In January 2014, a coalition of advocates, including Femi Falana, Jiti Ogunye and Tokunbo Mumuni, both senior lawyers; and I wrote to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), inviting it to “to investigate the allegations of fraud detailed by the two committees set up by President Goodluck Jonathan in the wake of the 2012 fuel subsidy crisis.” It failed to do so. 10 years later, the EFCC is now preoccupied with chasing after cross-dressers. How it got so derailed bears attention.

At the beginning of this past week, Nigerians woke up to the story that a demographic of energy users, described in the language of the industry as “Band A” and constituting roughly about 15 per cent of the approximately 12 million official subscribers to electricity in the country, will have their energy tariffs raised by 230.8 per cent. They claim the four other bands will be unaffected. That’s false.

Tariff regulation in the energy sector in Nigeria is the primary responsibility of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), a body created originally under the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act in 2005, which was repealed and replaced in 2023 by the Electricity Act.

For some time prior to last week, various news media had sought unsuccessfully to confirm from the NERC the veracity of information suggesting that it had reached a decision to upwardly review the electricity tariff or that it had plans to do so. When it broke the story on 2 April, Bloomberg, a private and foreign news agency, credited “people in the presidency with knowledge of the matter”, suggesting not only a decision with a long gestation period but also one that had the active authorisation of the presidency. The implication is that when it initially denied to Nigerian news sources that it had such plans, the NERC had dissembled.

The day after the Bloomberg story, on 3 April, NERC confirmed the accuracy of the report. On the same day, it released the text of the applicable statutory instrument, dated 28 March, which designated the commencement date as 3 April.

The energy minister, Adebayo Adelabu, chimed in, explaining that the decision was because Nigerians keep their deep freezers plugged even when absent from home. This energy minister is so out of touch, he doesn’t know that deep freezers need constant electricity. But how could he when all he does is prance about in private jets.

For context, the Energy Progress Report issued jointly by the International Energy Agency, the United Nations, the World Bank and the World Health Organisation, among others, in 2022, conservatively assessed over 92 million Nigerians as without access to electricity. This is at the very bottom of the global energy league. The NERC claims that one of its reasons for the secret energy tax is to “attract more investment into Nigeria’s power sector.” This is what one of my old teachers called “future speculative tense.”

For starters, the new tariffs foster undue discrimination contrary to Section 116(2)(e) of the Electricity Act of 2023, which requires the Commission, in setting tariffs, to “avoid undue discrimination between consumers and consumer categories.”

The principal crisis with energy consumption currently is not generation but transmission. The country is unable to evacuate anything close to what it generates. To achieve an increase in energy supplied to or enjoyed by any band, therefore, the Transmission Company will have to create energy hunger in a band somewhere in the consumption ecosystem.

So, to increase the quantity of energy supply that it guarantees to the Band A customers, NERC has to ensure reduction in what is transmitted to those at the bottom end of the bands. In other words, the increase of transmission to Band A customers is achieved by eviscerating supply to the roadside vulcaniser, the neighbourhood Mama-Put restaurateur, the welder, all of whom will suffer denial of energy.

This pricing strategy is also poorly reasoned. The Band A users, whom it supposedly favours, are mostly in a position to transfer the burdens of the higher tariffs to consumers, most of whom are in the lower bands. This hits lower band consumers with a double whammy. By imposing energy hunger on them, it threatens the livelihoods of  micro, mini and informal entrepreneurs and will put many of them out of business. At the same time, it will increase their costs of consumption. Unable to pay the new prices of goods and services, they will vote with their feet, which will hit revenues, profitability and viability of industry, leading to loss of jobs, loss of tax take and ultimately burdensome social costs.

What emerges is that the new tariffs are effectively a regressive energy tax on the poor. In a country already afflicted with prohibitive insecurity, even further rise in insecurity is foreseeable.

It became clear also during the week that NERC chose to adopt this most consequential of decisions for citizens, employers and consumers in utmost secrecy. To preclude predictable public furore about it, the NERC also garlanded the decision-making with a bodyguard of lies. Not satisfied with this, the release of the statutory instrument coincided with a pattern of coordinated online behaviour which clearly suggested that the Commission had actively recruited a gang of digital influencers and bloggers in order to create maximum distraction from the measure.

One source of such distraction was the EFCC. As the NERC rolled out this prohibitive energy tax on 3 April, the EFCC procured the high profile arrest of Idris Okuneye, a transactional transvestite better known as Bobrisky, on the impressive charges of “abuse of the Naira” and alleged money laundering. With unremitting alacrity, the Commission first paraded Bobrisky, a practice that has repeatedly been declared unlawful by courts in Nigeria. Thereafter, it arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The law that establishes the EFCC defines “economic and financial crimes” to mean “non-violent criminal and illicit activity committed with the objectives of earning wealth illegally either individually or in a group or organized manner thereby violating existing legislation governing the economic activities of government and its administration.” At the court, the EFCC dropped the two counts relating to money laundering, ultimately charging Bobrisky only with crimes connected with the so-called “abuse of the Naira.”

Having dropped the only charge that could remotely fall within the purview of economic or financial crime, the EFCC forfeited any claim to acting within law or in the public interest because abuse of the naira, whatever that means, is outside the statutory scope of crimes that it can prosecute. Yet, within a mere 48 hours, the EFCC processed Bobrisky through the entire gamut of criminal justice, from arrest to conviction, setting a Nigerian record in prosecutorial diligence.

It becomes evident, therefore, that the charges against Bobrisky were an artifice for persecuting a person whose life choices are a tad unusual. The EFCC lent itself to this despite the fact that Lagos, where Bobrisky lives, decriminalised the Victorian crimes of “unnatural offences” long ago in 2011. Nor does the leadership of the EFCC remember that over half a century ago, Uzoma Odimara freely promenaded as a cross-dresser and entertainer around the country under the name “Area Scatter”.

In the week in which the EFCC bungled the biggest corruption case in the country in a quarter of a century, it takes unique institutional commitment to frippery to reduce its core business to chasing cross-dressers. In targeting Bobrisky as it has, the EFCC arguably sought to achieve the twin objectives of distracting Nigerians from NERC’s steep and unlawful energy tax, while at the same time pressing home a blinkered wedge advocacy.

In so doing, the leadership of the Commission clearly abused the sacred instrument of prosecutorial prerogative and showed itself as either idle or misguided, if not both. When this was brough to their attention, they descended into threats, bluster and the cringe-worthy trade in mangled adjectives. One concerned citizen responded that “EFCC has gone rogue.” 10 years ago, citizens looked to them as part of the solution. Today the EFCC has become part of the problem.

New bosses are often promoted for the wrong reason and are unprepared for the role. On the latest episode of ‘The New Way We Work,’ we explore what it would look like to treat management like the important job it is.

One of the most universal problems with work is bad bosses. Part of the reason so many people end up with a terrible manager is that as a society, we associate personality characteristics like charisma to mean someone has strong leadership skills. Instead, it’s often a sign of narcissism. 

But personality isn’t the only reason why so many people dislike their bosses. Often people find themselves in management roles because they were good at their job, but then receive little or no guidance on how to manage others. Their managers also often never received management training and in many cases are making it up as they go. 

If you’re lucky, you end up with an emotionally intelligent manager who takes it upon themselves to figure out how to work effectively with the people they manage. More often, though, people end up stuck in the middle doing what they think is right with no guidance or becoming frustrated by a boss who doesn’t know what they are doing. And, often, they end of quitting. In fact, around 50% of people say they’ve quit a job because of a bad boss. 

But what if we treated management like the important job it is and invested in making sure people have the tools they need to succeed when they get promoted?

On the most recent episode of The New Way We Work, I spoke to Lia Bosch, the founder of the consulting firm Thrive People Strategies, about why so many managers are unable to effectively lead, and the best way to learn to be a better manager.

What’s so hard about being a manager?

The biggest hurdle for new managers is that often they are promoted for the wrong reason. New managers will often be promoted because they’ve done good work as an individual contributor and there’s an open position, or they’ve been very productive or the company wants to keep them.

But Bosch says, the company often doesn’t give the new managers enough preparation for how managing people is different from doing an individual contributor role. “There are expectations that are set for the individual that even the individual is just trying to figure out how it all works,” Bosch says. 

What makes a good manager

A good manager, Bosch says, spends 75% of their time on the job of managing. That involves building relationships and trust, managing work, overseeing career development, and dealing with problems. Only 25% of their time is spent on the technical part of their job, or whatever tasks they likely spent most of their time on as an individual contributor. Most companies don’t give managers the time to do this, and most managers don’t approach their jobs this way, which means often managers just aren’t very good at their jobs.

One of the biggest mistakes managers make (and the thing employees hate the most) is micromanaging. Bosch says inexperienced managers often resort to micromanaging because they feel like they’re losing control of the work and don’t trust their employees to do it how they would. But, she says, great managers explain the why and let their employees figure out the how. They communicate expectations clearly and then get out of the way and focus on the outcome, not the process.

How to help managers improve

If the biggest issue for new mangers is that they are thrown into the job with no training, the obvious answer might be a training course. But, as Bosch points out, one-off trainings led by HR are set up to check a box and aren’t effective. “The organization needs to make management development and employee development a strategic priority because the future depends on the skills and the knowledge that these individuals need to have,” she says. So she advises that companies look at options for longer term management programs and consider mentorships with experienced managers.

Fast Company

Former Vice President Atiku Abubukar has expressed apprehension about the proposed Lagos-Calabar highway project restarted by President Bola Tinubu.In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibeh, Atiku said the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway plan should have commenced from Calabar if it were genuine, and not another project intended to merely cajole the people.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the last general election lamented that the road project looked dubious, with all the hallmarks of a white elephant project.

Atiku alleged that the Tinubu administration had again revealed its penchant for shady deals. The statement said, “This project returned to public discourse at the twilight of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in November 2014, wherein it was announced President Jonathan had signed the 10-state, 22-station project with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at a cost of $11.97bn.“However, former President Jonathan could not begin the project before he lost the election. But his successor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, expressed his intention to begin it and announced in 2016 that the project had been renegotiated downward by $800m to $11.1bn and that it would be ready within three years. But it continued to stall.

“In August 2021, while Buhari was on vacation, it was announced by then information minister, Lai Mohammed, that the FEC had ‘approved the memo for the ratification of the president’s approval for the award’ of the $11.1 billion project, and that it would be completed in six years. But nothing was done.“In September 2023, barely weeks after being appointed by Tinubu, works minister, Dave Umahi, announced that the project had been awarded to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech) without any record of a competitive bidding or a decision by FEC.

”Atiku said Umahi refused to reveal how much the project would cost, explaining,

“He only explained that it would run through nine states and would have a rail road running through the middle. Most importantly, the works minister said the project would come at zero cost to Nigeria, which is currently facing an all-time high level of debt.”

Atiku further said the works minister even stated, “Let me announce that it is under public-private partnership. The Hitech group are going to look for the money. They have already found the money, and that is the good news because we don’t waste our time talking and holding meetings and wasting resources.

”The former vice president explained that the concept of the project was “build, operate and transfer”, meaning that Hitech would construct the road, operate it for some years, and recoup its money through tollgates before handing it back to the Nigerian government.

He stressed, “Because the project did not require public funds, it did not go through approval from the National Assembly, which holds the power of appropriation.

“Also, the project only went through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) with no record of a competitive bidding since Chagoury’s firm was to fund the project 100%.

“However, to the shock of many Nigerians, Umahi returned to FEC with a memo in March 2024 seeking the approval of N1.06 trillion that would be paid to Chagoury’s firm for the first phase of the project, which is wholly in Lagos.

“This pilot phase was to begin from the edge of Chagoury’s Eko Atlantic City on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, and terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Ibeju-Lekki, a distance of 47.47km.

“Till date, the Tinubu administration has refused to reveal how much the project will cost in total. Umahi, who even came on Channels Television recently, evaded questions as to the total cost of the project.”

The former PDP presidential candidate added, “But if 47.47km costs about N1.06tn, it means each kilometre is being built at N22.5 billion or $18 million. For a project that is going to be 700km, it means the total cost could be N15.7 trillion or $12.56 billion, which is higher than previous estimates.

“It is curious that the terms of such an audacious project continues to be shrouded in secrecy. Worse still, it is expected to lead to job losses, like the demolition of Landmark Beach Resort in Oniru, which will lead to the loss of over 12,000 direct and indirect jobs and over $200m in investments, according to its management.“More curious is the fact that the entire pilot phase of this project begins and ends in Lagos, especially within the axis of Bola Tinubu’s business interests. It is no secret that both Tinubu and Chagoury are business partners.”

Atiku further stated, “This same Hitech, owned by Chagoury, was unable to complete the 50km Lekki-Epe Expressway. Despite installing two tollgates along the axis, Hitech, which was part of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) consortium, was only able to construct about 20km, forcing the Lagos State Government to buy it back at the cost of N7.5 billion ($50 million at the time) in 2013, which came at a loss to the people of Lagos.”Atiku explained, “Tinubu has once again put his personal business interest ahead of that of the Nigerian people in violation of his oath of office where he swore that, ‘I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions’.

”The so-called pilot phase from Eko Atlantic to Lekki Deep Sea Port was initially conceived as a Lagos State Government project, but because of its huge cost coupled with the fact that Lagos State has a huge debt burden, no thanks to Tinubu, the federal government is now implementing it under the guise of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. This, perhaps, explains why there are fears that the project will never get to Calabar, and this is the same reason the project is beginning from Lagos and not Calabar.

“Despite not revealing the cost of this entire project, the Tinubu administration is now on the verge of setting up a so-called Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, a fund targeted at constructing capital projects without the usual budgeting process.

“With a target of N20 trillion or $14.5 billion as seed capital, the fund targets the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and other projects. The initiative targets Pension Funds, Concessionary Loans, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, private sector arms of multilateral development institutions, and bilateral private sector investors, among others, to secure $35bn annually. The Diaspora funding and equity and endowment funds are also expected to play their part in the plan.

“But this renewed hope fund, which will be spent at the discretion of Tinubu and without transparency, will likely become another means of siphoning public funds through shady projects.”

Atiku said, “With the current Lagos-Calabar highway already being handled in secrecy, it remains to be seen how such a fund will be managed.”

Thisday

The Agro Rangers of the NSCDC have repelled an attack by suspected bandits on the federal government’s grain silo in Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Buhari Hamisu, spokesperson of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), said in a statement in Katsina on Sunday that the attack occurred on 6 April at about 1 a.m.

According to him, the bandits wanted to destroy the silo and abduct its Manager, Lawal Shitu-Yar’adua.

The agro rangers responded swiftly, engaging the bandits in a fierce gun duel for over two hours, Hamisu said.

“The valiant operatives overpowered the criminals, who scaled the rear fence of the reserve and escaped with serious injuries.

“The silo was not damaged, nor did the criminals succeed in their nefarious act,” the NSCDC spokesman added.

Hamisu said the NSCDC had detailed more personnel to the location and increased the firepower of the operatives to prevent a recurrence of such attack.

According to him, the silo is used to store grains being distributed to people of Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto states.

“The Command remains dedicated to promoting safety and security for the good people of the state and Nigeria as a whole, as well as providing adequate protection of critical national assets and infrastructure.”

NAN

The federal government has declared Tuesday and Wednesday as public holidays to mark this year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, announced the public holidays in a congratulatory message to the Islamic faithful in the country.

Eid-el-Fitr festival is celebrated by Muslims worldwide after observing Ramadan fasting for 29 or 30 days.

The minister congratulated all Muslims in the country for the successful completion of the fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.

He called on faithful to imbibe and practice the virtues of kindness, love, tolerance, peace, good neighbourliness, and compassion as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him).

“The Minister wishes all Muslim Ummah a happy Eid-el-Fitr celebration and prays that the peace, blessings and favour of Allah be with everyone and our Great Nation,” the statement reads.

Tunji-Ojo urged Nigerians to continue in the spirit of unity to improve and achieve peace and oneness in the country.

The Cable

ISRAELI REPORTS

IDF: Six months of war: updated IDF data

The data includes: the number of terrorists eliminated, the incriminated targets struck, the data from activity in the various areas and commands, the numbers from training, reserves, casualties and more.

All of the data can be viewed on the following link:

https://bit.ly/3Ja6OY4

** IDF: Earlier tonight, in response to the attack in which an IDF UAV was shot down last night (Saturday), IDF fighter jets struck a military complex and three additional terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Array in the area of Baalbek in Lebanon.

On Saturday, IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and a military compound in the areas of Ayta Ash Shab and Odaisseh. In addition, IDF artillery struck throughout the day in the area of Yater.

** IDF: Following the initial report, earlier today a terrorist arrived by car to the Nabi Ilyas Junction, left the vehicle and opened fire towards a number of vehicles that were in the area.

As a result of the fire an IDF soldier was severely injured and was evacuated to receive further medical treatment at a hospital, her family has been notified. The IDF will continue to accompany her and her family.

In addition, a civilian was lightly injured.

IDF troops, along with an IAF aircraft that was dispatched to the point, are encircling the Nabi Ilyas area and are continuing to pursue the terrorist.

Attached are photos from the situational assessment of the Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division and the Commander of the Ephraim Brigade at the site of the attack: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC070420241

** IDF: Locating weapons in a tunnel and destroying it; activity of the Commando Brigade combat team in the Al-Amal area in Khan Yunis

The soldiers of the Commando Brigade combat team operated in the Al-Amal area in Khan Yunis. Following intelligence, the soldiers scanned buildings on foot to locate weapons, eliminate the enemy and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the area. So far, over a hundred sites have been searched in the area and terrorist infrastructure was found in every location.

During operations, the forces located a tunnel route of approximately 900 meters. Inside the tunnel there were holding areas and large quantities of weapons. After examination by the Yahalom Unit the forces destroyed the tunnel route. Next to one of the tunnel shafts, a terrorist was eliminated.

Throughout the fighting, the soldiers positioned themselves in strategic places, eliminated terrorists and struck combat compounds using precise munitions. In one incident, using a precision missile, the forces eliminated two Hamas operatives and a Hamas team commander.

Attached is footage of the activity of the Commando Brigade in the Al-Amal area in Khan Yunis: https://bit.ly/4asdDAe

Attached are photos of weapons found in the tunnel: https://idfanc.activetrail.biz/ANC050424654

Attached are related photos: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC242024

** IDF: The IDF struck a military compound belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces in southern Lebanon

A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck a military compound which contained seven military structures belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s Radwan Forces in the area of Khiam. In addition, the IDF struck a military command center belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Toura.

Earlier today (Sunday), a number of launches were fired toward the Golan Heights area and Manara. In response, the IDF struck the sources of the fire in the areas of Kawkaba and Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon.

Attached is a video of the strikes: https://bit.ly/3U4FfW6

** IDF: Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense: Preparation of Emergency Logistical Storage for Broad Mobilization of Reservists

Over the past few days, another phase of the Northern Command's readiness for war was completed, centering on operational emergency storages for a broad mobilization of IDF troops when required.

The process was presented to the commanders in an operational conference led by the Chief of Staff of the Northern Command, BG Sagiv Dahan, and the Commanding Officer of the 210th Division, BG Zion Ratzon.

The equipment and means in storage are maintained by communications, logistics and medical personnel of the Technological and Logistics Directorate (J4), and these enable the immediate mobilization of the reserve forces during an emergency and their arrival at the front line in a short time with all the equipment required for combat.

The commanders of the regular and reserve units are prepared to summon and equip all the required soldiers in just a few hours and transport them to the front line for defensive and offensive missions.

Over the past few months, an in-depth learning process took place based on lessons learned from the fighting in the south, as part of improving readiness for the day commands are received.

Attached is footage of exercises in the Northern Command: https://bit.ly/3vEv55j

Attached is footage of Emergency Reserve Storage Units: https://bit.ly/3VJmqZX

Attached are related photos: https://idfanc.activetrail.biz/ANC120324567

** IDF: Following the sirens that sounded in the city of Safed in northern Israel, the IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a launch that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

Earlier today, numerous additional launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the area of Har Dov in northern Israel. No injuries were reported. IDF soldiers struck the sources of the fire.

Over the past hours, IAF fighter jets struck Hezbollah operational infrastructure in the area of Kfarkela and a rocket launcher in the area of Yaroun in southern Lebanon.

Attached is a video of the IDF strike in southern Lebanon: https://bit.ly/3TQ2QbP

HAMAS’ REPORTS

Under the concentrated Qassam strikes, the 98th Division withdrew from Khan Yunis with all three brigades after 4 months of fierce battles with the Khan Yunis Brigade of the Qassam Brigades.

** Mujahideen Brigades:

By the grace of God, our mujahideen were able to destroy the Zionist enemy’s headquarters for the Gaza Division in the Re’im settlement with a missile salvo.

** Hezbollah: We targeted a new enemy artillery position in the vicinity of the Al-Manara site with artillery shells.

** Al-Quds Brigades: This afternoon, we bombed “Eshkol” and the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip with a missile barrage.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

** Forces of the martyr Omar Al-Qasim:

Several mortar shells were fired northeast of Al-Qarara, Khan Yunis, at military vehicles near the border fence

** The Yemeni Armed Forces: We targeted two Israeli ships that were heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, the first (MSC GRACE F) in the Indian Ocean, and the other (MSC GINA) in the Arabian Sea. The targeting operation was carried out with a number of ballistic and winged missiles, and the operation achieved its goals successfully, thanks to God.

** Hezbollah: We carried out an air attack on a new gathering of occupation soldiers and vehicles behind the Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kafr Shuba, and the target was hit accurately.

** Al-Quds Brigades - Jenin Brigade: We carried out a shooting operation towards the “Dotan” checkpoint and settlement. Our jihad continues and our weapons are lawful in all arenas.

** Al-Quds Brigades: After their return from the clash points, our mujahideen in the sniper unit confirmed that they were able to kill a Zionist soldier who was holed up in a house in the Sheikh Ajlin area, southwest of Gaza City.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

Al-Quds Brigades: After their return from the clash points, our Mujahideen confirmed that they were able to shoot down a Zionist Quadcopter aircraft and control a Skylark drone in the sky of Gaza City.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

** In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Press Statement

- The Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo and meets with Mr. Abbas Kamel, the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence.

- Hamas affirmed its adherence to its natural national demands, and its keenness to reach an agreement that achieves a complete cessation of aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the free return of the displaced to their areas and places of residence, relief for our people and the beginning of the reconstruction of what the occupation destroyed, and the completion of a prisoner exchange deal according to which the mutual release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of (Israeli) prisoners held by Hamas and the resistance in Gaza.

Hamas also stressed its insistence with all Palestinian forces and factions on achieving our national goals and establishing our fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return and self-determination.

Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas

Sunday: 28 Ramadan 1445 AH

Corresponding to: 07 April 2024 AD

IDF/Hamas Brigade al-Qassam

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's energy system stabilizes, Zelenskiy makes plea for Kharkiv

The Ukrainian energy system that was severely damaged by Russian missile attacks in recent weeks is now almost completely stabilised, and the energy ministry on Sunday said no major imports were expected.

Ukraine's electricity imports reached a record high at the end of March after a string of Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure caused blackouts in many parts of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said he had discussed a wave of attacks and bombings on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with the heads of the Security Service, Defence Intelligence and the Interior minister.

Later, in his nightly video address, the president said the world must "finally hear" the pain inflicted on Kharkiv and other cities by Russian attacks and renewed a call for "political will" to ensure that Ukraine secures proper air defences.

"It is quite obvious that our existing air defence capabilities in Ukraine are not sufficient and it is obvious to our partners," Zelenskiy said. "And the world must finally hear the pain that Russian terrorists are causing to Kharkiv."

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Zelenskiy has for months called on Ukraine's Western partners to provide the systems and munitions he says his country needs to oust Russian troops.

In an interview broadcast on Saturday, he said he still believes that a major U.S. aid package would be approved by Congress, where it has faced Republican opposition for months.

Ukraine has been hit for weeks by a long series of missile attacks on critical infrastructure throughout the country, triggering a record high in electricity imports.

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Since March 22, Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian thermal and hydropower stations as well as main networks on an almost daily basis, which has led to the blackouts.

Grid company Ukrenergo said Russian drones had damaged the high-voltage network facility in the Kharkiv region overnight and the system operator had to introduce some power cuts.

"Today, Ukrenergo's dispatch centre has been forced to increase the volume of emergency power outages in Kharkiv and the region," the company said on Telegram.

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However, the country's power system remains "stable and balanced," the energy ministry said in a statement.

It said power exports were expected at 115 megawatt hours (MWh) on Sunday while imports could total 1,179 Mwh.

Ukraine imported a record 18,649 MWh on March 26.

National grid company chief Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told Reuters last week that Russian attacks had caused significant damage to the power system, but a total collapse was unlikely.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Western-supplied sea drones destroyed in Ukraine – MOD

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday reported it had destroyed several high-value assets in Ukraine, including anti-aircraft systems, a radar, and a stockpile of Western supplied naval drones.

Kiev has been touting its sea drones as a home-grown weapon, which it has repeatedly used to attack Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. However, the ministry described the destroyed assets in its daily briefing as “supplied to Ukraine by NATO countries.”

The Russian military did not provide any further information on the strike, but a major explosion was reported overnight in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, believed to be their primary sea drone base. The blast apparently occurred at the city’s port, followed by multiple secondary detonations.

A separate strike hit a port facility located in the Odessa suburb of Peresyp. The attack is believed to have targeted a fuel depot, with a major fire observed at the facility.

The Defense Ministry also claimed destruction of at least two Soviet-era S-300 anti-aircraft systems, as well as a P-18 very high frequency (VHF) radar. It was not immediately clear whether the radar was an original Soviet-made system or a modern Ukrainian upgrade to it, namely a P-18 Malachite. Thus far, no footage to corroborate the claims has emerged online.

Intense combat continued along the frontline, with the ministry’s daily briefing saying the opposing sides were engaged in artillery duels over the past 24-hour period.

The Russian military has reported striking multiple artillery platforms, including US-made M777 and M119 howitzers, and at least one British-made FH70 towed and one German-made self-propelled PzH2000 howitzer. Multiple Soviet-made artillery pieces, both towed and self-propelled, were reported destroyed and damaged over the past day as well.

Reuters/RT

The chickens, the saying goes, always come home to roost. But some people would prefer to be Shakespearean by quoting the insightful words uttered by Marc Antony in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, “the evil that men do lives after them while the good is oft interred with their bones.”

The first is a long-established English idiom that was used as early as 1390 AD in Chaucer’s The Parson’s Tale. It means that wicked deeds or words return to trouble their originator.

In the second, spoken at Julius Caesar’s funeral, Mark Antony, referring to Brutus, Caesar’s murderer, was saying that when someone dies, the bad things they did continue to afflict the living, but the good things they did often do not, and therefore are buried along with the corpse.

The first one tells us that the law of karma is for the living and that like Frankenstein’s monster, every wrong and everything not done with good intention, especially against people, always turns around to torment the doer.

The second has now been overtaken by events, as we can see in today’s world. The bad ones do not wait for the leader’s death before they begin to haunt the person, as we shall soon see. Likewise, the good things they do, they leave them behind and we see them everywhere. Posterity is now, no longer tomorrow or left to be regurgitated by future generations.

About four years ago, my friends from Kaduna started being ecstatic whenever we met, beating their chests and clapping wildly, sometimes with even their feet, and telling me that El-Rufai was doing wonders constructing roads and fly-overs, tunnels and bridges, even telling me that he constructed one fly-over with four roundabouts under it.

I always did my best to calm them down. I would ask, with which revenue are the constructions being executed: locally generated or from the federation account? They would say he collected a foreign loan of hundreds of millions of dollars. And being “smart”, to get the loan, apart from local politics at the National Assembly, including ensuring that his lackey, now successor, was made chairman of a committee that could help facilitate the loan, he made someone from the loan givers an “honorary adviser” in his government. But this is for another day.

Then I would ask them simple but pointed questions like which construction companies are doing the work? Who owned them openly and who owned them through “blind trust” as with Obasanjo and Transcorp? I will then ask by how much the roads, bridges and fly-overs would increase the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and service the loans collected. To all these questions, their faces looked blank. 

I believe that if a state must take a loan, then it should not go into servicing a lifestyle or financing projects that cannot repay the loan or improve IGR, except in the health sector.

I told them that the way things were going, a time would come when the state would not be able to pay salaries and render basic services to the people, by which time the loan taker would have since left the stage. Those who do not know would start accusing the new government of incompetence, whereas it was the past government that made the state “ungovernable”.

Fine, the roads and all have increased the value of houses and plots around them, and so what? In what way does that affect the poor man and his struggle to survive? The temporary appointments offered by the constructions are gone because the companies, not indigenous, have returned to base, boosting their areas of domicile.

Utilised differently, those loans could have been used to resuscitate moribund industries - and God knows Kaduna has a lot of them, build more, especially agro-allied ones. That would have offered direct and indirect employment to thousands of people who have dependents and eased the food insecurity in the land. The employed would pay taxes as that would have boosted the state’s IGR from which it can now embark on road constructions to open up rural and industrial areas and upgrade the infrastructure in the towns out of necessity.

Without taking anything from the above, part of the loans can also go into building world-class hospitals that could turn the state into a medical tourist centre. Intra-town transport service, which may include light rails, could have been done.

With massive employment at every corner, the crime rate in the state would have reduced significantly and the insecurity, especially incessant kidnappings bedevilling the state, wouldn't be as it is now.

And so there is nothing wrong with Governor Uba Sani coming out to tell the citizens their situation: the state cannot pay salaries because out of its ₦10 billion share of the monthly dole outs, sadly, ₦7.5 billion goes into the payment of the debt of $587 million, ₦85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities it inherited from the government of El-Rufai.

Tragically, one of his sons, firing from all cylinders, instead of denting Uba Sani, ended up further soiling his father’s reputation. He claimed that the governor had “deflected” from his responsibilities and abandoned his duty as governor. “These guys have realised that they are wholly incompetent and the only way to mask the nonsense is to deflect. From a governor who is always sleeping in Abuja to a litany of incompetent aides who were only rewarded for foolish political reasons,” he vituperated.

By accusing the governor of being incompetent and surrounded by incompetent aides, El-Rufa’i’s son is only pointing at his father for picking and handing over to an incompetent lackey as well as foisting incompetent aides on it, right from the deputy governor down.

Many outgoing governors, or even presidents, go to extreme lengths to produce their successors, not necessarily because they are thinking of the continuation of any “good work” they are doing; but just to ensure that their flagrant abuse of the people's trust is buried, at least for the time being. 

Now the people of Kaduna will feel the impact of the negative acts of selfish leadership. Many of them allowed themselves to be used, thinking they were “fighting for Islam”, while the “Chief Jihadist” was empowering himself, his family and friends.

It is on record that some far-sighted senators who fought to stop the loan were denied return tickets, to the accolades of those now feeling the heat. Even when the then-governor boasted that he had done more than the Sardauna who did what he did without collecting loans, the same characters were nodding their empty heads like agama lizards. And now a lot of these gullible empty-heads are thinking of such a character as president!

But this development, hopefully, will further entrench democracy in the country, as well as probity and accountability in governance.

As long as leaders do not work with the fear of God, good intentions and the welfare of their people in mind, they will be having altercations with their anointed, even if they are their biological children.

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

As a business coach, one of the things that we work on with our clients is not only helping them find and retain top talent, but also help them coach their team to help increase productivity and growth within the business.

And one of the ways that we do that is we help them learn how to distinguish their employees into two different categories of workers.

And while neither one is good or bad, it does affect the way that you interact with, train and retain those team members. So today I wanted to talk a little bit more about role players vs growth players and how you can use that knowledge on your own team.

Role Player

So how do you spot a role player? The way that you're going to spot a role player is through their behavior.

A role player's behavior is going to be one that when you give them new, ambiguous situations to try something to expand, they're clearly uncomfortable with it and they don't like it. They're resistant to it.

You ask a role player to take on a brand new function and they might say, oh, really? Sure? You can just see they don't want to. Oftentimes they'll say, "if you need me to, I'll do it, but I'd rather not."

You can also spot a role player by how they respond to feedback. A role player avoids it, is uncomfortable with it, might get defensive about it and pushes it away. They do not want the feedback or struggle with the concept.

Growth Player

Growth players however like to take on new and ambiguous situations, and they're very comfortable with being uncomfortable.

They want to stretch themselves and expand. Or even if they don't like the feeling of discomfort that comes from growing, they value it. They want the challenge.

When it comes to feedback, they are hungry for it. They search it out. They're omnivorous about it. They just want to use it to get better. They embrace it. They lean into it. They take it to heart and use it to improve and grow. They take ownership of it.

When you give a growth person feedback like:

"When you did the Sandhurst project, you really did not lay out the expectations in the proper way and as a result, they expected that we were going to be able to get them that proposal within 48 hours when you and I both know that it takes generally somewhere between 5 and 7 business days to do a really good proposal. So in the future, please make sure you set really good expectations with them." 

A growth player will say "You know what your are right. I'll do better in the future. Thank you for the input."

A role player says, "Yeah, but this – you didn't understand this and that" and they start defending against it, as opposed to taking ownership, embracing, leaning into it and using it to improve and get better.

Embracing the Differences

Now, does that mean that you should only seek out and hire growth players? Absolutely not, there are plenty of positions within your business that need the dependability and structure that a role player provides.

While some other positions require growth players. So once you are able to distinguish between the two and you understand the role at hand, you can plan accordingly.

Inc

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, has criticised Nigerians who keep their freezers and air conditioners on when they are not home.

Adelabu, while addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said Nigerians lack the culture of power consumption management due to its affordability.

“The bitter truth we all need to tell ourselves as Nigerians. A few people are just privileged to sit on the high table. We’re on the same level, we must be able to tell the truth to ourselves,” he said.

“We don’t have the culture of consumption management in this country in terms of power, just of the cheapness of the tariff we pay for power.

“A lot of people will come back from work, they want to have dinner, or they want to see their colleagues down the road, they switch on the AC for the room to be cooling before they come back.

“Some people will be going to work in the morning, a freezer that you left on for days, they will still leave it on when all the items in the freezer are frozen and 5, 6, 8 hours of their absence will not make it to defreeze, they will still leave it to be consuming power just because we are not paying enough.

“We have all been overseas before; we know how conscious the power consumers are about electricity consumption.”

On Wednesday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classifications.

The regulator said customers who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily will pay N225 per kilowatt (kW) from April 3.

The new rate is about triple the previous rate of N66 per kilowatt (kW).

The Cable