Maybe the greatest problem in Nigeria today is the way in which the nation has lost its moral compass, and with it, civic culture. When our youth look at our leaders, they see clearly that there is no good example to copy. Yes, they see what is today called success. The bad guys are very successful. Success is here reduced to its most crass elements, they have stolen massive amounts of money from the treasury and can drink the most expansive whiskies and champagnes, travel round the world and move in convoys of dozens of cars although sadly for that successful Nigerian, he or she can only travel in one car at a time. I read the society pages in the press and this week, there are stories of how a “big boy” has spent hundreds of millions of naira on a party for his latest girlfriend. And as my readers know, Nigeria is indeed the most “religious” country in the world in competition with number two, Afghanistan. It is religion without God, values, love for the other and morality. They know not God because they are too deep into the worship of mammon. They have lacked the philosophical depth to understand the philosopher of our time: “Some people are so poor that all they have is money” Bob Marley.

Governance therefore has been turned in a mad rush to empty the treasury for private use. This means the core business of governance has disappeared for decades and the outcome has been a State that does not do its work. As I have repeated so many times in this column, the Nigerian state is undergoing a three-dimensional crisis. The first one affects the political economy and it is generated mainly by public corruption over the past four decades that has created a run on the treasury at the national and state levels, threatening to consume the goose that lays the golden egg. The second one is the crisis of citizenship symbolised by ethno-regional and ethno-religious crisis generating violent conflicts including the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder killings, widespread bandit-terrorism, agitations for Biafra, militancy in the Niger Delta and indigene/settler conflicts. The third element relates to the frustration of the country’s democratic aspirations in a context in which the citizenry believes in “true democracy” but is confronted with a reckless political class that is corrupt, self-serving and manipulative to ensure electoral outcomes often do not reflect the choice of the people.

These challenges have largely broken the social pact between citizens and the state. That is why today, Nigerians find themselves in a moment of doubt about their nationhood. It is similar to the two earlier moments of doubt we have experienced, 1962-1970 when we went through a terrible civil war and the early 1990s when prolonged military rule created another round of challenges to the National Project. We survived those two moments but there is no guarantee that we shall survive the third. Nonetheless, there is a possibility that the current crisis as an opportunity to surge forward in fixing Nigeria.

Our national duty is to get our leaders to listen to Bob Marley: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” This is one of the deepest insights on the purpose of leadership and governance. Will they listen, no, so engage plan b.

Every day, we discuss in homes, offices, bars, religious gatherings, the mass media, social media, professional associations and all other fora in Nigeria today that there is a real and imminent threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria. In addition, there is an on-going rapid slide into anarchy, precipitated by the most serious collapse in security provisioning in our country, which is confronted by an almost complete lack of leadership or governance response to a multipronged crisis. Maybe our leaders are too far gone to be saved as suggested by our leading poet, Niyi Osundare, while describing the judiciary which was once a pillar of justice and integrity. Some excerpts below:

“My Lord, Tell me Where to Keep your Bribe?”

Do I drop it in your venerable chambers

Or carry the heavy booty to your immaculate mansion

Shall I bury it in the capacious water tank

In your well laundered backyard

Or will it breathe better in the septic tank

Since money can deodorise the smelliest crime

My Lord
Tell me where to keep your bribe?
The “last hope of the common man”
Has become the last bastion of the criminally rich
A terrible plague bestrides the land
Besieged by rapacious judges and venal lawyers”

Increasingly, scholars are describing the Nigerian State as a failed one. My position is that it is teleological to describe the state as having failed because it is never about the end game, it is always about on-going processes of construction and deconstruction and above all, the direction of movement. The same Ghana that was once described as the clearest example of a failed state in Africa is today being described as the opposite. I fall into the category of believers in the Nigeria project and I track the evolution of the Nigerian state to see how we can pull back from the brink. If you seek evidence of failure you find it and if you seek evidence about the resilient Nigerian state you will find it. The Bible says, “seek and you shall find”. Our evil ruling class remain in power and destroy our country because they have found ways to rig elections, increasingly through the judiciary and stay on. We can stop them if we plan and organise well. My message to Nigerians is that it is not too late to save the country. Concerted citizen action can create the basis for offering Nigeria a new lease of life, provided proactive measures are taken to redress the crisis. Democracies persist and grow because they have citizens who have agency and use it to exercise their power.

Our greatest fear today should therefore be that of a self-fulfilling prophesy. The major outcome of the crisis facing the country has been the erosion of public trust. A toxic atmosphere has developed in which different actors are suspected of developing plots to destroy others. Actions of whatever type, as well as non-action or late action by governments and institutions are no longer taken at face value but are re-interpreted within narratives of coordinated plots by some groups to destroy or eliminate others or to take their land. There is no effective counter-narrative to create hope. The other challenge is negative agency. With over half the country living in extreme poverty, a generation of young Nigerians has emerged with nothing to lose but their poverty. They are procuring arms and engaging in violence, banditry and insurrectional acts to mimic the rich ruling class, thereby precipitating the march towards anarchy.

Driverless trucks are officially running their first regular long-haul routes, making roundtrips between Dallas and Houston.

On Thursday, autonomous trucking firm Aurora announced it launched commercial service in Texas under its first customers, Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines, which delivers time- and temperature-sensitive freight. Both companies conducted test runs with Aurora, including safety drivers to monitor the self-driving technology dubbed “Aurora Driver.” Aurora’s new commercial service will no longer have safety drivers.

“We founded Aurora to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly, said Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of Aurora, in a release on Thursday. “Now, we are the first company to successfully and safely operate a commercial driverless trucking service on public roads.”

The trucks are equipped with computers and sensors that can see the length of over four football fields. In four years of practice hauls the trucks’ technology has delivered over 10,000 customer loads. As of Thursday, the company’s self-driving tech has completed over 1,200 miles without a human in the truck.

Aurora is starting with a single self-driving truck and plans to add more by the end of 2025.

Self-driving technology continued to garner attention after over a decade of hype, especially from auto companies like Tesla, GM and others that have poured billions into the tech. Companies in the market of autonomous trucking or driving, tend to use states like Texas and California as their testing grounds for the technology.

California-based Gatik does short-haul deliveries for Fortune 500 retailers like Walmart. Another California tech firm, Kodiak Robotics, delivers freight daily for customers across the South but with safety drivers. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, had an autonomous trucking arm but dismantled it in 2023 to focus on its self-driving ride-hailing services.

However, consumers and transportation officials have raised alarms on the safety record of autonomous vehicles. Aurora released its own safety reportthis year detailing how its technology works.

Unions that represent truck drivers are usually opposed to the driverless technology because of the threat of job loss and concerns over safety.

Earlier this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rejected a petition from autonomous driving companies Waymo and Aurora seeking to replace traditional warning devices used when a truck broke down with cab-mounted beacons. The Transport Workers Union argued the petition would hinder safety.

CNN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed a disturbing surge in personnel costs, with expenses ballooning by a staggering 104% compared to 2023, according to the bank's recently released audited financial report.

In a concerning development for Nigerian taxpayers, the bank burned through an astronomical N595.9 billion on personnel expenses—more than double the N291 billion spent the previous year. At the group level, this personnel cost explosion was even more pronounced, jumping from N295.4 billion to a massive N608.5 billion.

The financial report exposes an equally troubling increase in total operating costs, which soared by 78% to reach N1.2 trillion, up from N673.4 trillion in 2023. Personnel costs alone devoured nearly half (49.7%) of the bank's entire operating budget, raising serious questions about fiscal responsibility and management priorities.

Despite claims of a "bullish performance," the CBN's deepening relationship with the International Monetary Fund raises red flags about Nigeria's growing financial dependence on external institutions. The bank's debt to the IMF has doubled to a concerning N5.07 trillion, while IMF's allocation of special drawing rights ballooned to N8.07 trillion.

More worrying still is the 37% increase in deposits, climbing from N38.23 trillion to N52.4 trillion—a jump that financial experts warn could severely crowd out private sector activity and stifle economic growth.

The CBN's attempts to paint a rosy picture by highlighting "improvements" in external reserves and cost efficiency ring hollow against the backdrop of these runaway expenses. While the bank touts its "strategic financial management," the numbers tell a different story—one of unchecked spending and questionable priorities during a period of economic hardship for ordinary Nigerians.

Even as the bank celebrates its exit from last year's N1.27 trillion loss to a surplus of N165.7 trillion, taxpayers are left wondering: at what cost? With personnel expenses more than doubling and operating costs spiraling upward, the CBN's financial management appears anything but "strategic" or "efficient."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that Nigeria currently has the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and ranks second globally.

Nemat Hajeebhoy, Chief of Nutrition at UNICEF, shared this information on Monday during a media briefing on the 2025 lean season multisectoral response plan targeting Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. The briefing was organized by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to Hajeebhoy, an estimated 600,000 children in Nigeria are suffering from acute malnutrition, with about half at risk of progressing to severe acute malnutrition—a condition that makes children nine to eleven times more likely to die.

Also speaking at the event, Serigne Loum, Head of Programme at the World Food Programme (WFP), stated that Nigeria has the highest number of food-insecure people on the African continent.

Their remarks came as OCHA launched an appeal for $300 million in humanitarian funding to respond to the growing food and nutrition crisis in Nigeria’s northeast.

Trond Jensen, Head of OCHA’s Office in Nigeria, said that of the total amount required, $160 million is urgently needed to address issues including food insecurity, nutrition, water and sanitation, health, protection, and logistics during the lean season.

“This is the absolute bare minimum that we need,” Jensen said. “It’s a paradox that while cases of severe acute malnutrition have doubled this year, our ability to respond has been halved due to the freeze in U.S. funding and cuts from other donors.”

As a result of the funding shortfall, OCHA has scaled back its humanitarian target to two million people—half the number supported last year. Jensen called on state governments and international partners to step in and help fill the funding gap.

This appeal comes just weeks after OCHA announced it would begin gradually reducing its presence in Nigeria due to financial constraints.

At least 19 people were killed in a suspected bandit ambush and livestock rustling operation in Bauchi state, northeast Nigeria, the police and residents said on Monday.

Bauchi police command said in a statement that the attack took place early on Sunday morning when a local security patrol in Gwana district was ambushed.

The police said civilians from a nearby village were also killed while attempting to flee the attack.

"A team of operational tactical teams was dispatched to the scene, where they recovered bodies of casualties," Bauchi police commissioner Sani-Omolori Aliyu said in the statement.

Gangs of heavily armed men, known locally as bandits, have wreaked havoc across northwest Nigeria in recent years, kidnapping thousands, killing hundreds and making it unsafe to travel by road or farm in some areas.

Ibrahim Hussaini, an eyewitness, said a gun battle ensued between the security team and the bandits which caused multiple fatalities among the vigilante team and some residents.

The attackers rustled a large number of cattle and sheep from the district after overpowering the local security team, Mohammed Umar, a vigilante from the Alkaleri local government area that includes Gwana, told Reuters by phone.

Reuters

Israel may seize all Gaza in expanded operation, officials say

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday an expanded offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas would be "intensive" after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

However an Israeli defence official said the operation would not be launched before U.S. President Donald Trump concludes his visit next week to the Middle East.

The decision, after weeks of faltering efforts to agree a ceasefire with Hamas, underlines the threat that a war heaping international pressure on Israel amid dwindling public support at home could continue with no end in sight.

A report by Israel's public broadcaster Kan, citing officials with knowledge of the details, said the new plan was gradual and would take months, with forces focusing first on one area of the battered enclave.

Netanyahu said in a video message the operation would be "intensive" and would see more Palestinians in Gaza moved "for their own safety".

He said Israeli troops would not follow previous tactics based on short raids by forces based outside Gaza. "The intention is the opposite," he said, echoing comments from other Israeli officials who have said Israel would hold on to the ground it has seized.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Israel is a sovereign state that makes its own decisions, according to Axios, which also reported that he hopes for progress on a hostage and ceasefire deal before or during Trump's visit. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli troops have already taken over an area amounting to around a third of Gaza, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared ground the military has described as security zones, but the new plan would go further.

One Israeli official said the newly approved offensive would seize the entire territory of the Gaza Strip, move its civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas' hands.

The defence official said aid distribution, which has been handled by international aid groups and U.N. organizations, would be transferred to private companies and handed out in the southern area of Rafah once the offensive begins.

The Israeli military, which throughout the war has shown little appetite for occupying Gaza, declined to comment on the remarks by government officials and politicians.

Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a U.S.-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months. It has since imposed an aid blockade, drawing warnings from the UN that the 2.3 million population faces imminent famine.

The defence official said Israel would hold on to security zones seized along the Gaza perimeter because they were vital for protecting Israeli communities around the enclave.

But he said there was a "window of opportunity" for a ceasefire and hostage release deal during Trump's visit.

"If there is no hostage deal, Operation "Gideon Chariots" will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved," he said.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi rejected what he called "pressure and blackmail".

"No deal except a comprehensive one, which includes a complete ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and the release of all prisoners from both sides," he said.

'OCCUPATION'

Israel has yet to present a clear vision for post-war Gaza after a campaign that has displaced most of Gaza's population and left it depending on aid supplies that have been dwindling rapidly since the blockade.

Ministers have said that aid distribution cannot be left to international organizations which it accuses of allowing Hamas to seize supplies intended for civilians.

Instead, officials have looked at plans for private contractors to handle distribution, through what the United Nations has described as Israeli hubs.

On Monday, Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said on X that Israel was demanding that the U.N. and non-governmental organisations shut down their aid distribution system in Gaza.

The decision to expand the operation was immediately hailed by Israeli government hardliners who have long pressed for a full takeover of the Gaza Strip by Israel and a permanent displacement of the population, along the lines of the "Riviera" plans outlined by Trump in February.

"We are finally going to conquer Gaza. We are no longer afraid of the word 'occupation'," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told a pro-settler conference in an online discussion.

However, opinion polls show the Israeli public increasingly wants a deal to bring back the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza and there were angry scenes outside parliament with dozens of protesters scuffling with police.

"All the families are tired," said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. "All the families have been scared about this new manoeuvring because there is no guarantee that it will get us to where the families want."

With Israel facing threats from the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who on Sunday fired a missile that hit close to Ben Gurion Airport, an unstable Syria next door and a volatile situation in the occupied West Bank, the capacity for prolonged military operations also faces growing constraints.

Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Sunday that the military has already begun issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders for reservists.

A government spokesman said reserve soldiers were being called up to expand operations in Gaza, not to occupy it.

Zamir, who took office in March, has pushed back against calls by government hardliners who want to choke off aid entirely and has told ministers aid must be let in soon, according to Kan.

The war was triggered by the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza.

Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine targets Moscow with drones for second straight night, officials say

Russian air defence units destroyed a swarm of Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow in a second night attack in a row, prompting the closure of all airports in the capital for several hours, officials said early on Tuesday.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media that at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed on their approach to Moscow "from different directions," causing no major destruction or injuries.

The consecutive attacks came ahead of Moscow marking this week the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last week a three-day ceasefire over May 8-10 to mark the anniversary.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the measure pointless and offered an unconditional ceasefire over at least 30 days in line with a U.S. proposal launched in March.

Three major Telegram news channels that have links to Russian security services -- Bazaar, Mash and Shot -- said a drone struck an apartment building near a major road in the south of Moscow, smashing windows. There were no reports of casualties.

Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaria's said flights were halted at all four airports that serve Moscow for several hours overnight to ensure air safety. Airports in a number of regional cities were also closed.

On Tuesday, Russia's air defence units destroyed four Ukrainian drones on their approach to Moscow, with no damage or injuries reported.

Since the start of the war that Russia launched more than three years ago, Kyiv has launched several drone attacks on Moscow. Its biggest attack on the Russian capital in March killed three people.

In the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine in Russia's southwest, at least 18 drones were destroyed, causing small damage in a non-residential building and children playground, regional governor said early on Tuesday.

While Russia's air defence units destroyed 10 drones over the southern Pena region, with no damage or injuries reported, a regional governor said on Telegram.

The full-scale of the attack on Moscow and the rest of Russia on Tuesday was not clear. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv about the latest drone attack.

Ukraine says its drone attacks are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow's overall war efforts and are in response to Russia's continued assault on Ukrainian territory, including residential areas and energy infrastructure.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian glide bombs pound Kiev’s troops

Multiple new videos emerged online over the weekend, highlighting the continuing active use of free-fall aerial bombs fitted with winged upgrade kits. Russian aircraft have been deploying glide bombs to destroy Ukrainian forces’ positions, as well as military installations in the rear beyond the frontline.

The Russian military has been actively using FAB bombs fitted with Universal Correction and Guidance Modules (UMPK) winged upgrade kits since early 2023. The winged module turns old free-fall bombs into guided high-precision munitions and drastically expands their range, allowing war planes to deploy them outside the range of anti-aircraft defenses.

The UMPKs were initially used with smaller high-explosive bombs such as FAB-250 or FAB-500, then graduating to larger munitions, such as FAB-1500 and FAB-3000 later in the conflict. The upgrade kits have also been used with thermobaric ODAB-1500 and cluster RBK-500 bombs.

In one of the new videos, what is apparently a massive FAB-3000 bomb is seen leveling a temporary deployment point for Ukrainian troops in the town of Kupyansk in Kharkov Region. The weapon is one of the most powerful in the series, weighing more than three tons.

More footage, also from Kupyansk, purports to show a winged FAB-3000 bomb striking a building used as a command post by the Ukrainian military.

Another drone video, filmed in the village of Borovaya, Kharkov Region, apparently shows a smaller-caliber winged bomb in action, likely a FAB-1500. The strike reportedly destroyed a temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a neo-Nazi unit formed from the remnants of the notorious Azov regiment.

Reuters/RT

A few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians today are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that do not align with available data.

According to Nairametrics, he claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1,847 and that it is $824 today. The quoted figures are not correct.

According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even one hundred dollars.

Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981. Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200.

These facts raise questions about the source of Adesina’s figures.

But my mission in this response is not to poke holes in the erudite African banking president’s figures. The more substantive issue lies in Adesina’s conclusion based on these numbers.

Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards.

Its primary usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country or between countries.

GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous. It does not account for subsistence farming or income transfer from one family member to another.

GDP per capita is silent on whether Nigerians in 2025 enjoy better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960.

This premise alone suggests why Adesina should not have arrived at his conclusion. Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has more primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. We have more road networks and more medical facilities, private and public. We have phenomenal access to telephones. At Independence, we had 18,724 operational phone lines for a population of about 45 million. Over 200 million Nigerians now enjoy near-universal access to mobile phones and digital services, indicating we are better off today than 65 years ago.

In our country, policymakers know that whatever GDP figure NBS publishes may not capture our economy’s full depth and breadth if it fails to include the informal economy, which some pundits have said may even be more significant than the formal economy. This underscores why Dr. Adesina should have considered all aspects of our economy before concluding.

When Vodacom, a telecommunications company, considered entering the Nigerian market in 1999 or 2000, its consultants, using the available GDP metrics, advised against it. They believed that Nigerians were too poor to afford GSM services. However, MTN and other companies that entered the market later proved them wrong, demonstrating that GDP figures alone do not provide a complete picture of a country’s economic potential or the living standards of its people.

MTN and other adventurers came later, and they laughed all the way to the bank. More than 20 years later, they are still laughing despite some setbacks in 2023 and 2024. In its first-quarter results this year, MTN declared revenue of N1 trillion and an increase of 8.2 percent in subscriptions, which took the number of its voice and data users to 84 million. Does this MTN experience correlate with a country worse off than in 1960, when we had analogue telephones and the number of lines was fewer than 20,000?

No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960. Today, as we await the NBS’s recalibration of our GDP, we can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence.

Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement.

** Onanuga is Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu

Growing up, I was super inquisitive. I always needed explanations. 
“Why is the sky blue? Why does my hair grow so coily? Why can’t I have sleepovers like my friends?” I would ask. Sometimes, I’d get an actual answer. Other times, I’d get the dreaded, “Because I said so.” Even though it was probably annoying, I continued to question, and I continue to do so today.
That’s a good quality to have, according to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. He has noticed that the employees and teams who most ask “Why?” and prod for more answers are most successful: They’re the ones who best break down complex problems and create new products, he explained in his most recent annual letter to shareholders, which published on April 10.
“In the nearly 28 years I’ve been at Amazon, the biggest difference in the relative growth of companies and individuals has been their aptitude to learn,” Jassy wrote. “People with high YQ [the instinct to frequently ask ‘Why?’] are always curious how they can get better, become wiser, and incorporate their new knowledge into better customer experiences.”
Posing questions can encourage “constructive debate” and messy meetings, Jassy said. That often helps prevent mistakes or brainstorm new ideas.
“You can’t book 60 minutes to invent Amazon Prime, or AWS [Amazon Web Services] or Alexa+,” he wrote. “These inventions are born out of somebody asking why we can’t change what’s possible for customers, and then they take on a life of their own, often meandering down multiple dead ends before getting to a final destination.”
Inquisitiveness can be a powerful trait in the workplace, according to communication experts. Getting a second opinion, trying to figure out how something is done or even gently challenging an idea can even help you gain influence among your colleagues, Stanford lecturer Matt Abrahams told CNBC Make It in September 2024.
“It demonstrates you care, it demonstrates empathy, it demonstrates you’re willing to learn and, in some cases, admit you don’t know everything,” said Abrahams. That approach can make clear that you’re open to feedback, and it can make the other person feel more comfortable asking you for your opinion when they need advice.
I used to be a little self-conscious about asking too many questions, fearing it made me look less knowledgeable. But after reading this article, I feel even more empowered to keep prodding for answers.

CNBC

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says he is still fighting for the survival of his $20bn refinery, stressing that the fight is not yet finished.

Dangote expressed optimism that he would win the fight for the refinery, stating his determination to fight on.

According to Semafor, an international news medium, Africa’s richest man spoke at an investor forum in Lagos on Friday.

The report stated that Dangote pointed out that some individuals who “for a very, very long time” have “made a lot of money from” government-subsidised oil imports into Nigeria, were the ones trying to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery situated in Lekki, Lagos.

Dangote was quoted as saying that “those groups have funded resistance to the Bola Tinubu government’s removal of petrol subsidies and are opposed to the refinery operating easily in the country.”

However, Dangote was confident that the battle between him and the groups would be won, priding himself as a long-time fighter.

“We’re fighting, and the fight is not yet finished. But I have been fighting all my life, and I am ready and 100 per cent sure I will win at the end of the day,” he was quoted.

Dangote’s latest comments came as Nigeria plans to increase its capacity to stockpile petroleum products, to prepare against shocks to the global oil market following US President Donald Trump’s shake-up of international trade with the threat of tariffs.

Recall that Dangote has since last year raised the alarm that some mafias were sabotaging his refinery.

He specifically mentioned that some international oil companies were sabotaging his investment by denying the facility adequate crude supply despite the domestic crude supply obligation.

Dangote had alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was issuing licences to marketers to import substandard petroleum products into the country.

He vowed to push his $20bn refinery to full operational capacity despite what he said were challenges from oil importers seeking to undermine his venture to retain their dominance in the country’s energy sector.

At a point last year, Dangote said he regretted building the refinery, saying the mafias in the oil and gas sector were stronger than those of drugs.

However, he refused to give up on the project as the facility targets its full capacity soon.

The PUNCH recalls that the Dangote Group boss once accused some powerful individuals of frustrating his refinery.

“In a system where, for 35 years, people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden, they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.

“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there,” Dangote added.

He had recalled that he was once persuaded by a former Minister of Energy in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, to shelve the idea of building a refinery. However, he said he told the former minister that he did not need his advice.

In June 2024, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, accused IOCs in Nigeria of plans to frustrate the survival of the new Dangote refinery.

Edwin said the IOCs were “deliberately and willfully frustrating” the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by hiking the cost above the market price, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from countries as far as the United States, with its attendant high costs.

Edwin also accused the NMDPRA of granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.

“It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country that exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their Gross Domestic Product, and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria – thus making us dependent on imported products,” Edwin had stated.

The refinery, which started petrol production last September, is seen as a way for Africa’s biggest crude oil producer to end its reliance on the costly importation of refined fuel.

It was reported that the refinery’s entry has helped push down the pump prices of refined products even as retailers count their losses.

With the naira-for-crude deal, the Dangote refinery promised to ensure enough fuel supply to Nigeria, Africa, and the world.

IPMAN supports Dangote

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria said they are with Dangote as he pushes ahead to fight the cabal.

IPMAN Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Udadike, said Dangote had promised before that he would fight the so-called cabal for the good of the masses, stressing that the association is behind him.

He said the fight is just the usual competition in any business, especially when a product is doing better than others in the market.

“Well, this is business. Competition abounds. There is no businessman whom people will not fight if he is doing well, especially when it is only your goods that are being produced, and the others are not being patronised because of the price. So, it is evident that every businessman wants to survive. It’s not an issue. What we can do is encourage him.

“We independent marketers are happy with him for his price slashes, although sometimes it’s against our own business strategy and projections. But that is part of the business, it is profit and loss.

“You know the factor of demand and supply matter determines the market. So, if he’s talking about how people want to sabotage him, he has told us that he’s ready to fight the oil cabals, and he is in this business to ensure that Nigerians don’t suffer. So, we encourage him not to lose hope, and we independent marketers support him in all ramifications,” Ukadike said.

No need to fight, says PETROAN

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said there should be no form of discord in the downstream.

According to him, Dangote should be allowed to refine its products with the naira-for-crude deal while importers and other traders should be given a level playing field to operate.

Gillis-Harry noted that there should be facts to back up all claims, saying there will be competition in any business, pleading, however, that it should be healthy.

He appealed to the Federal Government to supply enough crude to Dangote and other refineries.

Asked whether he felt the temporary stoppage of the naira-for-crude deal by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited could have prompted Dangote’s comment, he replied that there was a need to review the pilot phase of the deal, emphasising that PETROAN was always in support of the naira petrol sales deal, which he said would make petroleum products available for all Nigerians.

He stressed that other refineries are coming onstream and there will be more competitors in the market.

“I just want all players to do their business without any fight,” the PETROAN boss said.

The naira-for-crude deal ordered by President Bola Tinubu allowed the sale of crude in naira to the Dangote refinery, prompting a crash in fuel prices.

With the supply of crude in naira, the Dangote refinery continued to crash petrol prices across the country. From about N1,100 per litre, the company slashed the price of premium motor spirit to N860.

But importers of petroleum products lamented the repeated reduction of petrol prices by the refinery. Some of the importers lamented that they were compelled to sell below their costs, as consumers only buy from where the product is cheaper.

While Nigerians were rejoicing over the price slashes, fuel importers and retailers said they were counting losses.

Punch