WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Britain's Cameron, in Kyiv, promises Ukraine aid for 'as long as it takes'

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron promised three billion pounds ($3.74 billion) of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes" on Thursday, adding that London had no objection to the weapons being used inside Russia.

"We will give three billion pounds every year for as long as is necessary. We've just really emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment," he told Reuters in an interview on a visit to in Kyiv, adding that the aid package was the largest from the UK so far.

"Some of that (equipment) is actually arriving in Ukraine today, while I'm here," he said.

Cameron said Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia, and that it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.

"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," Cameron told Reuters outside St. Michael's Cathedral.

Cameron, who led the UK from 2010 and 2016 as prime minister and only returned to frontline politics several months ago, met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his second visit to Kyiv as foreign secretary.

Britain's top diplomat celebrated the release of a long-delayed $60 billion aid package by the U.S. Congress.

"It's absolutely crucial, not just in terms of the weapons it will bring, but also the boost to morale that it will bring to people here in Ukraine."

However, Cameron did not answer directly when asked how he thought the possible re-election of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump to the White House could affect U.S. support for Ukraine.

Trump and hardline Republicans in Congress oppose further aid to Ukraine, with the possible exception of a loan.

"It's not for us to decide who the Americans choose as their president - we will work with whoever that is," Cameron said, adding that the strategy for Ukraine's allies ought to be to ensure Ukraine is on the front foot by the time of the U.S. elections in November.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

French president doesn’t rule out sending troops to Ukraine if Russia breaks front lines

French President Emmanuel Macron does not rule out that sending troops to Ukraine could be considered based on Kiev’s request if Russian forces broke through the front lines.

"I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out. We have undoubtedly been too hesitant by defining the limits of our action," he said in an interview with The Economist, when asked if he stood by what he had said about possibly sending ground troops to Ukraine. The French leader pointed out that "many countries <...> understood" Paris’s approach and agreed "that this position was a good thing."

"If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request - which is not the case today - we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question," Macron noted. "At the NATO summit in the summer of 2022, we all ruled out the delivery of tanks, deep-strike missiles, aircraft. We are now all in the process of doing this, so it would be wrong to rule out the rest," he added.

The French president said on February 26 that some 20 Western countries taking part in a Paris meeting on further assistance for Kiev had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. According to Macron, no consensus was reached on the issue but such a possibility cannot be ruled out in the future.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin pointed out on March 19 that France was already training troops to be sent to Ukraine.

 

Reuters/Tass

 

Earlier this week, I teased on my social handle about my encounter with a deity. Of course, not in the sense that one might meet a deity in the groove of a village forest.

Yet, those who have met this man – who know him – might agree that Sam Amuka, fondly called Uncle Sam, is a deity of sorts. The trail that forged the seasons of his career goes back many decades to his years at Daily Times which at its prime, was Africa’s leading journalism shrine.

On Sunday I went to see Uncle Sam, to talk about my new book, Writing for Media and Monetising It. I had dispatched a copy to him in advance, but the ritual would be incomplete without a libation.

So, I took along an extra copy and went to his Anthony Lagos residence, where he has lived like a regular Joe for many decades. As I waited for him upstairs on the balcony of his house, I glanced back and forth between the Sunday newspapers strewn on a cane table, and a silver tray with a big flask, teacups, a box of Lipton and assorted teas, a bottle of honey, skimmed milk and over a dozen of packets of Kemps cracker biscuits. 

It wasn’t long before Uncle Sam emerged from the corridor, his imminent presence announced by the barking of a puddle that first accosted me when I climbed the stairs. The puddle was not here when I visited a few years ago.

“Superstar!” Uncle Sam teased, as he came out.

I replied, smiling, that 88 was good on him. He corrected me: “I’m 89!” He then tore a packet of Kemps crackers and sat on the bed-shaped cane chair to my right, waiving the young man who had followed behind to make him some tea. 

The young man took out two Lipton tea bags, and after pouring hot water from the flask went on to add not one or two, but I think three teaspoons of honey. Then, he grabbed the tin of skimmed milk. I looked at Uncle Sam, thinking the young man was mistaken and expecting he would ask him to stop. He didn’t. Instead, he looked approvingly, even expectantly, munching his Kemps.

At 59, in my obsession to live a long, healthy life, only God knows how many things I have given up. I can’t remember the last time I used any sweetener, gluten-free or not, for my tea or pap, much less milk. I was puzzled to see an 89-year-old man having his tea not just with plenty of honey but also topping the brew with spoonsful of milk. 

Uncle Sam smiled as he took the steaming teacup from the young man, stirred it gently, and took a sip. As if to create the perfect ambience for his refreshment, he turned on music stored in a flash drive that was plugged into a player.

“You don’t know I’m called Daddy DJ?” he joked in response to my puzzled look.

Sam Amuka, I know. Uncle Sam, I know. Who doesn’t? He is the Jimmy Breslin of Nigeria’s journalism. Writing about Breslin, who died seven years ago at 88, Tom Wolfe described him as, “The greatest columnist of my era.” And that, from Wolfe, a master of the craft in his own right, says a lot. 

In a tribute to Breslin, The Guardian wrote that he was the champion of the trials and troubles of the ordinary people in New York. “He filled his columns with gangsters and thieves, whom he knew first-hand from drinking in the same bars. He told stories that smacked of blarney behind their anger.”

And Breslin himself once said, “Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing for newspapers.” That was Sad Sam, the tempered version of which we now know as “Uncle Sam.”

But “Daddy DJ?” I was meeting him in that incarnation for the first time this Sunday morning. Yet, it made no difference. I could see a common thread of empathy and humanity binding the three persons in one man. I was happy and comfortable to share the story of my new book, in-between sips of my own tea – sugarless, milk-less – and yes, also in-between mouthfuls of Kemps cracker biscuits which I had not tasted for a very long time.

I did not start out to write a self-help book. As my career as a journalist crossed the 35-year mark and I inch closer to the sixth floor of life, it became increasingly difficult to ignore suggestions to share my experience in a more permanent form. I’ve been writing for the media since I was 22 and even managed to write a book on Nigeria’s anti-corruption war in 2008. But the urge to share more has increased. 

In yielding, I wondered what I could do differently. In recent times, I have been invited by universities and professional groups to speak on the challenges facing journalists and young writers, especially in light of the extraordinary explosion in the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, at school and at home. 

Decades after TIME magazine famously predicted that journalism could be on its death throes and it turned out that the death was exaggerated, the technology appears to have sparked the second panic wave. 

So what? I thought perhaps it might be useful to combine my speaking experiences with decades of writing a weekly column now enriched in both audio and visual formats to serve the needs of a younger generation of content providers, especially students and those in the earlier stages of their writing career, trying to find their way. And not just trying to find their way – but also, trying to earn some extra money or attract value, while doing so.

The book title clearly suggests a media bias – media here meaning traditional and social media. That is deliberate as audiences in these areas are my primary focus. Whether you are still in school, just starting out on a writing career path or are, in fact, in the middle levels of your career, you would find this book useful. 

It draws not only on my personal experience – struggles and triumphs – I also interviewed professionals across age brackets who generously shared their experiences with me.

For me, writing this was like walking back through the years of my career, beginning from when there was even no career but just the dream to become a writer someday, to my schools when I was formally introduced to the craft, through many changes along the way, a good number of which I didn’t even see coming. 

You don’t have to wear my shoes or tread my path. But this book is a good guide for common obstacles many literary content providers face in the new world as they try to find their own way.  

I set out to do an online course largely on journalistic writing for value, not to write a book, but ended up with a resource that will benefit a much larger variety of audiences than I had envisaged. 

Uncle Sam listened patiently. When I finished, he asked one question, with a worried look: “How will you get this book out, and get people to read it?”

No easy answer. Research increasingly suggests declining interest in reading, especially among younger populations. I replied that I did what I could to make the book simple, anecdotal and relatable. 

“I’m hoping,” I told Uncle Sam, “that young people would see something of themselves in my stories and the stories of others across a generational spectrum and from it, chart their own course.” 

He didn’t seem fully persuaded, but he was in earnest for me – for us – to find a way. 

How can one claim to be a journalist, for example, without reading Peter Enahoro’s You’ve Gotta Cry to Laugh, Babatunde Jose’s Walking a Tightrope or Alade Odunewu’s Allah De? Or even the more recent 

Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics by Olusegun Osoba, to mention a few?

What is in a book is the thing that might just change your life; but you’ll have to read it to find it. On that, deities whether in journalism, carpentry, medicine or the good old craft of fortune-telling, might agree.

** Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

 

 

“That a serving police officer would openly admit to being a billionaire resulting from running a curious business while still in uniform confirms the lack of accountability that defines public conduct in our country today. Yet, as I have also repeatedly stated on this page, when you run a system where there are no consequences for bad behaviour, it becomes easy for those who ordinarily should uphold the law to also become outlaws. Unfortunately, that is where we are in Nigeria today!”

Aderemi Adeoye retired yesterday as the Commissioner of Police (CP) in Anambra State. By his own admission, his net worth is now N20 billion! And he has set his eyes on displacing Alhaji Aliko Dangote as the richest man in Africa within the next ten years. I am also quoting him. “I have been privileged to be trained in Ghana, England, Israel, California and more. I have served abroad in the United Nations, and this career gave me opportunities for self-development, and these have prepared me for retirement,” Adeoye admitted during his ceremonial pull out parade from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Awka last weekend. “In 2018, I founded an investment club, Alpha Trust Investment Club (ATIC) Limited. We started it with a modest sum of N54 million, but today we have investments worth over N20 billion. That will be my full-time business from Wednesday, May 1 (yesterday). We have been investing and now we want to go into full time business. And we will in the next 10 years give Dangote a run for his money.”

Let me be upfront here. I do not agree with those who find virtue in the kind of ‘poverty’ fables that propelled former President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015. So, I am not opposed to legitimate ‘side hustles’ without which it is difficult for professionals to stay afloat in Nigeria. But there is a problem when public officials acquire stupendous wealth that is impossible to explain and then make a show of it. Therefore, to know more about this multibillion Naira company whose promoter seeks to displace Dangote on the ‘Forbes List’, I first conducted a search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) where I drew blank. I am surprised that a business concern with a portfolio of N20 billion is not listed at the CAC. Then I did a Google search. My findings were shocking.

In February this year, some people had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, asking him to investigate an alleged fraudulent diversion of over N20 billion funds by Adeoye. In the petition, dated 30 January 2024 and signed by 33 members—including Diasporan Nigerians resident in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom—they alleged that Adeoye has been using his uniform to operate what they described as a Ponzi Scheme. “Sometime around 2017, we became ‘friends’ with Adeoye on Facebook. At the time, he was serving in the African Union on secondment from Nigeria. He endeared himself to us and many others by projecting himself as a champion for victims of fraud and an upright man,” they wrote. “Often, he claimed to have come to the aid of persons who had been defrauded on Facebook. He got many accolades from many of us for these claims. As time will show, these claims were deliberate and well-planned effort by him to win the trust of many of us on Facebook as a precursor to launching his grand scheme.”

In 2018, according to the petitioners, Adeoye “proposed an investment club on Facebook, named Alpha Trust Investment Club (ATIC), aiming to pool funds for diversified investments, including joint property purchases. The idea gained traction due to Mr. Adeoye’s credibility as a senior police officer. Trust was high, leading to initial payments directly to his personal account. ATIC was later formally established under the Corporate and Allied Matters Act, growing to over 1,400 members by 2023.”

However, according to the petitioners, what is now happening “Centers on a lack of accountability, lack of proper structure, gross abuse of powers, intimidation, arbitrary punitive actions against members, negligence of duty, and a failure to adhere to regulatory requirements. All of these have cost members dearly.” After listing nine accounts domiciled in GTBank to which monies are paid with Adeoye as sole administrator, they demanded that he “be compelled to disengage from running the investments with immediate effect, with an undertaking not to touch or deal in any assets belonging to the Club, since his involvement in the scheme, and dealing in the business as a public servant, in the first place, is prima facially (sic) illegal ab initio and as a matter of law.”

There is nothing on record to suggest that Egbetokun acted on the petition. But a few weeks ago, PUNCH newspaper interviewed Adeoye who described the claims by those petitioners as “criminal defamation of character”. These were his words: “They are our members and started fomenting trouble. In the course of this, they issued threats. Someone who issues threats to others is a criminal. The person they want to haunt down is the largest shareholder, who has 11 million shares. If something is wrong with the finances, who is the first to know? What they are doing now is criminal defamation of character. When you defame a person criminally, that is a crime. The Board of Trustees met and expelled them; after they were expelled, they labelled the club Ponzi.

“We bought land as a cooperative. And we have one document for it in the name of the cooperative for each purchase. Am I supposed to tear the document into pieces and then begin to share them? We are an online investment platform. We published all the receipts and payments on our page, and every member sees them. We have created a lounge to process their settlement. We are writing to the developer to remove the parts of the bulk purchase for them and issue documents to them in their names. Developers charge 10% of the current value of the land for that. We are not asking them to pay us. They should pay directly to the developer. We will only certify them as our members for the process.”

I am still trying to process what this company is about. But there are even more critical questions that beg for answers. How can a Police Commissioner establish a ‘business’, ask the public to contribute funds that would generate returns, use his private accounts to receive such funds and claim ownership of the pool of money contributed by ‘shareholders’, after allocating 11 million shares to himself? And how could Adeoye have been diligent in his work as a law enforcement officer if he spent considerable time chasing money from people whose backgrounds he had no idea of—including those who could be criminals? Are there no regulations within the police that frown at a serving officer establishing and running a business venture, especially of this nature? Are police officers exempted from the code of conduct for public officials in Nigeria?

On Monday, there was an online post titled, ‘The audacious billionaire cop’ credited to a Mr Dauda Adesina Joki-Lasisi, a retired police officer. Joki-Lasisi (who claimed to have started his career in 1988 as a cadet inspector after training at the Police Academy in Kano) drew from his own moral examples and that of many others in the NPF to argue that money making is incompatible with the work of a law enforcement officer. He concluded his treatise with several posers. “In a service where the pension of a retired CP is not up to a N100K, what message was CP Adeoye sending to those still in service? Was it for them to embark on a rabid pursuit of money at all costs in order to secure their post-service life? And in that case, how wouldn’t these officers then compromise the sacred policing ethics by monetizing their services to the detriment of the masses and the security of the nation?” Joki-Lasisi asked. “I think retiring senior officers need to now be compelled to submit their valedictory addresses to the police authorities for vetting and possible censorship of any damaging content thereof, in order to prevent the recurrence of an embarrassing absurdity of this nature.”

I wish Adeoye well as he retires to the stupendous wealth that he has amassed for himself. But like Joki-Lasisi, I also believe that the NPF should be concerned about the reputational damage of his audacious disclosure. In my August 2021 column, ‘Beyond Abba Kyari’s Indictment’, I addressed a similar issue that borders on ethics in the police. The intervention followed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) indictment of a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) then touted as a ‘Super Cop’. “By charging Kyari to their court, asking for his arrest, and placing emphasis on the fact that ‘he is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force …’, the FBI was implicitly making a connection between criminality and law enforcement in our country,” I wrote in the column. “There are lessons in this tragedy that should not be lost on the authorities in our country. Having allowed the police to degenerate as an institution, it is little surprise that many of their personnel now embody the worst vices of society.”

That a serving police officer would openly admit to being a billionaire resulting from running a curious business while still in uniform confirms the lack of accountability that defines public conduct in our country today. Yet, as I have also repeatedly stated on this page, when you run a system where there are no consequences for bad behaviour, it becomes easy for those who ordinarily should uphold the law to also become outlaws. Unfortunately, that is where we are in Nigeria today!

 

More than 10 years ago I founded my then "small" business that today has more than 600 employees and tens of thousands of customers around the globe. I talk to small-business owners every day, and while they all come from different industries and places, it is passion, freedom and impact that have been the main drivers determining their success or failure, progress or regression.

Let's take a closer look:

Passion

Passion is your drive, ambition and the love of what you do and who you serve. It provides you with a very special view of the world that others often don't see. For example, Steve Jobs had the vision of a phone with one button on the front. Jeff Bezos of Amazon had a vision for a store that sold everything.

These are well-known examples of entrepreneurs who had a unique view of the world that others didn't see at the time. Every successful small-business owner and entrepreneur must have a passion that drives them forward -- a core belief that keeps them pressing on, even though others don't necessarily have the same vision.

My strongest passion is serving entrepreneurs and small-business owners. In the beginning, many people thought I was crazy for believing that a thriving company -- just focused on small-business success -- could last. Today, Infusionsoft serves more than 25,000 small businesses.

Stop and ask yourself: What is your true passion? What makes you excited about what you are doing? The difference between those who push through difficult times and those who do not is passion.

Freedom

Freedom is the ability to spend your time and money as you see fit. Financial freedom enables you to not only grow your business and pay your employees, but to also give your family the quality of life you want for them. Freedom enables you to invest time in causes that matter to you, whether that is with your family, friends or hobbies.

My father was a teacher. Growing up, our basic necessities were always taken care of, but my father had to take additional jobs to earn extra money to supplement his teacher's salary. As I became older, I knew that I wanted to ensure I had a career which enabled me to go beyond providing for my family's basic needs, but to give us a lifestyle where money was not an issue.

Impact

Impact should be at the core of your business. You might think that when your business reaches a certain stage of growth or you have a bigger budget you'll then decide to make an impact. Don't wait! Start from the beginning. Very early in our business we made giving and helping others a key part of our purpose. If having an impact is a key part of your business from day one, you will make an impact on someone's life every day.

What's your vision for your company's impact on the world or your local community? Is that vision big enough?

Remember, it's OK and you should expect your vision to change and evolve over time. The key is to have a vision for what kind of impact your company can have and let that be another force to drive you forward.

Passion, freedom and impact are not isolated -- they work together and are achieved together. Without a passion for your business, you can't have the freedom you desire or the strength to make an impact. Without freedom, you'll never make an impact and your passion is wasted. If you are not making an impact you're not experiencing the freedom entrepreneurship allows, nor are you allowing your passion to be fulfilled.

Take a step back, identify what your passion is and what freedom means for you. Ask yourself what kind of impact you want your business to have, and then weave your answers into every aspect of your business.

As you consider these three ingredients of small-business success, it's also important to consider the stage of success your business is in. At Infusionsoft, we believe in seven stages of small-business success. Your viewpoint of your vision, freedom metrics and maybe even your passion will evolve depending on what stage you are in. For instance, a solo entrepreneur might have different motivations than an entrepreneur with an established business that is a local success story.

As you grow professionally and as your business grows, take time to periodically evaluate these ingredients and ensure they're all working in harmony towards a shared vision of the success of your business at every stage.

 

Entrepreneur

 

In April, the NGX All-Share Index witnessed a significant downturn, shedding N3.57 trillion in market value.

This marks the first monthly decline for the NGX this year, following substantial gains of 17.7%, 12.47%, and 5.64% in January, February, and March respectively.

Nonetheless, the NGX maintains a year-to-date increase of 31.36%.

The decline in the index was primarily driven by policy announcements from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), particularly the proposed recapitalization plan for commercial banks, aiming to raise approximately N4 trillion in fresh capital over the next two years.

Additionally, the CBN's substantial rate hike triggered intensified sell-offs, resulting in a 6% decrease in the local bourse, with the benchmark index concluding at 98,225.63 points.

The surge in rates diverted trillions of naira from the stock market to the fixed income market, as investors pursued higher yields.

The NGX All-Share Index closed below the 100,000-point mark, ending the month at 98,225.63 points, a notable contrast to its peak of 104,562.06 points at the end of March 2024.

The expectations of workers were dashed as the Federal Government refrained from unveiling the long-awaited increase in the minimum wage yesterday.

President Bola Tinubu, however, pledged to enforce a living wage that reflects the current economic circumstances.

Addressing attendees during the May Day celebration at the Eagle Square in Abuja, Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, acknowledged the diligent efforts of the Tripartite Committee in proposing a national minimum wage. He expressed regret over the committee's inability to reach a consensus at its last meeting but assured resolution soon.

Tinubu emphasized the government's openness to considering not just a minimum wage but a living wage.

Despite assurances, Organised Labour has threatened to disrupt industrial peace and harmony if the tripartite Committee's negotiations on the National minimum wage are not concluded by the end of May.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero and Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart Festus Osifo jointly voiced their demands, citing N615,000 as a figure based on current economic realities.

They advocated for an upward review of retirement age in public service and urged members to remain vigilant and hopeful for better days ahead.

In a collective statement, they emphasized the importance of a national minimum wage that approximates a living wage, grounded in objective realities rather than fantasy, and urged prompt action to ensure workers' needs are met. They warned of potential industrial action if negotiations are not swiftly concluded.

 

Blinken presses Hamas to seal cease-fire with Israel, says 'the time is now' for a deal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hiked up pressure on Hamas on Wednesday to accept the latest proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, saying the “time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and pause the nearly seven months of war in Gaza.

But a key sticking point appeared to remain — whether the deal would completely end Israel’s offensive as Hamas has demanded.

Blinken met with Israeli leaders throughout the day on the last stop of his seventh visit to the region since the war erupted in October, trying to push through what has been an elusive deal between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar hope to avert an Israeli offensive into the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Throughout months of talks, Hamas has said the freeing of all the hostages it holds must bring a permanent halt to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

The proposed deal now at the center of talks raises that possibility, according to leaked details that were confirmed by an Egyptian official and a Hamas official. But Hamas is seeking to strengthen the language to ensure a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip, the Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations. The group said it is likely to give its response to the proposal on Thursday.

In public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has staunchly rejected stopping the war before Hamas is destroyed. In a sign of the challenges in the negotiations, Netanyahu in his talks with Blinken on Wednesday repeated his vow to launch the offensive on Rafah, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza.

Blinken said Israel has made “very important” compromises in cease-fire efforts and it is now up to Hamas to get the deal done.

“There’s no time for further haggling. The deal is there,” Blinken said, shortly before he was to leave Israel.

Earlier in the day, he said in talks with Israel’s ceremonial President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to get a deal. “No delays, no excuses. The time is now,” he said.

Blinken said the deal would also allow much needed food, medicine and water to get into Gaza, where the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis, pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine and driven around 80% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes.

Blinken said there has been “meaningful progress” in efforts to increase the flow of aid. On Wednesday, Israel reopened its Erez crossing for deliveries into northern Gaza for the first time since it was damaged in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Hanging over the cease-fire negotiations is the possibility of an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has fled, cramming into vast tent camps and other shelters. On Tuesday, Netanyahu vowed to go ahead with the assault with or without a cease-fire deal.

“The operation in Rafah doesn’t depend on anything. The prime minister made this clear to Secretary Blinken,” Netanyahu’s office said after the two met Wednesday. Hard-line members of Netanyahu’s coalition, on whom he depends to keep his government in power, have railed against any deal that prevents a Rafah attack as a victory for Hamas.

The United States has staunchly supported Israel’s campaign of bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza since Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel. But the U.S. has grown increasingly critical of the staggering toll borne by Palestinian civilians and has been outspoken against a move on Rafah. American officials say they oppose a major offensive but that if Israel conducts one, it must first evacuate civilians.

In Rafah, Palestinians clung to hope that, after months of reported near-deals, this time a cease-fire would be sealed and avert an attack.

Salwa Abu Hatab, a woman who fled Khan Younis who is now in a tent camp, said she wants to go home.

“Do you think we like life in tents? We are tired and suffering,” she said. “Every day they say there is a truce and negotiations, and in the end it fails. We hope they will succeed this time.”

“If the invasion happens, we do not know where to go,” said Enas Syam, a woman from Gaza City carrying her child in the camp. “There is no safe place left.”

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continued. Late Tuesday, a strike hit a house in Rafah, killing at least two children, according to hospital authorities. An Associated Press journalist saw the children’s bodies at Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital as their relatives mourned.

The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the Oct. 7 raid into southern Israelin which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Hamas is believed to still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and wreaked vast destruction.

Throughout his regional visit, with previous stops in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Blinken urged Hamas to accept the cease-fire proposal, calling it “extraordinarily generous” on Israel’s part.

The proposal lays out three stages of six to seven weeks each, according to details first reported in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group.

The first phase would bring a pause during which Hamas would release women and elderly civilians in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. In a series of timed steps, Israeli troops would withdraw from a coastal road in Gaza, then from central Gaza and displaced people would return north.

In the meantime, talks would start on restoring “a permanent calm,” the Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations.

The next stage would bring implementation of the calm, including Hamas’ release of all remaining hostages — soldiers and civilians — and a withdrawal of Israeli forces out of Gaza. The Egyptian official said Hamas sees the language about the withdrawal as too vague and wants to specify a complete withdrawal to avoid different interpretations.

The last stage would see the release of bodies of dead hostages and the start of a five-year reconstruction plan. The plan says that Hamas would agree not to rebuild its military arsenal.

 

AP

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia hits Ukrainian military HQ – MOD

Russia has carried out a strike on the Ukrainian military headquarters commanding troops in the southern sector of the front, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has announced.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said that the military installation, Ukrainian troops and hardware, were hit by combined air, missile and artillery strikes.

Earlier in the day, citing local resistance members, RIA Novosti reported that the Russian military had targeted a Ukrainian HQ in the center of the port city of Odessa. According to the report, three explosions occured in the area, with a particularly powerful one near the facility itself. The local resistance reported numerous ambulances flocking to the HQ, adding that the area had been cordoned off by the Ukrainian authorities.

The head of the Odessa regional administration, Oleg Kiper, has confirmed there was a strike in the city, which he said involved ballistic missiles and killed at least three people. However, he claimed that only civilian infrastructure had been damaged.

Russia has repeatedly said that it targets only military installations and facilities that support defense operations, insisting that it never targets civilian infrastructure.

RIA Novosti also reported, citing resistance fighters, that Russia bombed a Ukrainian troop deployment area in the suburbs of Kharkov, a city on the Russian border, adding that another attack destroyed a warehouse storing military hardware in the southern Nikolaev Region.

According to numerous reports, a pro-Russian resistance movement is active in at least several Ukrainian regions, gathering data and engaging in sabotage against Kiev’s military.

The latest barrage comes after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu pledged last month to intensify attacks on logistics hubs and warehouses with Western-supplied military equipment.

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russians throng to display of Western 'trophy' tanks captured in Ukraine

Western tanks and military hardware captured by Russian forces in Ukraine went on display in Moscow on Wednesday at an exhibition the Russian military said showed Western help would not stop it winning the war.

Long queues of people formed on what was a sunny May Day public holiday at the entrance to the exhibition, entitled "Trophies of the Russian Army," which is being held outside a museum celebrating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

"History is repeating itself," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement, adding that the Soviet Union had in 1943 also put on a display of captured tanks and hardware, in this case from the German army.

"Strength is in the truth. It's always been that way. In 1943 and today. These war trophies reflect our strength. The more of them there are, the stronger we are," the ministry stated, predicting a Russian victory in what it officially calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

"No Western military equipment will change the situation on the battlefield," the statement added.

According to Western and Ukrainian critics, much of Russia’s military hardware is old or outdated, and Russian battlefield gains have resulted from sheer force of numbers and high casualties. Both sides keep the number of dead and injured a secret but are known to have suffered heavy losses.

The Moscow display, which includes U.S., German and French tanks supplied to Ukraine, came days after the U.S. approved a $61 billion aid package for Kyiv and after Russia made some swift but incremental territorial gains in eastern Ukraine at a time when Kyiv's forces say they lack ammo and manpower.

Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says it will eventually push Russian forces from its soil, held a similar exhibition along Kyiv's central boulevard last summer featuring burnt-out husks of Russian tanks and fighting vehicles.

Russia, says the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has itself lost over 3,000 tanks in Ukraine amounting to its entire pre-war active inventory, but has enough lower-quality armoured vehicles in storage for years of replacement and says it is now ramping up production of new tanks.

In addition to tanks, British and Australian armoured vehicles seized in Ukraine are on display in Moscow along with military hardware made in Turkey, Sweden, Austria, Finland, South Africa and the Czech Republic.

State TV's Channel One said the star of the show was a captured American M1 Abrams battle tank, which it said had been taken out by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine using a guided rocket and kamikaze drones.

Clambering over the Abrams holding his microphone, a state TV correspondent told Russians that the tank had been billed in the United States as an indestructible "wonder weapon".

"But that was all nonsense - look at this - all of its reputation has been destroyed," he said.

 

RT/Reuters

 

Anti-graft agency Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is taunting us with another emotional roller-coaster. They are asking us to join them in navel-gazing over another sensational case of thievery by a politician. We will do that for weeks (or months) and nothing else. Meanwhile, the said politician will be rehabilitated—probably appointed to a crucial position—in contempt of their ongoing case with the EFCC. One needs not be clairvoyant to say the latest graft case, involving ex-Kogi governor Yahaya Bello, is another ploy by the EFCC to titillate a public that still allows itself to be amused by jokes that lack a punchline. We have been here before (many times) and we know how this ruse ends: they will siphon emotion out of the public and eventually leave everyone hanging. No closure, nothing!

The most sensational of the allegations against Bello says he grifted almost a million dollars of public funds to pay his children’s school fees. Virtually every commentator has made this revelation the focus of their outrage. Bello, of course, stridently denies the accusation. What he failed to explain was how he managed to procure that much money and why he felt the urgency to pay for the length of his children’s school years. Who does that if not a man who wanted to exploit an unaccountable source of funds while he still had access to it?

Like other Nigerian politicians who dish out photos of their children graduating from schools abroad for poor Nigerians to gawk at, Bello also took his children out of the disaster zone called the Kogi State public schools and tucked them where the Nigerian decay has not touched. Despite claiming to be a poor herdsman with a mere 150 cows, former President Muhammadu Buhari too educated his children abroad. His mendacious yet witless aide, Femi Adesina, claimed Buhari sold his houses to afford the expense. Those children will grow up holding up their noses at the poor Nigerian masses, conveniently forgetting those were the same people their parasitic parents robbed to give them their lives.

That said, I struggled to understand the sensation around Bello’s case. Why did his case excite anyone, given that his actions are pretty standard? What is the difference between what he allegedly did and the “Bola Tinubu model” of using the state legislature to pass a bill that will pay an ex-governor humongous pension? Tinubu was the first governor who got the state legislature to grant him hefty amounts of money as pension, effectively tying the state’s destiny to his pockets. That model has been replicated by other greedy ex-governors without intentions of weaning themselves from the public purse. Bello too could have used the state Assembly to pass a bill paying his children’s school fees but he chose to be savage. The cynical part of me thinks that is the only sin he committed. If, after all these years, he did not learn to eat public funds with the finesse with which the old masters do it, he deserves to be disgraced.

The difference between Bello’s alleged crime and his ex-governor counterparts who granted themselves stupendous pension is the gap between eating oily yam with your fingers and using silverware. One makes you look primitive, while the other allows you the illusion of being civilised. I am sincerely confused by the morality of Tinubu’s supporters yelling at Bello. Would your opinion of him have been any different if he had instead set up a company called AlphaDelta Gamma and used it to achieve the same purpose? Sincerely, Bello’s only sin is his barbarity.

Despite the bold handwriting of ordinances written against him, the truth is that Bello is going nowhere. Not only does he know it, but even EFCC chairperson Ola Olukoyede must know it too. He cannot be so naïve to believe otherwise. During a recent press conference, Olukoyede grandiosely declared, ‘If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the EFCC Chairman.” Yinmu! He must think he is the first EFCC chairperson in history to spot a potential politician-thief. If Bello’s case is truly his dealbreaker, he had better resign right away because Yahaya is going nowhere. He might be disgraced for a while but that is the extent of what constitutes justice for corrupt politicians in Nigeria. No one goes to jail for corruption unless they fall out of reckoning with the powers that be. When you have passed your sell-by date and can no longer secure electoral victory, you will be conveniently discarded. That is when they sacrifice you to the EFCC.

Luckily for Bello, he helped the All Progressives Congress retain power in Kogi State. His peers in the Governor’s Forum who ran the same errand of “delivering” their constituency have been rewarded with “juicy” offices. The APC still needs him for the 2027 elections, so why sacrifice him now? Besides, he is also an APC member, the ruling party where virtually every single person within the ruling party has dirt on their hands. Jailing him for committing a popular sin will open the door to the possibility of other party members being similarly treated. That will ultimately demystify the party as a formidable redoubt for politicians. If that happens, the fraternal code of honour held by the thieves of public wealth will lose meaning, and the incentive for venal but powerful politicians to join the party will be lost.

There is no other reason people join a party in Nigeria than self-service. No party in Nigeria has a coherent ideology; nobody defects to them based on principles. It is to seek protection and access resources. Key Peoples Democratic Party members like Godswill Akpabio and Nyesom Wike had no qualms about joining the APC to be rebranded. Akpabio’s case with the EFCC has been momentarily forgotten and Wike’s own will never come up with the EFCC unless he costs APC the 2027 election. If Bello too waits this out, the EFCC will return to their original vocation of running after crossdressers, Bureau De Change operators, and money sprayers at Saturday afternoon owambes!

Olukoyede is not the first EFCC chairperson—nor will be the last—who thinks making noise in the media is akin to convicting an accused looter. His prosecutorial zeal notwithstanding, the court case will probably be botched by a lack of meticulousness. Here is why: Olukoyede alleged that Bello paid $720,000 out of the state coffers to the American International School for his child’s tuition before leaving office. In their response, the school disclosed that the sum was $845,852 and was paid in 2021 and for five children. Please note the wild difference between what the EFCC announced and what the school revealed. Good. Those discrepancies are why the EFCC’s case will eventually be thrown out of court based on some technicality.

Finally, the truth is also that there is a lack of will to pursue corruption. The present administration is aware (too acutely, in fact) of its own lack of moral legitimacy and can hardly confront graft without buckling under the weight of its own hypocrisies. Even under Buhari, the man who got into power by flexing anti-corruption muscles, two court convictions witnessed (Joshua Dayiye and Jolly Nyame) were reversed with presidential pardons. When they asked Buhari about ex-Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje who was caught on video stashing his pockets with dollars, he pretended he had hearing problems. If Buhari who supposedly hated corruption could fail so grandly, is it Tinubu that will now muster the resolve? The person who recently announced he would fight corruption with technology? Why did “technology” not stop the lawmakers who approved his grand pension? The person who cedes to machines the duty that humans with a working conscience ought to confront cannot be taken seriously. Dey play!

 

Punch

 

Trust in bosses is on the decline, according to a new survey by Interaction Associates released last month. Nearly 60 percent of the 520 managers or supervisors polled worldwide believe their organization lacks trust.

And 85 percent of 24,000 respondents to a worldwide Regus survey last year said they wanted their bosses to show more trust in their employees who work flexible hours.

Indeed employee engagement measured just 13 percent in a huge worldwide survey conducted by Gallup in 2012.

The best bosses know the key to keeping employees engaged is by giving them the managerial support they seek.

Here are a few secrets every good boss knows about managing a modern workforce:

1. Motivation is not all about rewards.

Contingent motivators (such as "if you do this, then that") narrow thinking and block creativity unless the tasks at hand are simple and rote, Daniel Pink said in a TED Talk "The Puzzle of Motivation." When employees have a complex problem to solve, their possibilities seem restricted by the idea of an incentive.

Instead, managers should share a compelling vision and the objectives to be reached to realize that vision. Provide feedback and recognition along the way to help employees reach their objectives. Empower autonomous workers with the necessary tools and support them along the way.

2. Micromanagers won't win.

When managers are looking over every employee's shoulder, this only builds a nervous, disengaged team. The employees involved feel a lack of trust from their managers, which sets a negative tone through the workplace and puts unnecessary pressure on staff.

Give employees the tools they need and the direction, but leave the rest to them. When mistakes happen, look at it as a teachable moment not just for the employee but the leaders as well.

Ask "Why did the employee screw up? Did he lack the necessary skills? Was the objective unclear? Did the employee not receive appropriate feedback? Ensure that evaluations and feedback are growth not punishment oriented.

3. Hierarchies are not conducive to trust.

Millennials are expected to take the workforce by storm, occupying 75 percent of the world's workforce by 2025, according to a 2014 Deloitte survey released last January. "Roughly two-thirds of Millennials feel the outlook and attitudes of management are serious barriers to innovation, such as a reluctance to take risk," according to the report that polled 7,800 millennials from 28 countries.

Forward-thinking managers regard their employees as collaborators in contrast to the management-centric approach prevalent years ago. And open-minded managers appreciate employees who are unafraid to share ideas and who want to contribute in a way that makes a difference, even if that means challenging the views of their superiors.

"Millennials want to leave their mark on the world by working for organizations that benefit society, encourage innovation, and provide them with the opportunity to expand their skills," the Deloitte study noted. Only 45 percent of the millennials surveyed said they believe leaders in developed markets are committed to helping improve society.

Don't sit on a throne expecting employees to follow directions blindly. Expect questions, new ideas and the challenging of opinions. When working together with staff, transcend the limitations of rank. Involve everyone on a team in making big decisions. Always listen to what employees have to say and respond supportively.

4. Employees do great work when given freedom.

In a 2012 study by Bentley University, 40 percent of 1,000 millennial women and 33 percent of millennial men said they were interested in working from home.

More recently, 41 percent of 933 employees polled for the 2014 State of Telecommuting Report released in February said they telecommute one day a week.

The remote workforce is on the rise, and the ability to work from wherever and whenever will undoubtedly move from a desire among workers to a mainstay.

Why is sticking around the office from 9 to 5 no longer cool? For many employees today, the work results are what matter more than the time involved to produce them. Technology has enabled efficiency at record-breaking levels when it comes to getting things done.

There's no use in letting all that spare time go to waste. Many employees today want to use it to put the "life" back in work-life balance, which may have been thrown off by workaholic predecessors.

Respect employees' time and give them the freedom to work from home occasionally, if the organization can permit it. Recognize them for their achievements instead of how much time they put in at the office.

5. Information needs to be accessible at all times.

When retrieving information, consumers are no longer used to waiting, unless it's just three seconds. Many contemporary workers don't like to wait either, especially when it comes to receiving feedback on the job. Information, whether it's about how-to guides or performance evaluations, needs to be immediately accessible to help workers learn how to improve faster.

Communicate with timeliness in all areas, especially when giving feedback. The sooner employees know what they're doing well and what they need to improve upon, the sooner they can work on making the necessary changes.

 

Entrepreneur