Nigeria is experiencing the continent's most severe food security crisis, with 31.8 million people suffering from acute food shortages in 2024, according to a newly released global assessment. This figure represents not only Africa's highest total but also ranks among the world's most severe food emergencies.

The Global Report on Food Crises, jointly published by the Global Network Against Food Crises, UNICEF, and the Food Security Information Network, identifies Nigeria as the country with the sharpest increase in food insecurity worldwide last year. An additional 6.9 million Nigerians fell into acute food insecurity during 2024—accounting for nearly a quarter (23%) of the global increase.

Multiple factors have converged to create this crisis, including:

- Persistent armed conflict disrupting agricultural activities

- Severe economic challenges affecting affordability of food

- Extreme weather events devastating farmland and crops

- Disruptions to farming and trade, particularly in northern regions

The report places Nigeria at the top of food insecurity rankings among 40 assessed countries and territories. Over 30.8 million Nigerians were classified in Phase 3 (Crisis) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), while more than one million reached Phase 4 (Emergency) conditions.

Environmental Impact and Displacement

The crisis was significantly worsened by environmental disasters, with flooding affecting 1.2 million people and destroying over 700,000 hectares of agricultural land in 2024 alone. The northeastern and northwestern regions suffered the most severe impacts, with many communities experiencing displacement and broken food supply chains.

Child Nutrition Crisis

The food shortages have taken a devastating toll on children's health:

- 5.4 million Nigerian children under five affected by acute malnutrition

- 1.8 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition

- 84 locations across the northeast and northwest classified as having "Serious" or worse nutrition conditions

- 34 areas reaching "Critical" malnutrition status

Health experts attribute these outcomes to inadequate diets, limited access to clean water, and disruptions to infant feeding practices due to displacement.

Structural Challenges

The report highlights ongoing structural issues exacerbating the crisis, including poor crop yields, economic hardship, and limited access to essential farming inputs. Food inflation remained high throughout 2024, while currency depreciation further reduced households' purchasing power for basic food items.

The humanitarian situation is further complicated by displacement, with 3.4 million internally displaced Nigerians and approximately 100,000 refugees in the country by year's end.

Outlook for 2025

Without significant intervention, the outlook remains bleak. Projections indicate that 30.6 million Nigerians may continue to face crisis-level food insecurity during the upcoming lean season in 2025, suggesting the emergency will persist without urgent and comprehensive action.

A fresh wave of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) importation into the country has made the row between oil marketers and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to linger, amid signs of deepening tensions in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.

This row deepened after independent oil marketers resumed large-scale importation of petrol, as fresh data shows that over 496.17 million litres of petrol were brought into the country within nine days.

Two weeks ago, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, declared that his $20bn refinery was still “fighting for survival”. The business mogul’s remarks were triggered by the continued importation of petrol and the reluctance of major marketers to buy in bulk from the refinery, despite its increased production capacity and improved output of petroleum products.

He stated at an event that the battle with entrenched oil cabals, one that began even before the refinery commenced full operations, was still ongoing.

The business mogul’s fears now appear to be confirmed, as fuel imports have surged significantly in recent weeks. The PUNCH findings using the Tanker Position Report, a document that tracks oil tankers’ movement and was obtained from Blue Sea Maritime by our correspondent on Monday, revealed that a total of 370,000 metric tonnes of petrol were discharged at various depots. These products berthed at sea ports between May 11 and 20, 2025.

Going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, it, therefore, implies that the marketers utilising scarce foreign exchange brought in about 496.17 million litres of petrol within the period.

With an average landing cost of N879.48 per litre, importers may have spent a total sum of N436.37bn on PMS imports. This is in addition to N2.42tn spent in 70 days between March 1 and May 9, 2025, and N4.51tn spent on the same purpose between October 2024 and February 2025.

Industry sources say the development is a result of a growing friction between private fuel importers, depot owners, and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, rooted in what stakeholders describe as unfavourable business conditions.

Industry sources revealed that many marketers are deliberately opting to import Premium Motor Spirit rather than purchase from the refinery, citing a combination of economic and operational challenges.

Key among the grievances is the pricing model adopted by the refinery, which marketers say is not competitive when compared to international import options. In addition, sources said unfavourable business terms and gantry loading, among others, have pushed importers into importation.

This coincided with a PUNCH report that reduced output from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery due to an unscheduled maintenance, supported a bounce in West African import demand, as the market reverted to European supplies to serve regional demand.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, gasoline imports to Nigeria and Togo surged from around 200,000 barrels per day in January to over 300,000 barrels per day in March, and roughly 250,000 b/d in April, close to Nigeria’s total of around 300,000 b/d of national demand.

Market sources observed that Togo became an increasingly important channel for Nigerian imports as traders have drawn growing volumes to the offshore Lome market, where supplies are then loaded from large cargoes onto smaller vessels.

The trend to import supplies to Lome and breakbulk has been motivated by financial incentives to reduce tax exposure and continue purchases in US dollars, sources said, as the Nigerian government has made a push for companies to transact in naira.

Strong flows to West Africa have been aided by soft freight costs. Platts assessed the Clean Long-range UKC-West Africa rate at $22.68/mt on May 12, down from $28.25/mt the previous year.

This development is further confirmed by import documents, which revealed that a total of  370,000 metric tonnes were imported within nine days.

The depots receiving the product include strategic facilities in Lagos, Warri, and Calabar, marking one of the highest weekly import volumes recorded this year, amid foreign exchange challenges.

A further breakdown showed that Pinnacle Oil led the surge. The depot stationed very close to the Lekki-based plant received 152,000MT of petrol, translating to 208.83 million litres, which accounts for nearly 49.60 per cent of the week’s nationwide PMS deliveries.

Also, seven independent petroleum marketers collectively imported over 167 million litres of PMS during the review period, according to the latest import schedule. AA Rano, via the AITEO/LESTE terminal, accounted for the largest volume with 40.23 million litres. Sunbeth followed with 26.82 million litres delivered at the Menj Jetty. Other contributors—OBAT, Rainoil, Matrix, Prudent Energy, and Mainland (Calabar)—each brought in 20.12 million litres, underscoring the growing role of private players in sustaining fuel supply amid ongoing market pressures.

Further analysis showed that three vessels conveying 56,000MT are expected to berth at the Lagos Apapa port and the Calabar port today, Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Stakeholders who spoke to The PUNCH said that the sudden surge in imports suggests marketers may have turned away from local sourcing in favour of direct importation, a move believed to be driven by widening margins at the depot level and mounting supply pressures.

Depot prices for PMS have reportedly surged in recent days, further complicating distribution and pricing across the downstream market. While exact figures remain fluid, marketers cited landing costs and logistics as key contributors to the upward adjustment.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said the full deregulation of the downstream segment allowed marketers to freely source products, but noted that the abnormal import surge is indicative that something is wrong in the sector.

Ukadike, who spoke in a telephone interview on Monday, suggested it may be a sign of deeper issues with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s pricing strategy.

The national officer said the downstream petroleum market has become a battleground for survival as marketers weigh their options between importing fuel and sourcing from the Dangote refinery.

He stated, “Like I have always maintained, the market has been liberalised and there is not atom of regulation at all. It has now become a survival of the fittest and a price war. So, if Dangote’s price is actually cheaper for those importers, I don’t think they would do so (continue importing). Those who are importing are essentially businessmen who also want to make a profit. The refinery has said it has enough petroleum products to meet local demand and take care of the needs of the country.

“But the NMDPRA has said Dangote has a shortfall in supply, and when the authority in the downstream sector has spoken, it reveals the true situation of things. However, this surge in imports didn’t happen in previous months, it may likely indicate that there is something wrong with Dangote’s template on pricing. The new surge definitely means something is wrong somewhere, and maybe Dangote is not giving Nigerians the actual cost of petroleum products, which has allowed marketers to import and still sell, and they are not running at a loss. There is something on the borderline that needs to be cleared.

“For us as independent marketers, our own concern is to ensure the availability of products. We don’t want the interruption in the supply of petroleum products, whether locally or internationally. So whatever, we would be able to contribute to ensure the supply and bring down the petroleum. It is a win-win situation. Pinnacle has its own customer base, tricks and tactics to the distribution of products, as well as Dangote. These companies are big players in the downstream and gas industry.

“I also know that sometimes the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited uses Pinnacle and Matrix to bring in products. These companies have outlets too. People are free to import products for their own outlets, and they are selling them. Dangote is using MRS too. So it’s a free market.”

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria President, Billy Gillis-Harry, said that more than 70 per cent of the association’s over 7,000 retail outlets have shut down due to unsustainable operating conditions and lack of pricing stability in the downstream oil sector.

“Over 70 per cent of our retail outlets are closed and out of business today,” Gillis-Harry disclosed. “And the reason is that we struggle to take loans from the banks, purchase products, and before we even get to our filling stations, prices have either gone up or been slashed without any justifiable reason.”

He said the current volatility in fuel pricing has left marketers exposed to losses and made it nearly impossible to plan or remain competitive, forcing many to seek alternative sources of supply that offer stability and relief.

“That situation has forced us to source products from those who can give us a soft landing, so we can recover and compete,” he explained. “If someone knows that fuel is available and affordable, there’s no need for Nigerians to queue endlessly. But if there’s no liquidity to stock or restock, it naturally leads to scarcity and price hikes.”

Gillis-Harry warned that Nigeria may be sliding into a risky experiment akin to the strategy once adopted by Indian oil magnate Mukesh Ambani, who reportedly sustained massive losses to gain long-term market dominance.

“Right now, the current scenario reminds me of Mukesh Ambani. He had a vision of losing $25bn in 180 days and gaining three times that in 30 days—and he achieved it. We fear that this might be the same kind of market experiment playing out in Nigeria,” he said.

While commending the ambition and potential of the Dangote refinery, the PETROAN president cautioned that the project’s success must not come at the cost of destroying smaller market players who are already grappling with survival.

“I am happy about the Dangote Refinery. But if that happiness results in me being thrown out of business, how do I foot my bills? What then is the happiness about?” he queried.

According to Gillis-Harry, PETROAN members are left with no choice but to patronise fuel sources that offer predictable pricing and reduced risk.

“We will gladly patronise any source of products that would not expose us to the kind of fluctuation that is currently wrecking our businesses,” he added.

An oil and gas expert, Olatide Jeremiah, confirmed that the situation has sparked a deepening business conflict between importers, depot owners, and the refinery.

He said the refinery’s massive gantry loading capacity has significantly reduced the market share of traditional fuel importers, intensifying competition and triggering fresh business tensions in the industry.

“The gantry loading capacity of over 2,500 trucks daily at Dangote Refinery has diminished 50 per cent of the sales made by fuel importers,” he said. “Most of these importers now sell through their retail outlets just to stay afloat.”

“I can categorically tell you that there is a business conflict, and that’s why private depot owners and importers would rather continue importing than patronising the Dangote Refinery,” Jeremiah stated. “Unfair pricing, unfavourable business terms, and gantry loading constraints are all pushing many players back into importation. It’s a game of survival now.”

According to him, long-standing importers and depot operators, many of whom pioneered the liberalisation of the sector, are leveraging their experience and global contacts to beat Dangote on landing cost.

“Don’t forget, importers and depot owners are pioneers and major stakeholders in the downstream sector,” he noted. “They will always find their way around cheaper landing costs in order to beat the competition posed by Dangote Refinery.”

Also speaking, renowned energy economist Prof Wumi Iledare, raised concerns over the structural inefficiencies in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, describing it as “largely anticompetitive” and dominated by a few influential players who are locked in a struggle for market share and profit maximisation.

Speaking with The PUNCH, Iledare said the Federal Government’s continued reliance on fuel imports to drive competition has worsened the situation, putting pressure on the naira, draining foreign reserves, and preventing pump price reductions despite a global decline in crude oil prices.

“The Nigerian petroleum market remains largely anticompetitive, dominated by a few influential firms competing for market share and producer surplus,” Iledare said. “Reliance on imports to boost market participation has been counterproductive. It exerts pressure on the naira, depletes external reserves, and prevents petrol price reductions even when crude oil prices fall.”

According to him, the dependence on imported fuel not only reflects governance challenges but also worsens systemic inefficiencies in the market, creating instability and economic disruptions.

“This dependency highlights governmental inadequacies and exacerbates market problems, disrupting both efficiency and economic stability,” he noted.

Rather than using importation as a tool to balance the market, Iledare argued that more attention should be given to regulating the behaviour of market participants and enforcing fair competition across the board.

“Effective regulation should focus on ensuring fair competition, not merely controlling market shares to drive down prices,” he explained. “Regulating conduct, not just structure, is more effective in tackling anticompetitive practices.”

He recommended a strategic shift toward price modulation, particularly now that domestic refining capacity, led by the Dangote Refinery, is still facing integration challenges.

“An improved pricing strategy would involve price modulation, especially given the government’s current dependence on imports to apply competitive pressure,” Iledare said.

Punch

The Nigerian equities market recorded a robust performance last week, with investors gaining N613 billion as positive sentiment drove trading activities ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) crucial Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

Market Performance Highlights

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed the week on a strong note, with the all-share index (ASI) appreciating by 0.9 percent to 109,710.37 points. Market capitalization rose significantly by N613.99 billion to close at N68.95 trillion, pushing the year-to-date return on investment to 6.59 percent.

This positive momentum was fueled by strong Q1 2025 corporate earnings reports and easing inflation, which declined to 23.71 percent in April 2025—providing much-needed relief for businesses and consumers alike.

Sector Performance

The rally was broad-based with all sectoral indices recording gains:

- Consumer Goods: Led the gains with a 4.08 percent increase, driven by strong investor interest in Champion, NNFM, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, and Honeywell Flourmills Plc

- Insurance: Advanced by 2.47 percent

- Banking: Rose by 1.19 percent, reflecting continued strength in financial stocks

- Oil and Gas: Increased by 0.66 percent

- Industrial and Commodity: Posted modest gains of 0.13 percent and 0.14 percent respectively

Trading Activity

Despite the overall positive market sentiment, trading activity showed some restraint:

- Total volume of shares traded declined by 1.66 percent to 2.6 billion units

- Total value of trades dropped by 17.32 percent to N63.66 billion

- Number of deals fell by 10.15 percent to 77,370

However, market breadth remained strong with 61 gainers outpacing 31 losers, resulting in a healthy breadth ratio of 1.97x—underscoring sustained investor appetite for Nigerian equities.

Sector Analysis

A detailed breakdown of the week's transactions showed:

- Financial Services: Dominated trading with 1.54 billion shares valued at N28.9 billion in 32,805 deals, accounting for 59.08 percent of total equity turnover

- Services Industry: Followed with 286.8 million shares worth N1.7 billion in 6,280 deals

- Consumer Goods: Ranked third with 202.565 million shares worth N7.4 billion in 9,708 deals

The top three traded equities—FCMB Group Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Tantalizer Plc—accounted for 600.684 million shares worth N6.6 billion in 7,201 deals, contributing 23.05 percent to total equity turnover volume and value.

Market Outlook

Analysts attribute the positive market performance to softening inflation and anticipation of a more accommodative monetary policy stance from the CBN. Investors are closely watching the upcoming MPC meeting scheduled for May 19-20, where potential policy adjustments to support economic growth are expected.

Additionally, market participants await the release of Nigeria's first-quarter 2025 GDP figures, which could further influence market sentiment in the coming weeks.

President Bola Tinubu’s first son, Seyi, was in his entourage to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, on Sunday.

Daily Trust had reported different highlights of the event, including the president’s encounter with Peter Obi, one of his major rivals in the 2023 elections.

Obi, who came third in the election, defeated Tinubu in Lagos, the president’s stronghold since democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999.

However, one highlight of the trip to Vatican City was the encounter that Tinubu’s son, who wields a major influence back home, had with the Pope’s security team.

In a video making rounds online, Seyi was seen walking towards his father’s direction when a plain cloth security official redirected him calmly.

Nigeria’s number one citizen was exchanging pleasantries with the Pontiff when the incident happened.

Dressed in a black suit like his father, Seyi attempted to catch up with the president, but the official blocked him.

Daily Trust

At least 20,000 people have fled Marte town following increasing attacks by Islamist militants in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, its governor has said, four years after residents returned to the town that was once controlled by insurgents.

Borno state has witnessed an upsurge in attacks by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists this year, raising concerns that the militants are making gains again after years of intense attacks by the military.

Borno state governor Babagana Zulum visited Marte, which is close to the border with Cameroon, to assess the security situation and meet military officials there.

His visit followed a raid on Marte's army base last week in which militants temporarily overran the installation. At least five soldiers were killed and others went missing in the attack.

"Marte was resettled about four years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and was displaced again," Zulum told reporters on Sunday.

"About 20,000 people left Marte for Dikwa (town)."

Zulum, who also visited Rann, another town where an army base was attacked last week, will on Monday head to Kalawa Balge district where 23 farmers were killed by suspected militants.

At least two million people have been displaced and thousands killed by the insurgency in Nigeria in the last 16 years, according to humanitarian groups.

Zulum's state government resettled residents in Marte as part of a programme to shut camps for Internally Displaced Persons in Borno capital Maiduguri and upheld the plan as a model for other towns previously controlled by insurgents.

But many Marte residents now fear that their lives could be upended again if attacks continue.

Boko Haram and Islamic State-backed ISWAP have been adapting their tactics, including using drones for surveillance, security analysts and the military say.

Zulum said leaving residents to live in a camp in Dikwa town was a big threat as it would leave young men "vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents."

Reuters

Netanyahu says Israel will control Gaza as pressure mounts on aid

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would control the whole of Gaza despite mounting international pressure that pushed it to lift a blockade on aid supplies in the face of warnings of looming famine.

The Israeli military, which announced the start of a new operation on Friday, warned residents of the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday to evacuate to the coast immediately as it prepared "an unprecedented attack".

Netanyahu said in a video message Israel would achieve "complete victory" with both the release of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza and the destruction of the Palestinian militant group.

Even as the military warned of the attack, Reuters reporters saw aid trucks heading towards northern Gaza after increasing global alarm forced Netanyahu to lift a blockade imposed in March.

Israel has said aid was being stolen by Hamas, a charge Hamas denies. European countries including France, Germany and Britain have said the situation in Gaza is intolerable, and even U.S. support appeared to be wavering.

Netanyahu said U.S. senators he has known for years as supporters of Israel, "our best friends in the world", were telling him the scenes of hunger were draining vital support and bringing Israel close to a "red line, to a point where we might lose control".

"It is for that reason, in order to achieve victory, we have to somehow solve the problem," he said, in a message apparently addressed to far-right hardliners in his government who have insisted aid be denied to Gaza.

The United Nations has long said Gaza needs at least 500 trucks of aid and commercial goods every day. The World Food Programme has said more than 116,000 metric tonnes of food – enough to feed one million people for up to four months – was standing ready to be brought in.

However it remained unclear how much aid would be allowed in and how it would be distributed before the launch of a U.S.-sponsored plan to employ private contractors to distribute aid, which the United Nations and other aid groups have rejected.

The Israeli military said five trucks had entered Gaza on Monday, although U.N. aid officials said nine trucks had been cleared to enter, a quantity U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher described as "a drop in the ocean".

Under a heavily-criticized U.S.-backed plan to get aid to Palestinians, a newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said that time should not be wastedon the alternative plan.

A source familiar with the plan said the foundation has already received more than $100 million in commitments. It was not immediately clear where the money was coming from.

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said it would take time to create a situation where hundreds of trucks were able to enter daily but added: "I think that's also a decision for the political echelon of how many will come in," he told reporters.

UNDERCOVER OPERATION

Israeli strikes have killed more than 500 people in the past eight days as the military campaign has intensified, with at least 40 people killed on Monday, according to local medical workers.

One of the strikes killed seven at a school housing displaced families in Nuseirat, central Gaza, and three in a house in nearby Deir Al-Balah, local health authorities said.

The military said it hit 160 targets, including anti-tank positions, underground infrastructure and a weapons storage point as part of what it has dubbed "Operation Gideon's Chariots".

On Monday, residents and medics said an Israeli undercover force disguised as displaced persons killed Ahmed Sarhan, a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, a militant group allied with Hamas in a raid in the city of Khan Younis.

As the fighting has intensified, hopes of a ceasefire appeared to be waning.

The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump continued to engage with both sides. But sources on both sides said there had been no progress in a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.

Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who left the government last year after falling out with Netanyahu, said the fact Hamas remained in Gaza represented a "resounding failure" for the Israeli campaign and reflected the government's failure to plan for the future of the enclave.

Netanyahu said ceasefire discussions touched on a fresh truce and hostage deal as well as a proposal to end the war in return for the exile of Hamas militants and the demilitarisation of Gaza - terms previously rejected by Hamas.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri blamed Israel for the lack of progress at the talks and said escalating its offensive would be "a death sentence" for remaining hostages.

Israel's ground and air war has devastated Gaza, displacing nearly all its residents and killing more than 53,000 people, many of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

The war erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities near Gaza's border on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to immediate ceasefire talks, Kremlin offers no timeframe

Donald Trump said after his call on Monday with President Vladimir Putinthat Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire, but the Kremlin said the process would take time and the U.S. president indicated he was not ready to join Europe with fresh sanctions to pressure Moscow.

In a social media post, Trump said he relayed the plan to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as well as the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland in a group call following his session with the Russian leader.

"Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," Trump said, adding later at the White House that he thought "some progress is being made."

Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv after the two sides met in Turkey last week for their first face-to-face negotiations since March 2022. But after the Monday call he said only that efforts were "generally on the right track".

"We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord," Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

While the indications that Ukraine and Russia will continue direct contacts speak of progress after more than three years of the war, the Monday flurry of talks again failed to deliver on expectations for a major breakthrough.

European leaders decided to increase pressureon Russia through sanctions after Trump briefed them on his call with Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an X post late on Monday.

Trump did not appear ready to follow that move. Asked why he had not imposed fresh sanctions to push Moscow into a peace deal as he had threatened, Trump told reporters: "Well because I think there's a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time where that's going to happen."

Trump said there were "some big egos involved." Without progress, "I'm just going to back away," he said, repeating a warning that he could abandon the process. "This is not my war."

NO DEADLINE FOR AGREEMENTS

European leaders and Ukraine have demanded Russia agree to a ceasefire immediately, and Trump has focused on getting Putin to commit to a 30-day truce. Putin has resisted this, insisting that conditions be met first.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Trump and Putin did not discuss a timeline for a ceasefire but did discuss trading nine Russians for nine Americans in a prisoner swap. He said the U.S. leader called prospects for ties between Moscow and Washington "impressive."

Russian state news agencies cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that Moscow and Kyiv faced "complex contacts" to develop a unified text of a peace and ceasefire memorandum.

"There are no deadlines and there cannot be any. It is clear that everyone wants to do this as quickly as possible, but, of course, the devil is in the details," the RIA agency quoted him as saying.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said on X the call with Trump was "undoubtedly a win for Putin."

The Russian leader "deflected the call for an ... immediate ceasefire and instead can continue military operations at the same time as he puts pressure on at the negotiating table," he said.

HIGH-LEVEL MEETING

After speaking with Trump, Zelenskiy said Kyiv and its partners might seek a high-level meeting among Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end the war.

"Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations with Russia in any format that brings results," Zelenskiy said on X.

He said that this could be hosted by Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland. It was not immediately clear if this would be part of the negotiations Trump said would start immediately.

Trump said Pope Leo had expressed interest in hosting the negotiations at the Vatican. The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Kremlin's Peskov said Putin and Trump discussed direct contacts between the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. Moscow also welcomed the Vatican's proposal, but no decision had been made on a place for "possible future contacts," he added.

One person familiar with Trump's call with the Ukrainian and European leaders said participants were "shocked" that Trump did not want to push Putin with sanctions.

In a post on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said only that the conversation with Trump was "good" and it was "important that the U.S. stays engaged."

Ukraine and its supporters have accused Russia of failing to negotiate in good faith, doing the minimum needed to keep Trump from applying new pressure on its economy.

If Trump were to impose new sanctions, it would be a milestone moment given that he has appeared sympathetic towards Russia and torn up the pro-Ukraine policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Prodded by Trump, delegates from the warring countries met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, but the talks failed to broker a truce. Hopes faded after Putin spurned Zelenskiy's proposal to meet face to face there.

Putin, whose forces control a fifth of Ukraine and are advancing, has stood firm on his conditions for ending the war, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four Ukrainian regions Russia claims.

He said the memorandum Russia and Ukraine would work on about a future peace accord would define "a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement."

"The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin outlines results of his conversation with Trump

Moscow is ready to work with Kiev on drafting a memorandum on a potential future peace agreement, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said following his phone call with American counterpart Donald Trump. He described the exchange as productive, “substantive and quite candid.” 

The conversation on Monday lasted for over two hours and focused primarily on the Ukraine conflict. In a brief address to journalists after the call, Putin said the two leaders had agreed that Russia would propose a memorandum specifying principles and timing for a possible peace deal, as well as other matters, “including a potential temporary ceasefire, should the necessary agreements be reached.”

Putin stressed that “eliminating the root causes” of the Ukraine conflict “is what matters most to us.”

Below is the full text of his statement as published on the Kremlin website.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Our colleagues asked me to briefly comment on the outcome of my telephone conversation with the President of the United States.

This conversation has effectively taken place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to emphasise that it was both substantive and quite candid. Overall, I believe it was a very productive exchange.

First and foremost, I expressed my gratitude to the President of the United States for the support provided by the United States in facilitating the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at potentially reaching a peace agreement and resuming the talks which, as we know, were thwarted by the Ukrainian side in 2022.

The President of the United States shared his position on the cessation of hostilities and the prospects for a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia also supports a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis as well. What we need now is to identify the most effective ways towards achieving peace.

We agreed with the President of the United States that Russia would propose and is ready to engage with the Ukrainian side on drafting a memorandum regarding a potential future peace agreement. This would include outlining a range of provisions, such as the principles for settlement, the timeframe for a possible peace deal, and other matters, including a potential temporary ceasefire, should the necessary agreements be reached.

Contacts among participants of the Istanbul meeting and talks have resumed, which gives reason to believe that we are on the right track overall.

I would like to reiterate that the conversation was highly constructive, and I assess it positively. The key issue, of course, is now for the Russian side and the Ukrainian side to show their firm commitment to peace and to forge a compromise that would be acceptable to all parties.

Notably, Russia’s position is clear. Eliminating the root causes of this crisis is what matters most to us.

Should any clarifications be necessary, Press Secretary [Dmitry] Peskov and my aide, Mr Ushakov, will provide further details on today’s telephone talks with President Trump.

Reuters/RT

Ibrahim Traore is the latest sensation on the African continent. For many young- and not so young- people on social media, he has become the figurehead of a new pan Africanism that is suspicious to Western interest and interventions on the continent and specifically opposed to the French neocolonial hold on large swathes of African countries- with little to show in terms of development and progress after many decades. They are also sceptical about democracy and its lofty promises, against the reality of continued under-development and impoverishment of the African continent.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, a 34-year-old artillery officer in Burkina Faso’s counterterrorism units, seized power on September 30, 2022, in a coup that ousted interim leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, whom he had helped install months earlier citing failures against jihadist insurgents. His takeover unfolded amid a worsening Islamist insurgency across the Sahel, with violent fatalities more than doubling after the coup. Traoré’s pledges to restore security, leverage mineral wealth and reject Western influence- and his pan-African overtures- have resonated on social media, casting him as a revolutionary icon among disenchanted youth across Africa and the diaspora.

At the time of his September 2022 takeover, Traoré publicly pledged to hand power back to civilians within two years—negotiating to respect his predecessor’s agreement with ECOWAS to restore democratic rule by late 2024. Indeed, he set July 2024 as the target for presidential elections. In early 2023 he reiterated a 21-month deadline for civilian rule, tying it to security gains. By September 2023, however, Traoré declared that elections were “not a priority” until jihadist-held areas were retaken to ensure universal suffrage. Following national "consultations" in May 2024, he extended the transition by five more years. This move effectively pushed elections as far out as 2029, while ambiguously allowing for polls “sooner if security conditions permit” and reserving the right to run himself.

The emergence of Traoré came against the backdrop of similar coups in the Sahel region, where Mali experienced two military takeovers in 2020 and 2021 that ousted elected governments amid jihadi violence, and Niger’s presidential guard deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023. These successive upheavals have undermined ECOWAS’s democratic norms, as sanctions and regional suspensions failed to compel timely elections. The trend signals a mortal danger to democracy: civilian institutions are weakened, electoral mandates hollowed out, and a precedent of deeply entrenched militarised power rapidly and increasingly normalised across the continent.

It is impossible to dismiss the grievances of African citizens, especially young people, frustrated by what they consider as the slow pace of progress under democratic governance. It is easy to forget, though, that the continent has had long, in many cases longer, stints with military dictatorships. Some have also highlighted the contradictions and weaknesses in Western democracies to support their argument that democracy is not a good fit for African realities. In the United States, for example, critics have cited the fact that, until the 1965 Civil Rights Acts- 189 years after the American revolution- a large group of American citizens, African Americans- could not vote in elections, especially in the southern part of the country. Until the nineteenth amendment, ratified on August 18, 1920, American women were not guaranteed the right to vote. In the United Kingdom, the Representation of the People Act 1918 received Royal Assent on February 6, 1918, extending the vote to women over 30 who met property qualifications; full equal suffrage- granting all women the vote on the same terms as men- was achieved with the Equal Franchise Act on July 2, 1928. As of today- a whooping 809 years after the Magna Carta, the United Kingdom still retain unelected hereditary peers in its House of Lords.

These historical facts have been raised to support the argument that democracy is effectively a dynamic evolutionary process, and Western countries have required quite a long time to perfect- or more accurately improve- their democratic practice and make it fitting to their cultural and socio-political reality. In spite of their history, critics argue, Western democracies are force-feeding African countries with a "ready-made" western brand of democracy that does not allow for evolutionary process of fit and iterative improvement to take place. In the same breadth, other critics have argued, in effect, that the African continent does not have the luxury of hundreds of years to incrementally improve and make democracy fit for their cultural realities. For this group, military dictatorship is a viable option to enact the great leap forward in a rapidly changing world in which the African continent cannot afford to further drop back.

These arguments are decidedly simplistic. They also miss some fundamental points. Firstly, an argument against the weaknesses and contradictions of Western democracies is not an effective argument against democracy itself, as an ideal. It is much less a credible argument for military dictatorships. I also find the idea of hereditary peers an anachronism in the 21st century, and I consider the American concept of electoral college a pile of mess. Still, these are only matters of operationalise nuances that can be debated and corrected through the process that only democracy enables. There is the rub.

The compelling merit of representative, liberal democracy is that it gives ordinary citizens the agency to have a say in how their society is organised and governed, and the basic agency to enact the future they desire. As a First Principles ideal, it goes at the very heart of what it means to be human- with dignity, with voice, with agency. Against this there cannot be a strong counter argument that does not diminish the human person.

It is naive to assume that anyone who takes power through the barrel of a gun would rule altruistically for the benefit of others. But let us assume that this fantasy of the "good dictator" is in fact realisable. It will not take away a very important fact: it infantilises citizens and arrests societal and cultural progress. A human without the basic freedom to think and to will is not fundamentally different from a conditioned pet that is well loved and well protected by its owner. Autocracy inherently diminishes human dignity, but it is not just the individual humans that suffers. A society in which freedom of thought and expression is subject to the will- and whims- of the autocrat will sooner or later fall into atrophy. This is the short history of all dictatorships.

Democracy is hard work, of course it is. But it is precisely this character that makes it a distinctly human endeavour- summoning us to engage our vibrant intellects and formidable will in the service of collective good. This human calling cannot be outsourced without incurring severe damage, because to embrace the autocrat is also to abdicate responsibility and servitude. It is a short cut to a hard life. The slave is free from responsibility, deprived of agency.

Back to Traore. By the sound of it, the young officer is a folk hero in Burkina Faso, and beyond. This is probably the strongest reason for him to conduct a popular election, and embark on a purposeful programme of public mobilisation for the golden age of development in Burkina Faso. Traore has absolutely nothing to fear about a democratic election. He has all to gain, in fact. Right now he is giving the oxygen of legitimacy to his detractors, including those who may want to out him on the premise that he is a dictator.

** Seun Kolade is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation at Sheffield Business School, UK

AI will upend much of how we function in the workplace — at least according to new LinkedIn data.

"By 2030, 70% of skills used in most jobs will change," says Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn news editor at large for jobs and career development. LinkedIn determined which skills are used in most jobs by combining the skills companies are currently listing in job descriptions and skills individuals are listing in their profiles. They then made their calculations considering historical shifts in skills and projections around AI-replicable skills.

Seaman doesn't think these skills will be replaced altogether. Instead, they'll evolve. And other experts agree. "As technology continues to change the way we work, everyone must be aware as to what is evolving to keep their skills relevant and marketable," says Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at Resume Builder.

Here's what jobseekers should keep in mind.

'You may not need to do data entry anymore'

In the near future, employers will use AI "to enhance" their workers' abilities, says Seaman.

"You may not need to do data entry anymore," says Seaman as an example. "But you may need to do data management." Similarly, prompt engineeringmight not be necessary down the line. "It might be management of AI prompts and [large language models]" instead, he says. The menial tasks could be done by AI and the oversight and organization of those tasks could be taken on by people.

Not all jobs will be similarly affected. Manual labor or live performance, for example, likely won't be impacted as heavily. But in jobs like software engineer, web designer and cashier, AI will take the tasks people have been doing and make people more productive by enabling them to complete more tasks throughout the workday.

Down the line, "maybe one person can do the job of several," says Seaman.

'People need to get used to change at this point'

As tasks evolve with tech, there are several things you can do to make sure you're keeping up.

Read skills in demand lists on sites like LinkedIn, Upwork and Indeed to see what employers are looking for. If there are skills that seem relevant or interesting, "start adding them to your routine of learning" by taking different tutorials or even a class, says Seaman. If there's someone in your life who has that skill, you can also see if they're willing to teach you.

The bottom line is "people need to get used to change at this point," he says. "That's how they can stay competitive in the workforce going forward."

CNBC

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic reversed a "decade of health gains," causing a sharp 1.8-year decline in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021—the largest drop in decades. While the world grapples with recovery, Nigeria faces an even grimmer reality, with its life expectancy stagnating at 54.6 years, far below the global average of 73.3 years.

Nigeria’s Deepening Health Crisis Amid Economic Hardship

With inflation soaring, unemployment rising, and millions struggling to afford basic necessities, Nigeria’s already weak health system risks further deterioration. The WHO report highlights that healthy life expectancy—a measure of years lived in good health—declined globally by six weeks due to rising mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression. In Nigeria, where economic stress is intensifying, mental health services remain severely underfunded, leaving many without support.

Maternal and Child Deaths Could Rise

The report also reveals stalled progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, a critical concern for Nigeria, which already has one of the highest maternal death rates globally. WHO attributes this stagnation to chronic underfunding of primary healthcare, shortages of skilled workers, and gaps in essential services like immunization and safe childbirth. Without urgent intervention, Nigeria could see more preventable deaths, worsening an already dire situation.

Non-Communicable Diseases and Poverty: A Deadly Mix

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke—are now the leading cause of premature death worldwide. In Nigeria, where malnutrition and poor healthcare access persist, these diseases are becoming deadlier. The economic crisis means fewer Nigerians can afford healthy diets, medication, or preventive care, accelerating health declines.

Health Worker Shortage

WHO projects a global shortfall of 11.1 million health workers by 2030, with Africa facing the most severe gaps. Nigeria’s healthcare system, already strained by brain drain and poor funding, may collapse further, leaving millions without care.

A Call for Action Before It’s Too Late

With infectious diseases like malaria resurging and childhood vaccination rates lagging, Nigeria cannot afford further setbacks. Yet, as international aid dwindles and domestic health budgets remain inadequate, the country risks losing more ground in life expectancy and overall health.