When former Vice President Atiku Abubakar insisted he would contest the presidential election in 2023, he gave his enemies the point with which they could campaign against him.

 Many southerners asked that the candidacy be zoned to the south, but he refused, contending that zoning is unconstitutional. Therefore, he participated in the primaries but lost the election. 

Had he won the election, a northerner would have succeeded another northerner. One Fulani man would have succeeded the other. Today, he is the greatest PDP problem, and as long as he's in PDP, it will be difficult to move PDP forward.

He is the embodiment of the northern/Fulani agenda, which many see as the greatest threat to Nigeria as a nation, particularly because of the herders' issue and the Islamization agenda.

The Turaki's leadership style is also somewhat not strategic, but selfish and overly ambitious.  The impression being created by the former vice president, that the party is not only for the northerners but also only for the Fulanis.

Atiku broke the notion that no one can contest against a northerner and win when he contested against Bola Ahmed Tinubu and lost. He therefore destroyed the premises upon which PDP was built. And people began to lose confidence in the party the more. 

He, with hindsight, should have managed the Wike issue. He should have copied from the way the president managed El Rufai by allowing him to come along until an appropriate time. 

With the backlash Elon Musk is getting from his relationship with Trump, he seems to have little option but to back off.

This is in the wake of a serious drop in the value of Tesla stock. Some of his investors are already of the opinion that his pullback can return his business to its former levels 

Everything touched by Trump isn't just turning to gold, and the damage inflicted on Tesla because of the association with Elon Musk may not go away permanently 

Other automakers, particularly manufacturers of electric vehicles, are the beneficiaries of Tesla's downturn and are already announcing a rise in sales during this period. The negative impact of vandalism and hostility towards the Tesla brand and employees had an impact on the markets.

Many think that some of this brand damage will remain permanent and irreversible, but Mr Musk has announced a step back from D.O.G.E., believing his presence in Tesla will go a long way to ameliorating the damage.

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a reversal of the hike in tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. Speaking to reporters in the white house on Tuesday, he promised to bring the tariffs down. Though he cautioned that it will not go back to zero. Experts believe that this is a signal that the US president is ready to reconsider his stand on the tariff war with China. 

Trade Secretary Bessent had said earlier in the day that the hike in tariffs had created something like an embargo on imports from China. However, if Trump's idea was to get China to the negotiating table, that has not been successful, as China has not responded that way. Instead, China is busy making diplomatic moves to counter the US attempt to isolate China

China, on the other hand, had received the news with caution and seems ready for negotiations only if the US will show a little more 'respect', but does not seem to share Trump's enthusiasm for a 'good' relationship between Xi and himself.

Donald Trump and his richest supporter, multibillionaire Elon Musk, gushed about each other and blamed the media for attempting to separate them. During their joint White House interview, the two spoke so highly of one another that Sean Hannity, the interviewer, was moved to remark, "I feel like I'm interviewing two brothers here."

The united front was maintained to reject accusations that Musk’s so-called “Department of Government of efficiency” (Doge) – which has upended huge swaths of the federal bureaucracy in a supposed attempt to find “waste, fraud, and corruption” – is a violation of the US constitution, saying their critics were themselves guilty of this. They also dismissed complaints that Musk, who has billions of dollars in government contracts through his ownership of companies such as SpaceX and Tesla, had serious conflicts of interest that could lead him to skew federal spending in his favor.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has urged African countries to shift their attention from relying on foreign aid to mobilizing indigenous resources to draw investments and spur economic growth. African leaders must change their perspective, Okonjo-Iweala emphasized, pointing out that the continent is endowed with abundant untapped natural and financial resources that might promote sustainable development.

The WTO chief suggested that foreign aid should be viewed as a thing of the past while addressing the fringes of the African Union conference in Ethiopia.

"Africa has to shift its perspective on aid access," she stated. We ought to start considering it a thing of the past. "We should concentrate on two main areas: mobilizing domestic resources and attracting investment." Africa has over $250 billion in pension funds, but most of them are invested outside the continent instead of going into local economies, she claims. South Africa is home to the largest pension funds, with Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Botswana, and Namibia following closely behind. We must figure out how to use these resources since they are so important," she stated.

The former finance minister also demanded that the African Finance Corporation and other multilateral development banks in Africa be recapitalized. According to her, this would boost funding for important projects and broaden their financial sheets.

These organizations have a combined balance sheet of roughly $70 billion, yet our infrastructure requirements alone cost more than $200 billion a year. We need to bolster our institutions rather than seeking outside funding," she revealed. She also emphasized how critical it is that African countries seize control of their enormous mineral resources, especially copper, manganese, and lithium.

Those are essential resources for the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles.

To increase intercontinental trade, generate jobs, and stop exporting raw materials without value addition, she urged Africa to grow its processing industries.

Prof Femi Mimiko gave the 60th edition of the monthly lecture of the Nigerian Army resource center Abuja yesterday. The topic of the lecture is Nigeria's quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat and its implications on national security.

Kash Patel, the FBI director nominee nominated by President Donald Trump, said that the U.S. SEAL Team Six saved a kidnapped American citizen held captive in northern Nigeria in under sixty seconds.

This was said by Mr. Patel on January 30, 2025, at his confirmation hearing before the US Senate. His involvement in the covert operation to free Philip Walton, the 27-year-old son of American missionaries who had been abducted by armed bandits from neighboring Niger and taken to northern Nigeria for ransom, was the subject of intense questioning. On Thursday, Mr. Patel told the U.S. Congress, "The operation lasted for 60 seconds." He was also questioned about his apparent negligence in repeating a fictitious authorization that the SEAL Team Six had received from the Nigerian authorities to operate in Nigerian airspace.

Having gathered knowledge of the area where Mr. Walton was being held, Mr. Patel was the driving force behind the rescue effort. Since the bandits may relocate Mr. Walton, he saw an opening for the Seal Team Six to attack. Senior U.S. authorities discovered that the Nigerian government had not yet given the Navy SEALs permission to enter their airspace, much less land, while the plane was in midair carrying operatives. In his memoir, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated that it was one of Mr. Patel's many mistakes and that he was worried about the SEALs, especially if they would be shot down for the unauthorized operation.

 Mr. Esper's memoir, which described the operation, said, "I was worried that being crammed into an aircraft burning holes in the sky for an additional hour or so would wear on the special operators, that it might affect their readiness somehow." According to Mr. Esper, the SEALs suspected Mr. Patel of falsifying the clearance that the Nigerian government granted them. Mr. Esper writes, "My team suspected Patel made up the approval story, but they didn't have all the facts." In his book "Government Gangsters," Mr. Patel denied the accusations, saying that some individuals attempted to thwart the president's plans by putting obstacles in the way of counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and Africa.

After the State Department stepped in and moved quickly to secure airspace approval from the Nigerian authorities before the Navy SEALs landing, the operation ultimately proved successful. It's unclear if Mr. Patel's responses to the questions were satisfactory, and he has encountered a lot of resistance in his pursuit of the FBI directorship.

Following military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has formally suspended the three nations from the regional group.    ECOWAS declared that people of the impacted countries would continue to have the freedom to travel around its member states despite the suspensions.   ECOWAS's position on the unconstitutional transfers of administration in the region was emphasized by the decision, which was approved during a bloc meeting.

Free mobility guarantees that citizens can continue to travel, live, and trade within the bloc without hindrance, even while the suspension restricts the three nations' ability to participate in ECOWAS activities.   ECOWAS has emphasized its commitment to democratic administration and constitutional order by continuously denouncing military takeovers in its member states. While taking steps to lessen the impact of the suspensions on regular residents, the bloc is nevertheless advocating for a restoration to civilian governance in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

 In 2013, James accidentally chucked out the hard drive that held his treasure trove of Bitcoins. At that point, they were already worth around 8 million dollars. But today? We’re talking about an insane 742 million dollars! This mishap went down in Newport, South Wales, and now that hard drive is supposedly lying under 10,000 to 15,000 tons of trash at a local dump. The financial hit for Howells is massive. What once looked like a smart move turned into a dream buried deep under piles of garbage. Yet against all odds, he kicked off an ambitious plan to dig up his lost wealth.

James was determined to recover what he had lost, but he encountered significant obstacles when looking for his discarded HDD in that dump. Every time he asked to dig around Newport, local officials would keep turning him away because they were concerned about potential health hazards and environmental problems (you know how it goes). According to UK ecological regulations, any garbage disposed of in a landfill is officially the property of that location. It might release certain harmful substances into the environment if it is dug up. James never obtained the necessary permit to begin digging lawfully. But he had huge plans: he would methodically go over around 2,000 square meters of landfill site with the help of skilled teams and drones and robots. It has the sound of something from Hollywood!

When a British judge said in 2024 that there was "no realistic prospect" of James recovering his HDD, the situation took a different direction. In addition to discussing environmental issues, the ruling noted that it had been over six years since 2013, which meant that the statute of limitations had gone and that no legal action could be taken. He would still have to overcome significant technological obstacles even if his search party was approved. Even if a hard drive is located, there is no assurance that it will function or contain data that can be recovered because hard drives aren't exactly known for surviving long periods or harsh environments.

Given the accumulation of these setbacks, James felt compelled to express his annoyance at what he perceived to be the inflexibility of the British court system in providing adequate consideration to his case. He chastised their hesitation while acknowledging that his dreams might remain concealed beneath heaps upon mounds of worthless, plain old stuff that are now resting silently underground forevermore unless someone steps in, whether it be the authorities or the courts. Howell finds himself resigned today, knowing that despite years of chasing hope that was only met with disappointments rather than success stories from others who struck gold during cryptocurrency booms around the world, something priceless but likely unachievable is still within reach someday, perhaps in a different location.

Four of the five richest men in the world were among the prominent billionaires who attended President Donald Trump's inauguration Monday morning, with a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion. Many of them were hoping to deepen their relationship with the pro-business president as he assumed office.

The three richest people in the world attended several inauguration morning events: Elon Musk ($433.9 billion), the CEO of Tesla, Mark Zuckerberg ($211.8 billion), and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon (worth $239.4 billion, according to Forbes), who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win the November election. Along with billionaire donor Miriam Adelson ($31.9 billion) and former Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch ($22.2 billion), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ($1.1 billion) and Apple CEO Tim Cook ($2.2 billion), who contributed to the inauguration, were in the Capitol Rotunda Monday morning.

The richest person in France and the leader of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury company, Bernard Arnault ($179.6 billion), attended the inauguration with his son, Alexandre. The richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani ($98.1 billion), was said to have attended inauguration ceremonies. Trump's pal Phil Ruffin, a $4.7 billion casino mogul from Las Vegas, was also seen at the Capitol.

Vivek Ramaswamy ($1 billion) and Howard Lutnick ($1.5 billion), two billionaires and their spouses who attended the inauguration, have been offered prominent positions in the Trump administration. According to Bloomberg, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong ($12.8 billion) had not yet been spotted at the swearing-in but was invited to inauguration-related parties.

Several billionaires, including Stephen Feinberg ($5 billion), Warren Stephens ($3.4 billion), Jared Isaacman ($1.9 billion), Steve Witkoff ($1 billion), Linda McMahon (wife of $3 billion Vince McMahon), and Kelly Loeffler (wife of Jeff Sprecher, worth $1.1 billion), have also received offers of positions in the administration, though their attendance was not confirmed. Together with Adelson, Tilman Fertitta ($10.2 billion), and Todd Ricketts—whose father, J. Joe Ricketts, and family are estimated to be worth $4.2 billion—Zuckerberg co-hosted a pre-inaugural Ball reception for Trump.

Others either stayed out of the presidential contest or were Trump opponents before they attempted reconciliation, while some did back Trump's campaign. Before he fell in line after the election results, Trump allegedly vowed to put Zuckerberg in jail and had been banned from Instagram and Facebook by Zuckerberg's Meta. Since then, Zuckerberg has met with Trump at Mar-A-Lago, paid $1 million to his inauguration fund, changed the way its platforms verify content, and appointed Trump friend Dana White to Meta's board. Zuckerberg referred to Trump's response to his assassination attempt as "badass" in the run-up to the election, but he did not support any candidate.

Bezos and Trump have also had a history of disagreements. In 2019, Amazon accused Trump of losing a multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract with the Pentagon because of his "personal dislike" of Bezos, and Trump has been critical of the Washington Post, which Bezos owns. Bezos gave $1 million to the inaugural fund and stated that Trump "showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire" during the assassination attempt, despite not endorsing him last year. He has always had the backing of others. Along with Adelson, the widow of billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of Las Vegas Sands, who gave $100 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Preserve America during the election, Musk is one of Trump's largest donors. The owner of Landry's restaurant chain and the Houston Rockets, Fertitta, has been nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to Italy.

Last year, Billionaires held a Trump fundraiser. Co-owner of the Chicago Cubs Ricketts has been a significant contributor to Republican political campaigns. Although he first gathered money for Trump's campaign within the party, he later led pro-Trump fundraising in 2020 and this year.

Over $170 million. According to estimates, Trump's first fund raised that amount, nearly tripling the $62 million raised by President Joe Biden four years prior and significantly surpassing the previous record of $107 million established by Trump's 2016 inauguration. According to reports, donors who contributed $1 million or raised $2 million from others received six tickets to several events in the days preceding the inauguration, such as a black-tie ball and a "candlelight dinner" with Trump and Melania Trump.