Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters and blocked off streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as small demonstrations continued in several cities, even after the president bowed to pressure to withdraw a tax hike bill.

Turnout was well down from the height of the mass rallies sparked by the bill over the past week. President William Ruto withdrew the legislation on Wednesday, a day after clashes killed at least 23 people and parliament was briefly stormed and set alight.

Ruto is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two-year-old presidency as the youth-led protest movement has grown rapidly from online condemnations of the tax hikes into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul.

Lacking a formal leadership structure, however, protest supporters were divided on how far to carry the demonstrations.

"Let's not be foolish as we fight for a better Kenya," Boniface Mwangi, a prominent social justice activist, said in an Instagram post.

He voiced support for demonstrations on Thursday but opposed calls to invade State House, the president's formal offices and residence, a move that he said could spur more violence and be used to justify a crackdown.

In the capital, Nairobi, police and soldiers patrolled the streets on Thursday and blocked access to State House. Police fired teargas to disperse several dozen people who had gathered in the centre of the city.

Doctors volunteer group Medics for Kenya said its staff at the Jamia Mosque/Crescent hospital had been hit by teargas, and that it condemned in "the strongest terms possible violence meted out at on our volunteer medical teams".

Reuters reporters saw army vehicles on the streets after the government deployed the military to help police.

Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters gathered in the port city of Mombasa and in the western city of Kisumu, local television footage showed, although those gatherings appeared peaceful.

While some protest supporters said they would not demonstrate on Thursday as the finance bill had been scrapped, others pledged to press on, saying only Ruto's resignation would satisfy them.

"Right now is not about just the finance bill but about #RutoMustGo," political activist and protester Davis Tafari told Reuters in a text message. "We have to make sure that Ruto and his MPs have resigned and fresh elections are held ... We occupy State House for dignity and justice."

Eli Owuor, 34, from Kibera, an informal settlement and a traditional hotbed of protests, also said he was prepared to join a push on to State House.

"We may just need to visit Zakayo today in his house to prove that after parliament we can occupy State House," he said, using a nickname protesters have given to Ruto that references a a biblical tax collector viewed as corrupt.

DIALOGUE, AUSTERITY ARE NEXT STEPS

In a speech on Wednesday, Ruto defended his push to raise taxes on items such as bread, cooking oil and diapers, saying it was justified by the need to cut Kenya's high debt, which has made borrowing difficult and squeezed the currency.

But he acknowledged that the public had overwhelmingly rejected the finance bill. He said he would now start a dialogue with Kenyan youth and work on austerity measures, beginning with cuts to the budget of the presidency.

The International Monetary Fund, which has been urging the government to cut its deficit to obtain more funding, said it was closely monitoring the situation in Kenya.

"We are deeply concerned about the tragic events in Kenya in recent days," the IMF said in a statement. "Our main goal in supporting Kenya is to help it overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects and the well-being of its people."

Ratings agency Moody's said the shift in focus to cutting spending rather than boosting revenue will complicate the disbursement of future IMF funding and slow the pace of fiscal consolidation.

Analysts at JPMorgan said they had maintained their forecasts for a deficit of 4.5% of GDP in FY2024/2025, but acknowledged the government and IMF targets could be revised in light of recent developments.

They said the Central Bank of Kenya was unlikely to begin cutting rates until the final quarter of this year.

BROAD APPEAL

Unlike previous demonstrations in Kenya called by political figures and often mobilised on the basis of ethnicity, the current protests have appealed broadly to those weary of rising living costs and endemic corruption.

From big cities to rural areas, most of Kenya's 47 counties saw protests on Tuesday, even in Ruto's hometown of Eldoret in his ethnic Kalenjin heartland.

At least 23 people were killed nationwide and 30 were being treated for bullet wounds, the Kenya Medical Association said. Medical officials in Nairobi said scores were injured.

 

Reuters

The State House spent a whopping sum of N244,654,350 for the purchase and supply of tyres in a single day, according to findings by Daily Trust.

Investigation and data gathered from govspend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure, showed that the State House made payments for the supply of an unspecified quantity of bulletproof tyres and Westlake tyres, the week that the President Bola Tinubu government marked its first year in office.

Tinubu took over from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, 2023.

Documents showed that N200,583,390, N38,070,000, and N6,000,960, were respectively paid for these items, on May 21, 2024.

The documents revealed that two separate payments were made for the purchase and supply of tyres (no specified quantity) for bulletproof vehicles and another five bulletproof tyres to Obi-Wealth Enterprises Nigeria Limited (RC-640684) for N200,583,390 and N38,070,000.

A quick search on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website revealed that the company is inactive.

Hommy & Fay Investments Limited, active on the CAC portal, handled the other part of the supply of an unspecified number of Westlake tyres (315/80R22) for N6,000,960.

Attempts to get reactions from the presidency over the tyre expenditure did not yield result as several calls made to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, did not go through.

The message sent to him had not been replied as of the time of filing this report.

24 hours after the tyre payments were made, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, apologised to Nigerians over the nationwide hardship.

Speaking during the ministerial sectoral update, he said the policies of the Tinubu-led government were on track despite the currency crisis and inflation which has frustrated economic growth.

“So what’s the answer to all of these? It’s to restore macroeconomic stability that will ensure that investors, both domestic and international put their face in our economy once again. And we are all doing this without a blame game. And I apologize for the pain that they may occasion, but they are necessary… Is our strategy, right? Absolutely. We believe our strategy is right, but it requires occasional calibration. Put good money to use,” he had said.

Nigeria’s inflation has risen to a 28-year high, worsening the cost of living—a stance largely attributed to Tinubu’s policies.

However, critics have accused the Tinubu administration of “frivolous spending” despite numerous pleas to the citizens over the current hardship.

There was a backlash the last time the president asked Nigerians to make sacrifice for the progress of the nation.

Tinubu had, while addressing journalists after observing the Eid-el Kabir prayer at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, stressed the need for the people to follow the path of sacrifice to make the nation great.

The comment had elicited reactions from Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

An economist and lecturer at Saadatu Rimi University of Education, Kumbotso, Kano, who is also the Director, Fiscal Discipline and Development Advocacy Centre (FIDAC), Abdulsalam Kani, said the government had failed to fulfil its part of the bargain, especially promises made to Nigerians.

“The government has removed fuel subsidy and increased electricity tariff, plunging many into difficulty. Nigerians were promised that Port Harcourt refinery will begin production in December last year, and that has not happened. Despite these and the failure of the administration to fulfil promises, they are making plans to buy new aircraft for the president and vice president,” he said.

He said the government had equally failed to address rising inflation which is above 33 per cent at the moment.

 

Daily Trust

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a significant change in import procedures, discontinuing the mandatory use of the foreign exchange (FX) price verification system (PVS) portal. This decision, effective from July 1, 2024, marks a departure from the previous requirement established in August 2023.

W. J. Kanya, the acting director of CBN's trade and exchange department, issued a statement on Wednesday outlining the policy shift. The move is attributed to recent developments in Nigeria's foreign exchange market and aims to simplify the import process.

Under the new guidelines, importers will no longer need to obtain a Price Verification Report when submitting Form M applications. Form M, a crucial document for declaring intentions to import goods into Nigeria, will now be processed without this additional step.

The CBN emphasized that this change applies to all Form M applications moving forward. The statement clarified, "For the avoidance of doubt, by this circular, the Price Verification Report is no longer a requirement for the completion of a Form 'M'."

This policy update is expected to streamline import procedures and potentially reduce processing times for Nigerian importers. The CBN's decision reflects an ongoing effort to adapt regulations to the evolving dynamics of the national forex market.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

The recent tragedy at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, where over 1,000 people have lost their lives due to extreme heat, serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of global warming. As temperatures soar beyond 120°F (49°C), we are witnessing the human cost of our collective failure to address climate change. This catastrophe is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves worldwide.

The responsibility for this global crisis lies squarely on the shoulders of advanced economies. For decades, these nations have driven industrial progress and economic growth through the reckless exploitation of fossil fuels and other carbon-emitting energy sources. Their actions have disproportionately contributed to the greenhouse gas emissions that are now wreaking havoc on our planet's climate systems.

While these developed countries have reaped the benefits of industrialization, it is often the less developed nations that bear the brunt of climate change's impacts. The tragedy in Saudi Arabia is a case in point, where pilgrims from various countries, many from developing nations, have fallen victim to the extreme heat exacerbated by global warming.

It is high time for advanced economies to acknowledge their historical responsibility and take decisive action. This means not only drastically reducing their own emissions but also providing substantial assistance to help underdeveloped economies transition to clean energy sources. This support should come in various forms:

1. Financial aid: Developed nations must provide significant funding to help poorer countries invest in renewable energy infrastructure and climate adaptation measures.

2. Technology transfer: Advanced economies should share their clean energy technologies and expertise to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices worldwide.

3. Capacity building: Assistance in training and education to develop local expertise in clean energy technologies and climate resilience.

4. Policy support: Help in developing and implementing effective climate policies and regulations.

The transition to clean energy is not just an environmental imperative; it is a moral obligation. The lives lost in Saudi Arabia and the countless others affected by extreme weather events around the world demand action. Advanced economies must recognize that their progress has come at a devastating cost to the global community and future generations.

As we witness the earliest heatwaves on record in places like Greece and the warmest nights in decades in cities like Delhi, it is clear that the climate crisis is accelerating. The 2023 study highlighting the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves in Saudi Arabia over the past four decades is a grim testament to this reality.

The projected "extreme danger" thresholds for heat stress during the Hajj by 2047 should serve as a wake-up call. We cannot afford to wait for such dire predictions to materialize. Aggressive adaptation measures, as suggested by researchers, are indeed necessary. However, adaptation alone is not enough. We must address the root cause of the problem – our dependence on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industries.

In conclusion, the tragedy at the Hajj pilgrimage is a somber reminder of the urgent need for global action on climate change. Advanced economies must step up, take responsibility for their historical emissions, and lead the charge in transitioning to a sustainable, low-carbon future. The lives lost in Saudi Arabia and the looming threat of more frequent and severe heatwaves worldwide demand nothing less than immediate and decisive action. The time for empty promises and half-measures is over. Our shared future depends on the choices we make today.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The United Nations on Wednesday flagged harmful new drug concoctions, named kush, Khadafi, and Monkey Tail, as posing particular health risks across Africa because of their varying and often unknown ingredients.

The drugs are believed to contain dangerous mixtures of pharmaceuticals, alcohol and solvents, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual World Drug Report.

Reports this week have documented the problems associated with drug abuse.

Sierra Leone in April declared a national emergency over the rising use of kush, a synthetic mixture of marijuana, tentanyl and tramadol.

Ivory Coast, in response to the high use of Khadafi - a mixture of tramadol and energising alcoholic beverages - last year banned the import and export of such beverages.

Monkey Tail is mostly used in Nigeria, according to the UNODC, which said it comprises homemade gin and cannabis seeds, leaves, stems and roots.

UNODC said countries must boost their scientific testing capacities to help law enforcement and health agencies to mitigate the threat of emerging drugs.

While cannabis remains the most sourced, trafficked and used drug on the continent, it cited the impact of an increase in the trafficking of other substances, such as cocaine from Latin America and heroin and methamphetamine from South-West Asia, en route to Europe and elsewhere.

"The local drug markets in Africa are rapidly diversifying, shifting from a predominance of domestically sourced cannabis to a multitude of transiting drugs," UNODC said.

"This diversification is exacerbating existing health challenges, particularly as the availability of drug treatment services are limited in West Africa."

It also noted that over 90% of global tramadol seizures occurred in Africa in the last five years.

 

Reuters

Amnesty International reported on Wednesday that at least 540 people were killed by armed invaders in rural communities of four local government areas in Benue State within the first two months of this year. The revelation was made by Barbara Magaji, the programme manager of Amnesty International, during a photo exhibition and press conference on the conflicts in Benue, held in Makurdi, the state capital.

Magaji stated that the killings occurred between January and February 18, 2024, in the local government areas of Apa, Otukpo, Agatu, and Guma. “As a result of the attacks, a total of 12,369 individuals from 2,105 households were displaced from their homes, forcing them to seek refuge in neighbouring communities. At least 540 people were killed and 149 injured due to the attacks,” she reported.

The programme manager also revealed that 55 schools were either destroyed by armed attackers or closed due to insecurity, leaving hundreds of children out of school. Additionally, periodic markets in rural communities have been attacked, destroyed, or closed following conflicts and insecurity.

Magaji explained that her presentation was based on Amnesty International’s research on frequent attacks in Benue State, highlighting that 18 out of 23 local government areas in the state have been affected by continuous attacks by armed herders. “Between January 2023 and February 2024, over 50 rural communities in Benue State recorded 135 attacks, leading to the deaths of 2,600 people, many of whom are women and children. This has left hundreds displaced, wounded, raped, and others kidnapped,” she added.

These attacks are significantly affecting food security and livelihoods, as the affected communities are predominantly farmers who are now unable to carry out their activities due to displacement. Amnesty International has called on Nigerian authorities to protect lives and ensure that the attacks in Benue State end. They also urged for impartial investigations into the incidents to seek justice for the victims, survivors, and their families.

Israel preparing to increase water supply for Gazans, sources say

Israel, under pressure from Western allies to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, is preparing to boost electricity to a desalination plant so it can produce more water for people in the enclave, an Israeli security official and a western official told Reuters on Wednesday.

An Israeli offensive launched on Gaza in response to an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas has left millions in Gaza with little food, scarce water, and failing sanitation, Western aid agencies say.

Washington and other allies are pressing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the military offensive and allow in more aid and supplies to relieve the humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli plan, the details of which were shown to Reuters, is to directly supply electricity from Israel to a large water desalination facility in Khan Yunis, the two sources said.

The facility was established with United Nations funding in 2017 to provide drinking water to areas in Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and the Mawasi area, where many Gazans have fled due to fighting.

The facility has a production capacity of about 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, while today the facility provides only some 1,500 cubic meters due to the lack of electricity. Gaza depends on Israel for much of its electricity supply. That power has been cut since the fighting started.

The Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the planned supply of electricity to the water plant could provide water for just under a million people.

The source did not give a deadline for when the power supply would come on line. Current power is coming from generators and solar.

The source said the plan has been approved by both the Israeli prime minister and the Israeli minister of defense but still requires approval from other ministers in the government.

"There are parties who are trying to cancel the process," the source said without providing details.

The Israeli prime minister's office declined a request for comment.

A Western official familiar with the plan, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said preparations were being made to restore the power to the plant.

The official said that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the reopening of the power line when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with him in Israel earlier this month.

“The Israelis are ready on their side," said the official. "Right now, Palestinian engineers are inside the strip checking the integrity of the line.”

The official said restoring power to the line that feeds the desalination plant was a crucial element in alleviating the water crisis in Gaza, but would not solve the issue.

There was still a need to get in equipment to fix the sanitation system, and this was hampered by the fighting, the official said.

 

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia keeps up pressure on the front line as Ukraine gets a boost from Western military aid

Relentless Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions defending the strategically important eastern town of Chasiv Yar are disrupting troop rotations and the delivery of some supplies, soldiers in the area say.

Russian troops are seeking to press their advantage in troop numbers and weaponry before Ukrainian forces are bulked up by promised new Western military aid that is already trickling to the front line, analysts say.

The Kremlin’s military has been hitting civilian targets just as hard, using powerful glide bombsthat obliterate buildings and leave huge craters. Its monthslong campaign to cripple Ukraine’s electricity supply aims to sap public moraleand deny energy to Ukraine’s burgeoning arms industry.

Attacks on such civilian targets brought arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court on Tuesday for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov for alleged war crimes. Judges said there is evidence they “intentionally caused great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health” of Ukrainian civilians.

For Ukrainian soldiers defending the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian ground assaults and aerial barrages allow little respite after more than two years of war.

“We work, you could say, without rest,” said a platoon commander who, in line with his brigade’s rules, identified himself only by his first name, Oleksandr.

“So no two days are alike. You always need to be ready to work day and night,” he told The Associated Press on Monday.

His platoon is part of Ukraine’s 43rd Artillery Brigade. It dashes to positions and without delay fires a Soviet-era Pion self-propelled howitzer at Russian positions before it can be targeted itself.

Holding Chasiv Yar is crucial. The town, highly sought-after due to its strategic location and elevated position but now largely in ruins, lies to the west of neighboring Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a 10-month battle.

Ukraine is racing to stabilize parts of the about 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line after badly needed military assistance was approved by the United States in April. A six-month delay in U.S. aid threw Ukraine’s military onto the defensive.

Members of the artillery brigade in Chasiv Yar reported that supplies of American ammunition have started to arrive.

The U.S. is expected to announce this week an additional $150 million in critically needed munitions to Ukraine, and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Tuesday that the first shipment of ammunition under a Czech initiative has been delivered to Ukraine.

Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Russian Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Austin emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the war. The last time Austin, who initiated the call, spoke to his Russian counterpart was with then-minister Shoigu on March 15, 2023. There was no immediate report of the call by Russian officials.

The Czechs are looking to acquire from countries outside the European Union at least 800,000 artillery shells that Ukraine badly needs. The war has drained stockpiles in Europe, the U.S. and Russia.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said it will take time for the effects of the new Western weaponry to be felt on the front line.

Meanwhile, it said, “Russian forces are attempting to make tactically and operationally significant gains” before it arrives.

Elsewhere, the Kremlin’s forces kept up their barrages of civilian infrastructure with three aerial strikes in the northeastern Kharkiv region Tuesday, local officials said, though nobody was injured.

Russia has pounded Kharkiv in recent months, apparently to draw some Ukrainian forces away from the defense of Donetsk while trying to create a buffer zone to prevent cross-border Ukrainian attacks.

Russian launched 42 glide bombs against the Kharkiv region in the previous 24 hours, authorities said Tuesday.

In other developments, the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that each side had released 90 war prisoners to the other in an exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates. The Emirati Foreign Ministry said it was the fifth swap mediated by the country this year alone.

The deal “is the outcome of the UAE leveraging its distinct ties and partnership with both sides, including as a reliable mediator among both parties,” the UAE said in a statement.

Zelenskyy said the swap included troops across the country’s military and its border guard, including those who fought at the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other regions.

Also Tuesday, Moscow responded to the EU’s decision to suspend the broadcasting activities of Russia’s Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta by banning the broadcasts of 81 European media outlets.

“The Russian side has repeatedly warned that politically motivated repressions against Russian journalists and unfounded bans of the Russian media in the EU won’t go unanswered,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces destroy 12 Ukrainian drone control centers — defense ministry

Russian forces destroyed 12 drone control centers in the zone of responsibility of the Battlegroup West, spokesman for the battlegroup Ivan Birma said.

"Seven fixed-wing reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems and electronic warfare tools near the settlements of Vladimirovka, Preobrazhenskoye, Ploshchanka, Torskoye, and Kremennaya. <…> Apart from that, twelve drone control centers were destroyed," he said.

According to the spokesman, Russian forces hits positions of Ukrainian troops near the settlements of Petropavlovka, Stelmahovka, Boguslavka, Stepovaya, and Novoselovka. "Two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 3rd assault brigade were repelled near the Olgovka area. Two Grad multiple launch missile systems and five mortars were destroyed in the course of counterbattery activity," he added.

 

AP/Tass

Yoruba people have a proverb that translates, “When a youth stumbles, they look ahead; when an elderly stumbles, they look backwards.” As a child, I thought the proverb was talking about how children and elders contrarily process the embarrassment of falling in public. I assumed that an elder looks backwards when they fall because it would be too shameful to look elsewhere. Growing older helped me appreciate the wisdom the proverb encodes. The youth and the elderly look in opposite directions when they miss their footing to draw upon sources of wisdom available to them.

Foundering during one’s youth is a chance to look ahead and learn from the experiences of those who have walked a similar path. There is always someone ahead whose wisdom, insight, and experience one can readily call upon. An elder looks behind them to review their stumble because they are expected to have accrued enough experience to reflect and make amends.

When President Bola Tinubu fell on his face during the Democracy Day celebrations, I briefly wondered what the Yoruba in their wisdom had to say about the direction an elderly president looks when they lose their balance.

What happened to Tinubu was, of course, a physical fall and not the metaphorical one that the proverb reflected on. Yet, tripping up on Democracy Day of all days— especially for a man who boasts he helped fight military dictatorship—symbolises his presidency more than anything else. He is a faltering leader, and I want to believe that even he knows that this presidency of a thing is way beyond his much-vaunted abilities. Forget the repeated excuse of him inheriting a bad situation (every president since 1999 has said the same anyway), this man has confronted a situation whose scale neither his administrative abilities nor the propaganda machine that propagated his managerial capabilities can possibly sustain. His second year as president has started counting, but his leadership remains as unexciting as it was on Day One.

I observed two sets of responses to Tinubu’s fall. Younger people, especially those with social media accounts, thought it was funny and were quick to restage the moment he slipped in many satirical skits that instantly flooded social media. Given the anonymity social media platforms offer, the moral accountability and cultural codes of respect that would otherwise restrain us from laughing at the pitiable sight of an old man falling down are far looser. When you are young and vibrant, I suppose an old person whose body has succumbed to the will of nature can be a comic spectacle. Even if it occurs to you that you could one day end up the same way, the possibility will still be so remote that you could laugh.

Older people, especially those closer to the generation of the president, did not think his tripping over was funny. Not only did they demonstrate a fellow feeling for the president, but they were also mortified by the irreverence of youths laughing at an elder. Despite the justified criticisms, I do not see the satirists as lacking either empathy or even good manners. The man who stumbled on Democracy Day was no random elder but a political figure already despised by a younger generation for everything he represents. Few things in life can possibly be as delightful as the irony of a person who sells their soul to acquire invincible political power losing their physical balance. It was the same reason the internet went wild when former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe tripped and fell on a red carpet in 2015.

Perhaps because I am caught between the older and younger generations, I am ambivalent at the sight of a president falling on his face. When you have seen videos of people falling on the road out of the hunger Tinubu’s policies induced, his awkward situation loses even its schadenfreude worth. Even if you want to laugh, you are reminded that millions of us are only divine grace away from collapsing either due to hunger or the stress of living in Nigeria under his leadership. Nigeria is tough at the moment; so tough that survival is a traumatising sport.

Things have reached the point where everyone is advising everyone to take to farming. On the surface, this looks like a wise counsel but it is a non-solution. How is a country supposed to survive the real challenges of the 21st century when the majority of its citizens resort to subsistence farming just to alleviate hunger? Would they also need to take up animal husbandry to meet other dietary needs? Given how much agricultural produce Nigeria wastes every year due to the broken value chain of agriculture, our troubles are not food shortages. There is food, but the majority of us just lack purchasing power. Give it a maximum of one year, and it will eventually dawn on the proponents of mass farming that the agricultural practices that led to what is called “food security” in richer nations have long gone beyond the pre-modern planting methods we are being encouraged to take up in 2024.

Tinubu himself was embarrassed by the Democracy Day fall given how he tried to ameliorate the embarrassment with a joke as soon as he got the chance. For him to have alluded to the pillorying he received on social media, he must have been self-conscious about it. What I truly wonder is the nature of his shame: that he fell on his face or that the physical fall metaphorises his presidency? Tinubu’s reaction to his own stumble brings me back to the earlier question: when a president stumbles, in which direction is he supposed to look? I suppose a quick retort will be that a wobbly old person like him should look into their past to draw the necessary wisdom to process their fall.

Trouble is, which past would a man with Tinubu’s history be looking into? His past is pretty recent. Virtually every biographical detail about the man pre-1999 (family history, educational path, and even career trajectory) when he became the Lagos governor is under contention. The rest is so enshrouded in overlapping scandals that he is one president who will probably never be able to launch his autobiography. Whatever he has to say about himself (or his biographers’ document) will instantly be investigated by the online sleuths who, with their access to a world wide web of information, will puncture through the façade.

If his pre-1999 life is draped in the mystery of who he truly is and the road that brought him here, his personal history that unfolded after he became governor is no less fabricated. His alleged leadership record, wildly celebrated by a band of hired intellectuals and professional sycophants, has been a hyperbolic celebration of what is essentially mediocre leadership. His praise singers drummed him up and trumpeted his praises to Aso Rock. Now that he is up there, it turns out there is very little quality in his past that he can draw on to salvage Nigeria.

He is not stumbling because Nigeria is a difficult state to administer. No, he is falling because he was promoted beyond the degree of what suffices as his past—his administrative record, experience, and leadership sagacity—can sustain. The incoherence and lack of coordination in his government give him away as a man who has subsisted on propaganda rather than a true achiever.

So, here we are, stuck with a stumbling president who is too old to look in the forward direction and has very little in his past to call upon at a crucial juncture in the life of the nation. Without the benefit of a past and a future, the best he can do is to look lost.

 

Punch

People are losing the cognitive and social skills they need for a thriving personal and professional life, says organizational psychologist Richard Davis.

"We are at risk of losing this essential capability that I call receptivity," says Davis, the managing director of Toronto-based leadership consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates. "It's the ability to have good judgment, to have insight about people, and it's a major concern."

Technology, social media and artificial intelligence are to blame, Davis adds: People rely so much on their their phones that they're increasingly unable to make judgment calls on their own. "It's a cognitive ability that you need to actually exercise in order to not lose it," he says.

Davis uses GPS as an example. People once used physical maps, or memory, to get to where they needed to go. Now, if your phone dies, you might find yourself lost more easily.

"What happens when Waze fails? When you don't have a cell signal? When we don't have ChatGPT?" says Davis.

People's ability to talk to and connect with each other is similarly at risk, he says.

"If your head's in your phone, you're meeting people through Tinder profiles or you're basing your business decisions based purely on a resume and not really seeing or spending time with a person, you're losing your core human capability to have insight into other people," says Davis.

'Get your head up out of your phone'

Being tech-savvy can help you with efficiency, productivity and learning. But constantly relying on your devices won't make you successful in the long run, Davis says.

Showing an ability to complete tasks, solve problems and meet people on your own will make you go far, he says — some CEOs value those skills in potential employees, and look them for when weighing candidates for promotions.

Try and limit how much you're reaching for your cell phone, Davis advises. Twenty percent of U.S. adults between ages 18 and 29 are smartphone-dependent, according to January data from the Pew Research Center.

Even a small reduction in phone use can help you make space for "screen-free" activities that strengthen your receptivity and cognition, like exercising and reading books, Amy Blankson, a happiness expert and co-founder of the Digital Wellness Institute, told Make It last month.

Exercise increases blood flow to your brain and reduces stress and anxiety, making it easier to mentally recharge after a long workday, studies show. Similarly, reading can improve long-term brain function and memory.

"Get your head up out of your phone and go take the subway and out to midtown Manhattan and meet people in person," Davis says. "You will have so much more insight about people, make much better decisions [and] have better insight into others."

 

CNBC