WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

'The Russians were waiting for us': Ukraine troops describe tougher fight than expected

They rode into a kill zone. The timing was off. Many men were lost. In the end, they recaptured the ruined village of Staromaiorske, claiming Ukraine's biggest advance for weeks.

Troops at the spearhead of Ukraine's counteroffensive say a battle last week along the front in the southeast proved to be tougher and bloodier than expected, with plans going awry and an enemy that was well-prepared.

"The Russians were waiting for us," said a 29-year-old soldier using the call-sign Bulat, from a unit sent into battle in armoured vehicles during last week's assault.

"They fired anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers at us. My vehicle drove over an anti-tank mine, but everything was ok, the vehicle took the hit, and everyone was alive. We dismounted and ran towards the cover. Because the most important is to find cover and then move on.”

Tales of the battle of Staromaiorske, recounted to Reuters near the frontline in southeastern Ukraine, give an indication of why Kyiv's boldest counteroffensive of the war, soon entering its third month, has proven a slower and bloodier slog than anticipated.

"Our mission was planned to take two days. But we couldn’t drive in during the darkness at the right time, for a few reasons. So we drove in later and lost the right moment," said Bulat.

Kyiv, which has received billions of dollars worth of equipment and training from Western countries to mount its counteroffensive to recapture occupied territory this summer, has acknowledged that its campaign is unfolding more slowly than expected. Commanders say the deliberate pace is needed to avoid high casualties.

The Russians have had months to prepare their fortifications and sow minefields. The Ukrainian attackers lack the air superiority that their NATO allies normally expect in their training drills.

The Russian defenders had set up "pre-sighted zones" in anticipation of the attack, said a 24-year-old Ukrainian marine with the call-sign "Dub".

"They methodically destroyed the roads. They made pits that prevented driving in and out of the village, even in dry weather. Even walking was quite hard. You can’t use flashlights at night, but you still have to advance.”

Another soldier, using the call-sign Pikachu, said men in his unit "tried our best. We made it."

"The dismount was not great," the soldier acknowledged. "We advanced slowly but surely. They were shooting, everything was flying. It was scary, but we moved on. Nobody fell back. Everyone did a great job.

"Many of us who went will never return home."

** Drones target Moscow, high-rise building hit

The Russian military said its anti-aircraft units had thwarted a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" early on Tuesday and downed drones targeting Moscow, but one drone, sent out of control by its units, struck the same high-rise tower hit earlier in the week.

Video obtained by Reuters showed a fiery ball exploding amid a loud boom by high-rise buildings in the Moskva Citi business complex. A plume of smoke billowed into the night sky.

"On the night of August 1st, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime with lethal drones on targets in Moscow and Moscow region was thwarted," the Defence Ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Two drones, the Ministry said, had been downed in suburbs west of the city centre.

"Yet another (drone) was hit by radio-electronic equipment and, having run out of control, crashed on the territory of the complex of non-residential buildings at Moskva Citi," the ministry said, referring to a business centre in the capital.

Vnukovo airport, one of three major airports serving the capital briefly shut down, but later resumed full operations.

Emergency services, quoted by Tass news agency, said debris from the falling drone had been located and would be sent for technical expertise.

Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said one of the drones targeting the capital had flown into the same tower at Moskva Citi that had been struck earlier in the week.

"One flew into the same tower at the Moskva Citi complex hit previously. The facade has been damaged on the 21st floor. Glazing was destroyed over 150 square metres."

Sobyanin said no injuries were reported.

Moskva Citi was hit by a drone attacks last Sunday -- one of several such incidents which have caused limited damage but generated widespread unease.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the day following that incident that Ukrainian attacks on Moscow and other Russian targets were "acts of desperation" and that Russia was taking all measures possible to protect against strikes.

Ukraine rarely comments on incidents that take place on Russian territory in its war against Moscow, now in its 17th month.

But this week, in an oblique reference to drone attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the war "is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases".

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian defense chief provides new estimate of Ukrainian losses

Russian forces have stopped Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive dead in its tracks, inflicting tens of thousands of casualties on Kiev’s troops, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday.

Speaking at a conference attended by senior military commanders, Shoigu noted that Kiev “is desperately throwing new forces in a bid to storm our positions” but the Russian military thwarted all breakthrough attempts by relying on well-built and organized defenses, adding that the endurance of military personnel played an instrumental role in the success.

As a result, in July, Ukraine lost 20,824 service members and 2,227 units of military equipment, including 10 German-supplied Leopard tanks, 11 US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and 50 self-propelled guns from several Western countries, the minister stated.

According to Shoigu, on July 26 and 27 alone Ukraine lost more than 400 service members and 31 tanks and other heavy weaponry near the settlement of Rabotino in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region. Last week, a video surfaced on social media purporting to show a “graveyard” of Bradleys filmed at the same location.

“It is obvious that the Western-supplied weapons are failing to bring success on the battlefield and only prolong the military conflict,” Shoigu said.

Short of any combat accomplishments, “the Kiev regime, with the support of its Western sponsors, is now focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure” in Russian cities, Shoigu noted, adding that Moscow has introduced additional security measures and ramped up attacks on Ukrainian military facilities. 

Kiev launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian defenses in the early days of June, but failed to gain any ground, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. Ukrainian officials have attributed the difficulties to delays in Western arms shipments, extensive minefields, lack of air support and stiff Russian resistance. 

Meanwhile, several media reports have suggested that Kiev’s Western allies have grown “alarmed” at the slow progress on the battlefield, while being “jolted” by Ukrainian losses in armor. In addition, a Financial Times report from late June suggested that future Western support would depend on the results of the counteroffensive, which have so far been underwhelming.

** Ex-Russian president sees benefit in Kiev’s refusal to talk

Kiev’s refusal to hold negotiations with Moscow has advantages, as it allows Russia to push on with accomplishing all of its military campaign goals in Ukraine, former President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

Writing on Telegram on Monday, Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, expressed delight that the “decaying corpse of Ukraine” is being led by servile and “corrupt hustlers and stoned clowns who pray for their Western masters.”

He went on to describe Kiev’s decision to “put forward an unviable ‘peace formula’ while rejecting all other options for holding negotiations with foam at the mouth” as “extremely beneficial.” 

“All this will allow Russia to see the special military operation through to the very end. To the end of the Bandera regime. To the end of neo-Nazi ideology,” Medvedev said, referring to the notorious Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with Germany during WWII.

According to the former president, Kiev’s policies will enable Moscow to eliminate all those “scumbags who brought death to many of their citizens for the sake of the money they stole from the West and in order to satisfy their malign ambitions.”

Since the early days of the Ukraine conflict, Russian officials have repeatedly signaled that they are open to talks with Kiev. However, in October 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree prohibiting talks with the current Russian government. The move came after four former Ukrainian regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in public referendums.

Later, the Ukrainian president floated a ten-point ‘peace formula’ that would require Moscow to withdraw all its troops from the territory Kiev claims as its own. Russia rejected the proposal as unacceptable, calling it a sign that Ukraine was not serious about talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev are rooted in the threats posed to Russia by the US and NATO, which he said “refuse to negotiate on the issues of ensuring equal security.”

Reuters/RT

The current leadership of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) deserves commendation for being alive to its responsibilities in catalysing discussions on issues of global relevance to Nigeria. Precisely on July 13, it hosted a seminar, most appropriately themed, “Nigeria’s Foreign Policy under President Bola Tinubu: Which way forward?” It was my privilege to speak, albeit virtually, on “President Bola Tinubu, Nigerian Foreign Policy and the Expansion of Democracy in Africa,” at the well-attended event. As expected, the directions in which the panelists felt Nigeria should be headed under the Tinubu presidency were fully explored. My interrogation of its outlook on the expansion of democracy, of necessity, touched on some of the factors and forces that combine to challenge the democracy project in Africa. I do not intend to delay us here on this. It thus suffices to reaffirm my thesis that it is basically the failure of (democratic) governance, and the overall dysfunctionality of our governance structures and processes, across the continent, that reproduce democratic backsliding, the most dramatic manifestation of which is the phenomenon of coup d’état. The coups have now occurred in such regularity – since 2020 – to make the West African subregion ‘the coup belt’ of the continent. My focus in this piece is on how Nigeria should approach the evolving fluid but very dangerous situation in Niger Republic.

The situation is made particularly important for Nigeria, not just because Niger Republic is one of our contiguous northern neighbours, but one that is also in the vortex of terrorism and insurgency, administered by sundry armed non-state actors, including Boko Haram and ISWAP. As well, Nigeria has just been appointed as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of our regional integration body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – the overall budget of which Nigeria is responsible for, to the tune of some 63%. All of these make Nigeria the natural candidate to superintend ECOWAS’ regional action on Niger. This now includes, since the regional body’s 30 July meeting in Abuja, the possibility of armed intervention to flush out the junta, and reinstate deposed President Mohamed Barzoum. The passion with which Tinubu spoke at his July 9 investiture as ECOWAS leader could not be ignored. His determination to defend and expand the frontiers of democracy on the continent is almost palpable, and probably understandable; after all, this is one politician whose political trajectory was forged, as it were, in the anvil of struggles for democracy.

Yet, it is important that Nigeria treads very carefully on the Niger situation, for a number of reasons.

When cast against the backdrop of the very noble interventions of Nigeria to bring back order to Liberia via the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG); in Sierra Leone, to put an end to a military coup, and reinstate the Tejan Kabbar government; or in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s bold engagement of the coup plotters that overthrew the government of Sao Tome and Principe, while the country’s leader, Fradique de Menezes, was visiting Nigeria, one would not but be tempted to see Nigeria replicating some or all of these efforts in Niger Republic. Trust him, Obasanjo even added a dramatic twist to the whole matter in 2003, by personally leading Menezes back to his country, to resume duties as president! Even so, the question remains, is Nigeria in a position to undertake any of these types of foreign policy expeditions today? My answer is in the negative; and the reasons are not farfetched.

My first concern is with the state of the Nigerian military. I monitored a discussion on one of Nigeria’s more notable television networks on Sunday night, in which an analyst repeatedly cited Nigeria’s military as ‘the most powerful on the African continent!’ Such a line obviously sounds good to the ears, if you were a Nigerian; but is this really true? Many credible sources indicate that South Africa, Egypt, and probably Morocco and Algeria too, could indeed be ahead of the Nigerian military in overall capability. Considered here are not just the number of men and women under arms; but also the capacity at local production of weapons of war, of all categories. There is also the factor of access to such munitions produced abroad that a country’s military may need in the event of war. This is defined in multiple and delicate diplomatic contours, such as may make access difficult for a country, even when it has the foreign exchange to pay for the weapons its military needs. This is not to talk of the volume of foreign exchange a country is in a position to deploy for these purchases, even where producers are not citing one reason or the other (including human rights orientations) to deny one access. We should recall that Nigeria had to purchase 13 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets, for a whopping US$593 million sometime ago, under President Muhammadu Buhari. The first set of the planes – six of them – was delivered only in 2021, four years after all commitments were made. Is Nigeria in any position to readily come up with such funds today, for just 13 units of a fighting device? Your guess is as good as mine!

Of additional importance is the fact that the Nigeria military today seems bogged down, if not overwhelmed, by the extensive nature of its internal security engagements. This is not in any way to underestimate the very heroic efforts of our men and women in uniform, in guarding the commonwealth, in all directions. Rather, it is to underscore the point that the overall (in)security situation in Nigeria is so dire, as to make the military to be involved in one form of operation or the other, against determined and morbidly effective armed non-state actors, in virtually all the states of the federation. What comes to mind from this is, how feasible is it for Nigeria to make a clinical, effective and efficient military intervention in Niger Republic, directed at reinstating President Bazoum to power? I ask this against the backdrop of the critical economic crisis in which the country reels today, and argue that it was possible in the 1980s/1990s to be so deeply involved in Liberia, and make the type of swift military intervention in Sierra Leone, which ECOWAS seems to be suggesting for Niger Republic today, because Nigeria’s economic outlook then was several notches better than what is abroad today. This calls for caution vis-a-vis the ECOWAS ultimatum to the Niger junta, which, if push comes to shove, would be completely left, by the other member-states, in the hands of Nigeria, to execute.

It is doubtful if the state of internal cohesion in Nigeria is good enough for the country to embark upon a foreign expedition, the type envisaged by ECOWAS. The Buhari government unquestionably left a rather abysmal record in the way it managed Nigeria’s diversity. He practically left the country in a cesspool of intense and mutual ethno-religious distrust. The Tinubu government has a duty to carefully negotiate the cleavages that define Nigeria, if the existential challenge posed by his predecessor’s arrant lack of capacity, and negative attitude on same, is to be rested. Associated with this is the very acrimonious 2023 election, the outcome of which is still in hot contestation at the courts.

There is a place for the Diversionary Theory of foreign policy in the scholarship on International Relations. This essentially speaks to a situation in which a government, going through the type of stress underway in the Nigeria of today, latches onto risky foreign policy acts, with a view to diverting attention away. Such foreign policy engagement is also made the basis for mobilisation of support for the government. It is, however, not in all cases that such high-stake gambles come out in the desirable or desired manner. In the situation in which Nigeria has found itself today, defined by gargantuan economic challenges, tough nation-building hurdles to cross, deeply conflicting perspectives on the direction of social policies, etc., it may be too risky to embark upon a foreign military adventure, the outcome of which is not easily predictable. Nobody needs to be reminded of how seriously the American political process convulsed by reason of the Vietnam quagmire. None should be tasked to recall how the Afghanistan debacle was a precipitating factor in the collapse of the former Soviet Union. US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan soon after he got into office could be regarded as precipitate, but it arguably remains his smartest foreign policy decision thus far, given the volume of blood, number of limbs, and quantum of dollars his country had lost in the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan!

I note also that everything that we have seen thus far suggests that the coup in Niger is very popular with the citizens of the country. Granted that the Nigeriens could be making the mistake of their lives, in assuming that the military junta is going to govern their country better than the fledgling civilian government it sacked, the coup is nevertheless popular. This accords with what we have seen in other francophone countries in the region, where a chain of wrong public policies, especially the vacation of fixed presidential tenures in their constitution, had left the populace exasperated, thereby making military coups feel like refreshing experiences. To send in a military expedition to flush out such a government as the one digging in, in Niger today, may not be a piece of cake, especially when such is going to be led by a country, which is itself practically bogged down by a bouquet of nation-building challenges.

Our Borno State is contiguous with Niger Republic. What would be the implication of an armed expedition to the country, which could be long drawn out, on the security situation in the state, where Governor Babagana Zulum’s creative, non-kinetic and patriotic interventions, which are bringing peace back to the state, may be completely dismantled? It is hardly defensible, from the point of view of the long-suffering populations that border Niger Republic, for Nigeria to go into such a dangerous intervention in our northern neighbour.

Many commentaries would seem to have carefully avoided weighing in on the geopolitics of the evolving situation in Niger. One wonders in this regard whether the ECOWAS leaders factored into their projections the possibility that the Wagner group of mercenaries could be in Niger, even before the expiration of their one-week deadline. It is obvious that this unusual non-state actor remains an effective foreign policy tool in the hands of Moscow, and remains so in spite of the embarrassment its armed protestation meant for the highly strategic President Vladimir Putin a few weeks ago. That Wagner is already deeply involved in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea – all in the Sahel with Niger Republic – makes this projection quite plausible. Meanwhile, in the light of the challenges faced by France in the region, deriving from extant hostility to it from the juntas running these countries, the ousted Bazoum government in Niger was, to all intents and purposes, the last outpost of the West in the Sahel. What this implies is the possibility of projection of the growing tension between Russia and the West onto Niger, with grave consequences for whichever countries in the region allow themselves to be used as canon fodders, to fight an inevitable proxy war in the African country. This doesn’t look like a pleasant place for Nigeria to be.

Deriving from the foregoing is the need for Nigeria to be properly advised on the situation in Niger. No doubt, it is distasteful to have yet another coup in the West African sub-region, especially only a few days after Tinubu declared the phenomenon unacceptable on the continent. The lesson here is that government, especially in foreign policy matters, should be very circumspect in issuing whatever looks like ultimatums, or taking positions which have not been carefully thought through, and subjected to critical, nay, brutal examination vis-a-vis what capability the country possesses to deliver upon such. Secondly, it is my view that Nigeria’s focus now should be on encouraging African countries that are yet to fall under the threatening cloud of miliary coups to begin to prioritise the interests of their masses; desist from sabotaging their own constitutions; and strive at building inclusive systems, where no one is left behind from the entire political economy. This is the most important antidote to what Antonio Guterres, the UN chief, has now most aptly characterised as the coup epidemic sweeping through (West) Africa.

France obviously has the capacity to make an impactful intervention in Niger, including an armed one. In 2012 to 2013, it made such a clinical intervention in Mali, via Operation Barkhane, and saved Bamako from an impending jihadist onslaught. That Paris already has a standing force in Niger works to its advantage. Additionally, France has considerable strategic interests in Niger that are often marginalised in analysis. Niger is the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world. The industry is largely controlled by the French company, Areva (now Orano), and no less than 50% of the uranium produced in Niger ends up in France, providing some one-third of what powers the latter’s nuclear reactors. As one pundit puts it, graphically, every three out of four bulbs lighted in France, is through the grace of uranium imported from Niger. The Americans also maintain a drone base in the Sahelian country that could be in jeopardy as things unfold.

In the circumstances, it is in order for Nigeria to continue giving leadership to ECOWAS on the strong position it holds on Niger, including sustenance of the sanction regime already imposed, to wit ‘all measures necessary to restore constitutional order.’ It should, however, tread with caution on the subject of ‘the use of force’ directed at sacking the coup plotters. Ultimately, it would be safer for Nigeria to encourage French intervention in the incipient Niger conundrum, to flush out the junta and restore constitutional order, with Abuja offering only strong diplomatic backing to such an effort. By so doing, Nigeria would be able to achieve its specific objectives in Niger without having to risk further damage to its own internal processes, and global standing. Sending Nigerian troops into Niger Republic at these times, is, in my considered opinion, fraught with much danger. It should be avoided.

When, on 26th July, soldiers from the presidential guard deposed and detained Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum, it became part of a concerning narrative about the growing frequency of coups in African countries in recent years. Since 2020, there have been coups in Chad, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sudan and now Niger.

When you peel a little under the surface, you begin to unpack a telling pattern. The first is that all of the listed countries, except Sudan, are “former” French colonies. Except that they are quite “former”. The so-called Francophone  countries are routinely among the least developed countries on the African continent, with noticeably lower levels of human capital development when compared with the rest of African countries.

In recent years, social media platforms have increased awareness and growing debate among African youth and pan African intellectuals about the so-called “colonial tax”, which was a “deal” reached by France with “former” colonies, under which most of them have continued to use the CFA currency, even after France itself abandoned it for the Euros. This monetary arrangement effectively gives the French Treasury control of the foreign exchange reserves of “former colonies. As Senegalese development economist, Ndogo Sylla, noted, “the persistence of (this) neo-colonial monetary and financial relationships has favoured neither structural transformation nor regional integration, and has done even less for the economic development of the CFA countries, 9 out of 14 of which are among the Least Developed Countries.”

This neo-colonial arrangement meant that France has, for long, propped up de facto civilian dictatorships under the cover of pseudo democracies that have brought the countries nothing other than poverty and under-development. For decades on end, that is. Paul Biya of Cameroon, to mention one example, has now been “president” for 40 years. To maintain its hold on the continent, France has established military outposts in these countries.

The French approach is outdated and unenlightened, of course. It relies heavily on the assumption that the citizens of these countries, and other interested African countries, will remain perpetually ignorant and uninformed. A silly assumption in an age of social media. It also relies ostensibly on sheer force of might to maintain the status quo, against the current of growing public consciousness across the African continent. Opportunistic coupists are trying to latch onto simmering and growing anti imperialist fervour among Africa’s educated youth. They aren’t the only one, though.

Enter in opportunistic Russia, with its bands of ferocious mercenaries masquerading as anti-imperialist freedom fighters. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, was waxing lyrical few days ago when he declared his support for the Nigerien coupists in their fight against “colonisation”. In truth, neither Prigozhin nor Putin is motivated by any lofty vision of emancipation and development of African countries. It is all about the desperate scramble for natural resources. No more, no less.

Africa is not the prospective bride courted by many suitors, noble and true. Rather. It is the bejeweled virgin that is struggling to break free from a gang of rapists and has now been offered help by a ruthless band of robbers hunting for jewels. Whither should she turn?

Nigerian president and other West African leader who met in Abuja must be well aware and wide awake. They will be foolish to launch an all out military intervention in Niger Republic, even as they should take a stand against unconstitutional usurpation of power by the milairy junta. There can be no lasting military solution to the Nigerien problem, like other countries that have witnessed similar coups in recent years. African leaders must look deeper to tackle the root causes of instability with a long term strategy, at the heart of which must be true and full independence of African states

and enthronement of genuine democratic order.

China has long been touted as a revolutionary when it comes to wind power. Earlier this year, it was reported that the country had begun construction of a wind farm using what were then hailed as the largest turbines ever seen, each with a capacity of 16 megawatts. Now, a new milestone has been reached, with the successful switch-on of a turbine with a rotor diameter over twice the length of a football field.

China Three Gorges Corporation announced that the 16-megawatt MySE 16-260 turbine had been successfully installed at the company’s offshore wind farm near Fujian Province on July 19. The behemoth is 152 meters (500 feet) tall, and each single blade is 123 meters (403 feet) and weighs 54 tons. This means that the sweep of the blades as they rotate covers an area of 50,000 square meters (nearly 540,000 square feet).

It's the first time such a large turbine has been hooked up to a commercial grid.

According to the corporation, just one of these turbines should be able to produce enough electricity to power 36,000 households of three people each for one year. Detailing the impressive green credentials of this technology, they claim that wind-powered domestic electricity could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 54,000 tons compared with using coal-fired power stations.

The Fuijian offshore wind farm sits in the Taiwan Strait. Gusts of force 7 on the Beaufort scale, classified as “near gales”, are a regular occurrence in these treacherous waters, which is obviously perfect for generating wind power – provided, of course, that your turbines can withstand the weather. Mingyang Smart Energy, who designed the MySE 16-260, were already confident their machine was up to the challenge, stating in a LinkedIn postthat it could handle “extreme wind speeds of 79.8 [meters per second].”

Still, it wasn’t very long at all before these claims were put to the test, in the wake of the devastating typhoon Talim that ravaged East Asia earlier this month. The typhoon threat is ever-present in this region, and the new mega-turbine withstood the onslaught.

Buoyed by the success of this installation, China Three Gorges Corporation is already looking to the future. “In the next step, the 16 [megawatt] unit will be applied in batches in the second phase of the Zhangpu Liuao Offshore Wind Farm Project constructed by China Three Gorges Corporation,” said executive director of the Three Gorges Group Fujian Company Lei Zengjuan.

Whilst China has been leading the way in developing bigger and more powerful turbines, other countries are hot on its heels. Construction is underway on the USA’s Vineyard Wind 1, a massive offshore development that will incorporate 13-megawatt GE Haliade-X turbines. In 2021, Denmark announced a project to build a dedicated artificial island of wind turbines off its coast.

In a world where a push away from fossil fuels is more urgently needed than ever before, any and all advances in renewable energy must surely be good news.

IFL Science

How to master being aware of your emotions and the emotions of others.

When it comes to leading yourself and others, emotional intelligence -- the ability to understand and manage our own emotions and understand and influence the emotions of others -- is just as important as IQ, if not more.

Here's why: when you get good at being aware of your emotions and the emotions of others, you can connect on a human level with others much more cohesively to reach solutions faster. A person's IQ, while certainly required in the role of a leader, cannot travel the same road as fast. It needs to partner with EQ.

If you're convinced, mastering your emotional intelligence to become a more effective human being doesn't happen overnight. It takes practice. Here are five things to help you get started.

1. Be curious

Speaking to students at his high school alma mater in 2019, Bill Gatesstressed the critical importance of curiosity as a framework for acquiring knowledge. Gates said that it will help prepare future workers for the immense changes that will take place. Not only is curiosity key to the learning process, but it's also great for overall life satisfaction, according to science. Several research studies suggest curious people have better relationships, connect better, and enjoy socializing more. In fact, other people are more easily attracted and feel socially closer to individuals that display curiosity.

2. Grow from your mistakes

Get into the habit of "failing forward." As you experiment, fail, try again, and learn from your mistakes, accept that it's all part of the process to grow, without any shame attached. We need to redefine failure and making mistakes through new lenses and see it as a critical part of learning a new way of life.

3. Address your blind spots

To raise your emotional intelligence means to acknowledge your blind spots. It may not come from you, so be brave enough to consider that what others speak to you is true. Look at this as an opportunity to address whatever is holding you back. Now you can do something about what others are saying is a problem. Take heart in knowing that this is for your own greater good. It will make you a truly better person in service to others.

4. Hold your tongue in the heat of the moment

A good sign of someone with high EQ happens in conflict. When buttons are pushed and you're tempted to 'stick it to the man,' your best course of action in the heat of an argument may be to hold your tongue. This requires keen self-awareness and self-control (two tenets of EQ), but you'll thank yourself later. Taking this approach doesn't mean you suppress your emotions when being wronged. But it will help you to probe your emotions in any given situation to understand what you're feeling and why before spouting off at the mouth in a fit of anger. This is key for understanding how to appropriately respond, rather than impulsively react to a situation going south. So that when tomorrow comes, you may not feel it necessary to tell someone to go "f" himself (and thankfully save yourself from burning a bridge or, worse, losing your job).

Inc

Thousands of protesters supporting a coup in Niger took to the streets on Sunday and attacked the French embassy as West African governments warned of possible military action to restore democratic rule.

Demonstrators in the capital, Niamey, many waving Russian flags, smashed windows at the French embassy and set a perimeter door on fire but never breached the walls of the embassy compound

Protesters filled the Boulevard de la Republique and several other main thoroughfares in the capital, some running, others riding motorcycles, and many packed into vehicles. They blocked cars at traffic circles, backing up traffic on side streets. Some shouted and waved flags, mostly from Niger. 

In a span of several minutes, hundreds of protestors passed us as we watched from a vehicle, before deciding to turn around rather than trying to navigate through the sea of people. The morning also brought another new presence on the streets of Niamey — dozens of police checkpoints.  

Most protestors seemed to support the coup leaders and, for the most part, those who gathered did not seem angry. In fact, many smiled and seemed joyful.

As the demonstrations unfolded in Niger, West African nations held an emergency summit in Nigeria and announced sweeping sanctions on Niger unless President Mohammed Bazoum was released from detention and returned to power

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the coup leaders one week to reverse their seizure of power or face possible military intervention.

“In the event the authorities’ demands are not met within one week (ECOWAS will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” ECOWAS said in a statement.

ECOWAS said it was suspending all financial transactions with Niger, freezing Niger’s assets in central and commercial banks and imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on military officers involved in the coup. 

The Army officers who lead the coup in Niger said earlier that the ECOWAS bloc was on the verge of orchestrating a military intervention in the country.

Niger has been the anchor for Western counter-terrorism efforts across the turbulent Sahel region, with roughly 1,100 U.S. troops operating drones and training local forces to fight Islamist extremists.

For decades, France ruled Niger as a colonial power until it gained independence in 1960. Paris has retained an influential role since and currently has about 1,500 troops conducting joint operations with local forces against Islamist extremists. A French state-owned firm also operates a uranium mine in the country’s north. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that assaults on France and its interests would not be tolerated.

“France calls for an end to the unacceptable violence observed today,” said the French foreign ministry, adding that it had stepped up security at the country’s embassy in Niamey.

France also said it supported the statement from the West African leaders in ECOWAS denouncing the coup.

U.S. officials have condemned the military officers’ seizure of power but have so far avoided using the word “coup.” Under U.S. law, such a declaration would require halting all American aid to the country and the end of all security cooperation with Niger.

U.S. officials told NBC News the situation remained fluid and it was unclear if the coup would hold. But they acknowledged that the strong statement from the ECOWAS summit may have increased tension in Niger.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned that economic and security ties between the U.S. and Niger would depend on the release of Bazoum from house arrest and the restoration of “the democratic order in Niger.”

Although U.S. officials say there is no sign Russia was behind the coup, former diplomats and regional experts say Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group has churned out anti-Western, anti-French propaganda for months that sought to depict Bazoum’s government as puppets of Paris.

Wagner paramilitaries have ties to military juntas in Mali and other countries in the region. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, which led a brief mutiny in Russia last month, praised the coup in Niger on Thursday, calling it a fight against “colonizers.”

Late Sunday night, the streets of Niamey were quiet, with most people adhering to a nationwide curfew in effect for a fifth night. With President Bazoum still held captive in his presidential residence, no clear path appeared to exist for resolving Niger’s crisis.

NBC News

Niger’s military leaders have warned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) not to send troops to the Republic of Niger.

General Abdourahmane Tchiani, also known as Omar Tchiani, and the chief of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself leader while the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since the coup took place last week.

The military leaders in Niger warned against any military intervention in a statement read on Niger national television.

“The objective of the ECOWAS meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS, and certain Western countries,” Aljazeera quoted the military spokesperson, Amadou Abdramane, to have said.

During the meeting, the regional body issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military junta in Niger to reinstate President Bazoum as democratically elected President or face a range of stiff sanctions.

It also tasked all Chiefs of Defense Staff of the member-states to proceed for an emergency meeting to strategize on effective ways to implement a possible military operation to restore constitutional order in the country.

ECOWAS, which recognised Bazoum as the legitimate President of the nation, threatened to impose land border closures and no-fly zone conditions on Niger Republic should the military coup masterminds fail to heed its ultimatum.

This was the resolution of the Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS, which held on Sunday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Daily Trust

Days after General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader, a picture is emerging of the little-known presidential guard commander who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum last week.

In his announcement on state TV on July 28, Tiani denounced domestic corruption and management of Niger’s security, while pledging to honor international partnerships that have made it a key ally for governments fighting Islamist militants in West Africa.

But democratic backsliding in the country — also one of the world’s top uranium producers — may make it difficult for the United Nations and the West to continue their support. Such a move could open the door for Russia, which has expanded its influence across the region in recent years, partly through the Wagner Group.

While Tiani seems to have the support of all units of the army for now, Niger’s neighbors, the European Union, the US and former colonial power France have all called for the reinstatement of Bazoum — who has yet to step down.

Here are six things we know about Tiani:

1. He is close to former President Mahamadou Issoufou, who appointed Tiani to head the presidential guard in 2011 and promoted him to the rank of general in 2018. Issoufou was an important partner of the West — launching both a landmark deal with the EU to stem the flow of migrants in 2015 and allowing the US to build a drone base to target extremists in Libya and the broader region.

2. His forces repelled a coup attempt in March 2021, when a military unit from a nearby army base tried to seize the presidential palace only 48 hours before Bazoum was set be sworn in. Bazoum’s election marked Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence in 1960. Upon taking office, he kept Tiani as the head of the presidential guard, a special unit of about 700 soldiers.

3. In his address, Tiani criticized Bazoum’s security strategy, which he claimed excludes any genuine collaboration with Burkina Faso and Mali, even though the tri-border region between the three countries is a key zone for terrorist activities. He also criticized the release of “terrorist leaders.”

4. Tiani is from the northwestern Tillaberi region near Niger’s border with Mali, which has been at the heart of Islamic State-linked violence for years. At 59, he’s much older than the soldiers who have come to power in neighboring countries in the past three years. The leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad were all in their 30s when they took control.

5. Before joining Issoufou’s personal security, Tiani led forces in the southern Zinder region near the border with Nigeria and in the northern Agadez region, which for centuries has been a hub for traffickers of migrants, contraband and illicit goods crossing the Sahara Desert. Tiani is “very discreet” and “very close to Issoufou,” former Agadez mayor Rhissa Ag Feltou said by phone.

“He’s someone who knows the system very well. He was part of the system for over a decade,” he said. “Now he turned against it at a time when the country’s suffering. These are difficult times for Niger, maybe the most challenging period in our country’s history.”

6. Tiani, a decorated general, served in UN peacekeeping missions in Ivory Coast, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The once military attaché for Niger in Germany, received training in France, Morocco and the US before joining the presidential guard. He is associated with modernization of the unit and blocking several coup attempts.

“He points at all the problems; the corruption, the bad governance, the mismanagement of state funds,” Rhissa said. “Can he solve them? That remains to be seen.”

Bloomberg

A peacebuilding think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals also known as PeacePro, has warned the leadership of the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS against military intervention in Niger Republic.

PeacePro also noted that no foreign nation or organization has authority to intervene militarily in any sovereign nation over internal issues.

Executive Director of the group, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, in a statement said it supported the strong position of African Union and ECOWAS on the restoration of democratic order in Niger Republic and all other proposed measures, except military intervention.

He warned that military intervention would turn West Africa into a battle zone between foreign powers and armed dealers.

He stated that no matter the good intentions behind it, the outcome will be catastrophic for the continent.

Hamzat also explained that, no international law permits military intervention in any country, except for peacekeeping operations and should AU and ECOWAS contemplate such intervention, foreign powers may also justify their numerous illegal operations and other future interventions through the same process.

“Military intervention in Niger Republic amounts to digging Africa’s grave and nobody digs his or her own grave,” Hamzat added.

Daily Trust

President Bola Tinubu has appointed a Special Investigator to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Related Entities.

In a letter sighted by Daily Trust, the president named Jim Obazee, former Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), as the investigator.

The President asked the Special Investigator to investigate CBN and key Government Business Entities (GBEs).

He also said Obazee would report directly to his office.

“In accordance with the fundamental objective set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect and you are to report directly to my office.”

“The full terms of your engagement as Special Investigator shall be communicated to you in due course but, require that you immediately take steps to ensure the strengthening and probity of key Government Business Entities (GBEs), further block leakages in CBN and related GBEs and provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public).

“You are to investigate the CBN and related entities using a suitably experienced, competent and capable team and work with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to deliver on this assignment. I shall expect a weekly briefing on the progress being made,” the letter read.

The president also sent a copy of his directive suspending Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN on June 9, 2023.

Emefiele has been in DSS custody since then. He was arraigned in court last week and granted bail but the secret police rearrested him.

Daily Trust