De Pena after an error by the Dominican Republic’s goalkeeper, Xavier Valdez.

Second half

Despite several attempts from both sides, it was Nigeria’s Samson Lawal who emerged as the game-changer, as he scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 70th minute

This came after an earlier effort by Jude Sunday was disallowed for offside, which added to the match’s drama.

The Dominican Republic showed commendable grit and made many attempts to level the score, but Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Kingsley Aniogboso, was up to the task, denying the opposition at crucial moments.

In the final minutes of the match, Nigeria continued to press high, seeking to extend their lead.

The likes of Haliru Sarki and Jude Sunday had further opportunities but were denied by the Dominican Republic’s defence, led by their standout goalkeeper Valdez.

At the final whistle, it was Nigeria’s Flying Eagles who emerged victorious, earning a hard-fought 2-1 win in their opening match.

The next stop for Ladan Bosso and his boys is against Italy on Wednesday before stepping out against Brazil three days later for their last group game.

PT