I applaud H.E. President Sassou Nguesso, the President of the Republic of Congo and President William Ruto of Kenya, the co-chairs, for their leadership on this agenda, and for joining with me in our collective drive to ensure that Africa’s vast natural resources are considered in the valuation of Africa’s wealth – what I call Green Gross Domestic Product (Green GDP).

Africa has some of the largest sources of natural capital in the world, including over 40% of the world’s clean energy potential; 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land; 25% of global biodiversity; and 20% of the world’s tropical rainforest area.

The Congo Basin is the second largest carbon lung in the world after the Amazon forest. It stretches 314 million hectares with 1.2 million kilometers of primary forest.

The peatlands of the Congo Basin store 29 billion tons of carbon. That is equivalent to 3 years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Congo basin also absorbs about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Africa’s forests account for 26% of all carbon sequestration in forests worldwide.

The continent also holds considerable non-renewable natural resources, accounting for 50% of the world’s reserves of cobalt (used for batteries), 40% of manganese reserves (used in solar and wind farms) and more than 80% of platinum reserves, complemented by rich endowments of nickel, copper, and rare earth minerals. These are crucial for global green energy transition with electric vehicles and battery energy storages systems, whose estimated value is expected to rise from $7.5 trillion to $59 trillion.

Africa is also endowed with abundant renewable energy: an almost unlimited potential of solar capacity (10 TW), hydro (350 GW), wind (110 GW), and geothermal energy sources (15 GW), all of which are the backbone of a less carbon-intensive and more sustainable energy system.

Therefore, while Africa contributes significantly to global public good for tackling climate change with its vast resources of natural capital, its vast natural capital has been undervalued.  This vast natural capital is not taken into consideration in valuing the GDP of African countries. For example, while the GDP of Africa was estimated at $2.5 trillion in 2018, this was 2.5 times lower than the estimated value of its natural capital, evaluated at $6.2 trillion, which partly includes some valuation of the ecosystem services.

This situation makes Africa to be “green endowed” but “cash poor”.

When the value of Africa’s vast forest and environmental services, and natural capital, are properly valued, the size of its rebased GDP taking this into account will be much higher.

The African Development Bank’s preliminary estimates, based on very conservative assumptions, show that Africa’s nominal GDP in 2022 could have increased by $66.1 billion when adjusted for carbon sequestration only.

That is more than the combined GDP of 42 African countries!

The proper valuation of Africa’s green GDP is where the trillions of dollars for the continent, based on proper valuation, will come from, to boost the wealth and financing of the continent.

The greening of the GDP will also have other benefits, including the development of carbon markets in Africa.

Unfortunately, today, several African countries are giving away their vast amounts of land to carbon credits. While this may generate some short-term financing, it needs to be understood that Africa is a carbon price taker and therefore is short-changed. While the price of carbon in Europe is high and could be as high as $200 per ton because of the strict EU Emission Trading Standards, carbon price in Africa could be as low as $3 to $10 per ton.

The widespread sales of vast areas of Africa’s lands rich in carbon, what I call “carbon grab”, has five consequences, which we must understand.

First, the countries are being underpaid for the carbon, due to the undervaluation of Africa’s carbon sinks.

Second, the sequestered carbon on the lands can no longer be used as part of the nation’s nationally determined contributions.

Third, the countries lose sovereignty over their lands.

Fourth, the carbon sequestered over these lands and forests cannot be used to rebase and revalue the green GDP of the countries.

Fifth, the ongoing carbon grab in Africa is a lose-lose proposition.

The proper valuation of Africa’s green wealth will increase access to financial flows, in part because credit ratings agencies will be able to incorporate the true value of overall asset class, which in turn could improve countries’ risk profile.

Therefore, it is time for Africa’s green environmental assets to be properly priced to allow the continent to turn its massive green assets into wealth, through their inclusion in “green’ GDP for Africa. This will raise massive financial resources for the continent, spur greater green investments and provide better policies for the greening of African economies for sustainable development. The significantly higher revenues that Africa will generate from the proper valuation of its carbon sinks and environmental services will also allow it to be able to service its debts, assuring debt sustainability.

It is time for Africa’s green wealth to be properly measured.

It is time to take Africa’s natural capital into consideration in its GDP.

It is time for Africa to be green rich and cash rich.

I am delighted to inform you that the African Development Bank has produced a report on “Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa. You will find the report on your tables. This report sets out key actions to value and integrate natural capital in the measure of Africa’s GDP.

This is a defining moment for Africa.

We need you to succeed.

African Development Bank will work with you to seize this moment.

• Speech by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President and Chairman of the Board, African Development Bank Group, at the COP 29 High-Level Event on “Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa”, 13 November 2024

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of three Nigerians as directors-general of various agencies and one special adviser on Public Communications and Media.

The new appointees are:

(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade -- Director-General, National Sports Commission

(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade -- Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism

(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun -- Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement

(4) Daniel Bwala -- Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House)

Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.

He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.

The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.

Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.

The Special Adviser on Public Communications and Media, Mr. Daniel Bwala is a lawyer and notable public affairs analyst.

The President enjoins the newly appointed officers to discharge their duties with dedication, patriotism, and excellence.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President

(Information & Strategy)

November 14, 2024

"Leadership is not about the position one holds, but about the responsibility one bears to serve and uplift others."

Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sokoto.

In a democracy, the voice of the people should NOT be silenced, especially when it calls attention to the safety and dignity of the vulnerable. Yet in Sokoto, we find ourselves facing a grim and troubling reality where this very principle is under vicious attack. The recent arrest of a young woman, Hamdiyya Sidi, who bravely demanded accountability from her Governor and Northern leaders, exposes a shameful and oppressive mindset at the highest levels of leadership. She dared to ask the Governor of her State, Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto, a simple question: if he and his family faced the horrific violence that has befallen countless women across the North—women who have been violated in unspeakable ways, sometimes in front of their families—would he remain so indifferent? Instead of addressing her concerns, however, the police proceeded to arrest and detain her, ostensibly for 'inciting unrest'; an act that cannot and should not be tolerated. As we speak, after being released on bail, Hamdiyya was ambushed by 'unknown persons', beaten up thoroughly, and left for dead.

In the conflict-ridden spaces of Northern Nigeria, women live under the constant threat of violence — rape, kidnapping, and terror --- at the hands of armed groups.

The young woman who spoke up was not “criticizing the government” or "inciting unrest"; she was merely calling attention to a humanitarian crisis, of which there are countless victims, including members of her family and community. These atrocities continue unabated under the gaze of our leaders, who have been elected to protect their citizens. Instead of responding with empathy, action, support, or even basic respect, the elected authorities in Sokoto chose to wield power and influence to silence her.

Hamdiyya spoke for millions who live in fear, those whose pleas have been ignored time and time again. Her arrest sends a chilling message: that in Sokoto, those in power are more interested in suppressing dissent than in protecting their people. It tells Northern women that their lives, their safety, and their voices are less important than the comfort of those who hold office.

Why should a woman be detained and beaten up for speaking a painful truth? She did not curse, she did not threaten, and she did not incite violence; she asked a simple question. This cowardly response from the powers-that-be reeks of authoritarianism, and signals a profound disrespect not only for her, but for all women who bear the brunt of this unchecked violence. If our leaders cannot tolerate questions from the electorate, it is a clear sign of a decayed democracy.

Let us be clear; the North remains within a democracy. Leaders are elected to serve their citizens, not to rule over or oppress them because they are vulnerable or weaker than they are. When they fail to protect the very citizens they swore to defend, they must expect to be questioned, and they should be prepared to answer with humility, not handcuffs, detention and assault. Northern women deserve leaders who are willing to stand up against the violence tearing communities apart, not leaders who shield their eyes and plug their ears when the pleas for help become inconvenient.

The Governor of Sokoto, Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto, must immediately publicly denounce the treatment accorded this courageous young lady, in recognition of his responsibility and leadership role to protect his citizens. We expect him to support her and also listen to her pleas for support, with a view to addressing them. His public denouncement would send a message that the State values the lives and safety of its women. Ignoring her pleas for her community, and indeed, the State at large only deepens the wounds that violence has already inflicted on Northern Nigeria’s social fabric.

 In any just society, a woman has the right to speak out against the conditions that threaten her life and dignity. Northern women deserve this right to speak out, without fear of violence or retribution. Their demands should flow naturally as a right, not a privilege. This is not just about one woman’s freedom but about the rights of all Northern women who refuse to be silenced in the face of brutality.

Regrettably, this persecution of individuals, who speak up on the challenges being faced in our country, is becoming commonplace. The Northern Governors need to protect and support their suffering citizens while addressing the issues being raised, rather than take offence at the emerging realities. The ruling party, the APC, which is also Governor Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto’s party, would do well to demand that the Governor do well by his citizens. So too, the Inspector General of Police should call his men to order, since it was the police who took it upon themselves to detain Hamdiya for 'inciting arrest'; a young defenseless girl who merely expressed her empathy for members of her community, demanding for succour.

Our Governors must be reminded of their responsibilities as leaders, even of beleaguered, conflict-ridden spaces and communities within their jurisdictions. The suffering is unbearable and the attacks unrelenting. We join Hamdiyya in pleading for mercy and support for those afflicted by violence, death and destruction in their jurisdictions. Our Governors must stand firm in the protection of the vulnerable. They must not exacerbate the suffering by oppressing the weak who do not have the wherewithal to protect themselves. As the saying goes in hausa, you cannot beat a person and then stop him or her from crying!

When northern Nigerian women came out in their thousands to vote for our Governors, it was because they believed they were electing empathetic leaders who would work assiduously to improve security and the conditions of women and citizens in our country. They certainly didn’t expect those they elected to become part of their oppressors; authoritative abusers of the law who use the State apparatus unjustly to cow citizens into silence. We call on everyone with any degree of influence on Governor Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto to get him to do the right thing by ensuring Hamdiyya, who has done nothing wrong, is protected, supported and listened to. That would be the first step towards addressing the suffering of the people.

Governor Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto, it is time to listen, act, and allow Northern women to breathe. Voices for Inclusion and Equity (VIEW) is a North Central, North East, and North West Nigeria coalition committed to fostering equitable, inclusive, and just societies for women across the Nation. VIEW welcomes and salutes all other statements on this matter geared towards ensuring redress and a culture of ethical behavior in public life.

Ors:

▪ Aisha Oyebode

▪ Amina Salihu

▪ Mairo Mandara

▪ Kadaria Ahmed

▪ Fatima Akilu

▪ Rabi Jimeta

▪ Aisha Waziri Ibrahim

As usual, last week's "Not too young to kill..." drew an avalanche of response. Once the hand that writes writes and moves on, what readers make of it is entirely their own making. But we can all learn from such responses and rejoinders; which is why I am printing this piece here today. Dripping with sarcasm and titled "TOO YOUNG TO DIE, BUT NOT TOO YOUNG TO KILL", it is written by a prolific writer, Moses Oludele Idowu. Excerpts:

"I must salute Bola Bolawole, notable journalist and editor, for having the courage to go against the grain of popular opinion in his piece on this issue. We have a problem on our hands (because) everyone runs away from the problem, pretending it does not exist. Everyone avoids (asking) the right questions for fear of public backlash and loss of friends and platforms. But wrong questions won't bring the right answers!

The arraignment of some teenagers (we do not have access to their birth certificates and cannot, therefore, confirm whether they are teens or not) unleashed knocks on the government and police alike, forcing them to quickly retrace their footsteps. The publicity it drew from the media (both local and international) and the public forced government to hurriedly discontinue with the trial!

These were "children" arrested in connection with the last protest on bad governance. Let me make myself clear from the beginning. I take it to be self-evident that every citizen has the right to protest against the government and its policies. It is a fundamental right and woe betides that government in a democracy that seeks to abridge that right! But the fundamental right to protest or express personal feelings and grievances has its limits. It does not confer on the protesters the right to deny other citizens their own right to stay away from such protest. Neither does it confer on the protesters the right to deny other citizens their own right to private ownership of property or the right to life and pursuit of happiness because they refuse to participate.

 These rights are all enshrined in the same Constitution. The right to protest does not confer on any protester the right to loot a public library built at great costs and deny future generations the access to ancient collections. This, in itself, is a crime against future generations who would use the library. And, less I forget, the right to protest does not also confer the right to hoist the flag of another nation on Nigerian soil. That is high treason under any jurisdiction. 

Sadly, most of the comments that I have seen on this subject by both Opposition politicians and commentators ignored these facts, choosing, instead, to lambast the police and the government for following the letters of the law. Commentators dwelt instead on the fact that the protesters were minors and minors should not be tried in an open court for, of all things, treason.

Let us now address the issues. It is true that minors should not be tried in an open court for treason. But what do we do when minors habitually commit major crimes? It may also be true that most of those "children" do not know the legal implications of hoisting the flag of another nation on foreign soil. But ignorance is no excuse under the law, as the law itself states.

We blame the police for enforcing the Law but we are also the first to blame them for doing nothing while minors loot a whole library and the police could not make any arrest!

The problem of minors commiting crime is common in a section of the country and this is due to an evil and pernicious cultural system that has festered for decades, depriving entire generations of children meaningful education and opportunities in life. We all know this but everyone prefers to shy away due to political correctness.

The hardship inflicted by the ruinous economic policies of the present government has been generally widespread across the land; the suffering of the last one-and-a-half years has been fully democratised. How come, then, that it is only in a certain section of the country that you find "children" engaging in the looting of public property? Is it a coincidence that these "children" are the products of a culture that breeds the almajiri system that is at the centre of poverty and insecurity in the North?

In the videos released during the protests, we saw "children" carting away refrigerators, chairs, even roofing sheets and properties of innocent law-abiding citizens who, themselves, are also victims of the same neo-liberal economic orthodoxy to which our government has enslaved itself. But we have been here before! That is why this problem won't go away unless we lay the axe to the root of the tree. 

The almajiri system must be eliminated or thoroughly purged of its obnoxious and traditionally-anachronistic accretions; modern educational skills that will give access to opportunities for these children must be provided and enforced. It is not enough to cry against government for dragging minors and children to court. When minors commit major crimes should they go scot-free? This is what breeds the culture of impunity for which Nigeria is now notorious.

 The same Northern elites shedding crocodile tears over the trial of minors are responsible for the plight of these children due to years of neglect, refusing to educate them as they have educated their own children because they exploit these children for their own religious and political agenda.

I have a lot of respect for the Sardauna of Sokoto, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello. He built many standard schools across the Northern region which the children of the poor could attend and they were free. I am a product of one of those schools.

The new elites of the North do not think in the same direction. They are more concerned about their own family and care nothing about the education of the poor and their children.

When you hear someone threatening his political foes that "the dog and the baboon will be soaked in blood", he was not banking on his own children to lead the front but on these abused and much-traumatized minors. They are the canon fodders and storm trooppers who lead the Northern elite's undeclared war and agitation against the state and any government that does not catch their fancy.

That is why hammering on the fact that they are children or teens does not address the issue. There is something the CIA calls "draining the swamp." It does no good returning anyone, adult or minor, to the same environment generating and sustaining the same conditions responsible for the crime for which he was accused. 

Returning a terrorist, for example, to the same environment where he would continue to receive the same indoctrination that encourages terror without first smashing that environment or "draining the swamp" is self-defeating. That is why the trillions of Naira spent on the problem of insecurity in the North has not yielded the required fruits. As long as Boko Haram and the other insurgent groups have a ready source of recruits from the same minors and under-age children, Nigeria will remain in this hole.

Policemen were killed during the last protests; let us also spare a thought for them and their families! Or are we saying that the life of a Nigerian policeman does not matter? Try and kill an American policeman or, worse still, a British police man or woman and then claim you are a minor!

When "children" commit adult crimes habitually, what is to be done? When minors commit major crimes, should a nation look away? Does being a minor confer immunity from prosecution? This is at the roots of impunity in many Northern states and one reason why development eludes that part of the country. Impunity is a setback and a false framework for development. Anywhere the Law is not free and the Rule of Law is not supreme, progress will not abide.

This is why we may need to consider the wisdom of Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro. There was a terrible religious riot in 1986 in Kaduna, leading to the death of many people, mostly Southerners, and the destruction of churches and private property. The army of rioters and arsonists were led by this same group of "teenagers" and "children" who know how to kill and torch buildings but are too young to be tried. The riot went on for days. Policemen could not contain it. This was under the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. 

Finally, soldiers were called in to restore order. Dogonyaro, the GOC of 2nd Mechanised Division, ordered his men into the streets to arrest those torching buildings or maiming and killing but if they resisted arrest, to shoot at sight! Many were arrested and those who were defiant got killed. Soon, order was restored. It was here that something happened: When a child commits a crime and is apprehended, the one who sent him shows up! 

It was here that the late Abubakar Gumi showed up, confronting the soldiers and asking the arrested "minions" to defy soldiers. This infuriated the soldiers. He was nearly shot in the process. The soldiers refused to release the arsonists. The same cries of subjecting "children" to trial and military punishment were raised by the same people. It was here Dogonyaro said something that we need now to revisit. He said: "Children who are old enough to kill, slit the throat of adults and set fire on buildings and watch the effect with joy are not children and would be treated as such with the full weight of the law"

For as long as Dogonyaro remained the G.O.C of Kaduna, no further riots occurred until he was posted out of the city. The Tinubu government has discontinued the trial of the "children" and as a patriot, I abide by it but that will not solve the problem. The same government and the public crying under-age children should do something about "draining the swamp" where this calamity is daily incubated. Else, the same "minors" will soon be involved in another act of treason and the same cry for forgiveness will go up again. This will reinforce the culture of impunity that is at the root of Nigeria's underdevelopment".

Well said! Security matters are damn too sensitive to play politics with. We do so at our own collective peril!

 Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of The WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD'S DAY column in the Sunday TRIBUNE and TREASURES column in NEW TELEGRAPH newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

One year ago, on November 15, 2023, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) invited me to speak on “Nigerian Media, Sustainability and Existential Threats by Big Tech.” Being asked again this year is a privilege, but I won’t be surprised if this is my last invitation.

Perhaps I won’t need to come as a presenter next time. A learning machine, Anaba possibly, might be here to do the job. This may sound incredible, but increasingly, with improvements in infotech and biotech, it seems that what AI cannot do does not exist.

In its most basic definition, generative artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks that, historically, only humans could perform. Journalists, for example, used to think of themselves as the masters of storytelling in a hurry and God’s gift to the world as gatekeepers. We’re humbler now.

Luddites’ nightmare

The widespread use of AI is causing anxiety among journalists and other professionals, especially the Luddites. Recently, I wanted to redecorate my apartment. I asked a furniture company in Abuja to recommend an interior decorator. The two recommended insisted on a pre-inspection deposit of 100k, which I wasn’t prepared to pay.

I went to ChatGPT and imputed a description of my apartment with measurements, asking for a photo design. I got it in minutes, complete with a floor plan and car park design. ChatGPT even asked if I needed optional designs! Midjourney or AR would give far more incredibly splendid options!

According to Digital News Project 2024, “Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2024” by Nic Newman, apart from rising costs and declining revenues, 300 digital leaders from more than 50 countries/territories also expressed significant concerns about using AI for backend news automation and experimental internet interfaces, including AR and VR glasses, lapel pins, and other wearable devices.

What’s AI up to?

Let us look briefly at two recent examples of the use of AI in storytelling, one in North America and the other in Europe, that have resonated in many parts of the world.

In Mexico, Grupo Formula, the country’s leading broadcasting group with 2.3m YouTube subscribers, created three avatars—NAT, SOFI, and MAX—three robotic journalists who generate content in entertainment, sports, and politics for the company’s social media handles.

The group’s director of technology and AI infrastructure told the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “The news stories that NAT, SOFI and others present are small stories and very focused towards young people who don’t connect well with the old-style newscast. We are looking to connect with these young people using technology.” Grupo Formula’s subsidiary, TV OAI, is the first news channel in Latin America powered 100 percent by AI.

More recently, a Polish radio station, Radio Krakow, announced the relaunch of OFF Radio, the first experiment in Poland where AI-driven characters take on the role of traditional journalists.

In response to concerns about the increasing role of automation in the physical and cognitive spheres, Yuval Harari said in his book 21 Lessons for the 21^st Century, “It would be madness to block automation… to protect human jobs. After all, what we ultimately ought to protect is humans – not jobs.” I agree.

What opportunities exist?

What opportunities does AI present, and how might journalists use them for storytelling? a). Streamlined content production: AI tools can significantly streamline content production, allowing journalists to focus on the creative aspects rather than time-consuming tasks and drudgery.

For example, algorithms can assist in generating ideas or first drafts; b). Personalisation of content: Algorithms can analyse user preferences and behaviours to create bespoke narratives with individual audiences; c). Enhanced engagement: AI can create immersive and interactive storytelling experiences.

For example, games and multimedia stories that adapt based on user decisions can attract individuals who may not typically engage with traditional forms of storytelling; c). Creation of new opportunities: The fusion of AI and human effort can create new possibilities previously challenging to imagine.

One good example is the collaborative effort involving 400 journalists from 80 countries sifting through 11 million documents and 2.6 terabytes of data during the Panama Papers investigation; d). Generative AI can repurpose chaos: In an article entitled “AI news that’s fit to print,” Zach Seward wrote, “Faced with the chaotic, messy reality of everyday life, LLMs (Large Language Models), are useful tools for summarising text, fetching information, understanding data, and creating structure…but always with human oversight.” This article also shares some of AI’s best and worst use cases.

Challenges of AI use

Ethical concerns in AI storytelling include the potential for generative models to create misleading information, such as fake stories or images that blur the line between reality and fabrication. The Cambridge Analytica case and COVID-19 are good examples. Concerns about legal liability and privacy protection have also been expressed.

Other concerns include quality, coherence and creativity, originality, fairness and bias, and adaptability to genre and audience.

Limits and success stories:

AI is a work in progress. Again, from Seward’s article, we could use lessons from some excellent and ugly examples of its application even in countries where automated storytelling appears to be well-established already. First, the nasty experiences:

CNET and the tech error soup: Last January, CNET, a tech website, published financial advisory stories on short-term saving instruments, how to manage and close bank accounts, and other topics. Although the byline said the stories were written by the platform’s “Money Staff,” they were not. Language machines wrote them, but the massive errors (described as moments of hallucinations) exposed the site! Actual staff members saved the day by cleaning up the copies.

Sports Illustrated’s Street Spin: The Street, a publication from the stable of Sports Illustrated, published a raft of bot-generated stories and made matters worse by curating and attaching fake author identities to the stories. The spin didn’t end well.

Good news

But there have been good experiences, as well:

Modelling for pattern or image recognition machines has proved valuable when analysing large data caches. Media houses such as Buzzfeed News and The Wall Street Journal have used AI to establish significant trends in otherwise desperate and solitary occurrences or patterns.

Examples range from the Mauritius Leaks, which involved 200k highly technical documents, to the story on the miles of dangerous lead cables around New Jersey streets that posed severe public health risks to residents. Zach Seward also documents a few other examples in his piece entitled “AI news that’s fit to print.”

Where is the Nigerian storyteller?

Professor Farooq Kperogi and I collaborated on an academic paper for the Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies entitled “Light in a Digital Blackhole: Exploration of Emergent Artificial Intelligence Journalism in Nigeria.”

The study found that social media and the rise of citizen journalists have changed the landscape and accelerated the mainstream adoption of automated journalism.

More media houses use tools, including social media integration software like Echobox, Hootsuite, Revive, and Dlvrit, to drive audience and revenue goals. The election watchdog Yiaga Africa collaborates with some TV stations to collate and analyse election results using AI tools. Automated fact-checking systems, drones, and language management tools are also being deployed.

While costs and infrastructure remain significant barriers to adoption, attitudinal differences between younger journalists and the older, more established ones were also noticed, with newsrooms embracing more diversity in age cohorts and educational backgrounds.

Job losses? What jobs?

Our study did not justify the fear of imminent job losses among Nigerian journalists. However, the impact of the disruption on readership/audiences and revenues due to economic reasons and changing demographics is undeniable.

It would be good if anxiety about job losses led to greater introspection, retooling, and adoption of technologies and practices that improve journalism, especially the core business of storytelling.

If the destination is uncertain, the least we can hope for is that we are in good company, human or otherwise. And it won’t matter if the chatbot delivers this lecture next year!

Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. This modified version of AI-Generated Storytelling: Opportunities and Challenges was based on my presentation at the 20^th Annual Conference of the NGE on November 8.

Members of the Lakurawa armed group have been retreating as the military ramps up coordinated ground and air attacks on the group’s camps across Kebbi and Sokoto states.

Following an attack by the Lakurawa group on the Mera community in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State, which claimed 17 lives, the army headquarters deployed a contingent of soldiers to the area.

Zuru said the troops succeeded in dislodging the bandits and recovering several rustled cattle left behind as the attackers fled.

This deployment came after an urgent appeal from Kebbi State governor, Dr Nasir Idris, for federal support to address the escalating violence by armed groups disrupting life in rural communities.

“The governor has pledged to safeguard the lives and property of all Kebbi State citizens, leading him to seek federal intervention to counter-terrorism across the state,” Zuru said.

Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has assured that the Lakurawa armed group terrorising Northwestern states would be flushed out of Nigeria.

Ribadu gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Comptroller-General of Customs Conference, where he represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

“We will chase the so-called Lukarawa out of our country. We will put critics to shame and shut their mouths in no time. 

“Boko Haram, which has been ravaging our country, is now on the run. Its members are now moving to other neighbouring countries because Nigeria is no longer conducive for their operations,” he said.

He also said signs that things are getting better with the economy are there for all to see, citing increased crude oil production in the Niger Delta and the fiscal reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of such efforts.

“Crude oil production has hit 1.8 million bpd and the Central Bank has been sanitised; no one is taking a dime from the CBN. When we promised that we would fix this country, we will do so because President Tinubu has never been a failure,” he added.

[Dailytrust]

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, says it is wrong for the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to give judges houses and cars.

DAILY POST recalls that Wike had in October flagged off the Design and Construction of 40 Judges’ Quarters in the Katampe District in the nation’s capital, Abuja, which has generated controversy, with many arguing that it is unethical.

Falana, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, argued that it is wrong for the executive to give gifts to the members of the judiciary, especially judges.

“The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory operates like a state governor by virtue of section 299 of the Constitution.

“So, he cannot say I am going to build 40 houses, 10 shall go to the federal high court, 10 shall go to judges in the FCT high court and 10 shall go to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, no.

“Because you are a minister of the Federal Government like a state governor your budget is limited to the affairs of the FCT.

“So, you cannot as the head of the FCT be dishing out gifts of cars, houses to judges in the federal high court, in the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court.

“Number two, you have cases before these courts, on the theory of equality before the court you cannot be seen to be giving cars or houses to the judges who are going to determine your cases,” he said.

The senior lawyer said this is the reason the autonomy of the judiciary has been constitutionalised, stressing that the judges have no business going to the executive to buy them cars and houses.

According to him, the Constitution has granted financial autonomy to the judiciary which gives it authority to manage its own budget.

The human rights activist also berated Wike over the demolition of private properties in the FCT, describing it as primitive and a breach of the law.

He said such demolitions are not authorised under the Urban and Regional Planning Act applicable in the FCT.

“In the FCT, if a house has breached the law, the case must first be taken to the Urban and Regional Planning Board.

“If the property owner loses, they can appeal to the Urban and Regional Tribunal. If that fails, the case may go to the High Court, where an order for demolition may be issued,” he added.

[DailyPost]

• Tinubu: reforms working
• Customs crosses N5.07tr revenue target

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday reappraised his administration’s reform programmes, saying they have resulted in the country attracting $30b in investments in almost 17 months.

Tinubu also said that peace had returned to parts of the nation previously known for insurgence, violent crimes, and crude theft.

‘’In the significant search for Foreign Direct Investment, in less than two years in office, my administration has received over $30 billion from foreign investors. This achievement demonstrates that our policies yield positive results, making Nigeria increasingly attractive for domestic and international investors, ’’ the President said.

Tinubu, spoke through the  National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, at a news conference by the Comptroller-General (CGCs) in  Abuja.  

He was a guest speaker at the conference, which had the theme “Nigeria Customs Service Engaging Traditional and New Partners With Purpose.”

He said that the security situation in the Niger Delta had improved to the extent that crude production hit  1.8 million barrels per day as of Monday. 

He said: “People in many parts of our country today are living in peace. Go to the Niger Delta, things have changed. Today, we have gotten up to 1.8 million barrels of crude oil. We have not seen this for a long time. The  Southeast is getting to be at peace with itself and the rest of our country.” 

Tinubu explained that on assumption of office on May 29 last year, he set out with a clear and unwavering vision to strengthen the country’s economic base and deliver positive growth and development for the benefit of all.

He said 18 months later, the vision remains unchanged.

Tinubu added:  “In pursuing this vision, we have built upon existing foundations while introducing necessary reforms to adapt to our evolving economic realities.

‘’Our focus has been on strengthening what works, refining what needs improvement, and introducing new initiatives where gaps exist.

‘’We recognised that specific economic policies, though useful in their time, needed to be realigned with current global economic dynamics to better serve our national interests and the well-being of our people.”

Tinubu stated that due to the determination and unity of his cabinet,  corrupt practices are being drastically reduced.

  “Early this year, February and March, we had this crisis of the food shortage and food security, we came in as a team and within a short period of time, we stopped many businessmen that used to export food items. 

“You know when the Naira collapsed it was a stampede taking things out of our country. There was a day within 24 hours Customs and all of us together arrested more than 500 trucks,” he said.

He also said that his reforms have made it difficult for embezzlement of funds to happen in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“CBN  is clean. Nobody is making one dime there unlike up to 2023. I can also assure you that the Naira will be stabilised. Just wait and see,’’   said the President.

On subsidy, the President reiterated that the days Nigeria was subsidising petrol used in neighbouring countries were forever gone.

He said many oil marketers were feeding fat on the subsidy regime.

Tinubu added that being a slush fund, subsidy accounted for the establishment of numerous petrol stations in the country. 

He said: “The marketers are now saying they are supplying Ghana, they are supplying Cameroon.

“Before,  it (petrol) was all coming through Nigeria.    

“Nigeria is the only country in the world where everybody is an oil marketer. But the welfare(subsidy) they were enjoying is gone forever.

Ribadu stated that gains of the reforms have made many world leaders either request   President Tinubu’s visit to their countries or indicate interest in paying working visits to Nigeria.

“  Today, the whole world is looking for President Tinubu. I just came back from India, the Prime Minister is coming on the 15. The President of Germany is coming.

“They have invited him to the G20 meeting. The President of France is looking forward too.  There are more than 30 requests for President Tinubu to visit and many are also looking forward to coming here,” the NSA said.

Customs crosses N5.07tr annual revenue target

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday said  it collected N5.97 trillion in revenue from January to November 12, 2024, surpassing its 2024 target of N5.07 trillion.

Comptroller –General of the service  Adewale Adeniyi, who made this known,  said he  was sure that the target would be exceeded by 10 percent before   December 31.

Adeniyi attributed the feat to enhanced stakeholder collaboration, improved processes, and modernised systems.

He said: “   I am pleased to announce that yesterday, 12th  November 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service hit its 2024 revenue target of N 5.07 trillion, collecting   N5,079,455,088,194.38 with more than a month remaining in the fiscal year.

“This exceptional performance – projected to exceed our target by 10 percent – validates our partnership-driven approach to revenue collection and trade facilitation.

“ The achievement is not merely about numbers; it demonstrates how enhanced stakeholder collaboration, improved processes, and modernized systems can deliver tangible results for our nation’s economy.”

 He added that the service has scaled up its intervention as reflected in seizures worth N28.1 billion this year.

The CG said the NCS   intercepted   48 containers of illicit pharmaceutical products due to the declaration of a state of emergency in major ports.

Adeniyi added: “In fulfilling our enforcement mandate, we have achieved unprecedented success in protecting both our citizens and economy. The scale of our intervention is reflected in seizures valued at   N28.1 billion and counting in 2024 alone.

“ These seizures span critical areas of national concern – from wildlife items and arms and ammunition to narcotics and pharmaceutical products.

‘’An important moment in our enforcement strategy was the declaration of a state of emergency at our major ports, which led to the interception of 48 containers of illicit pharmaceutical items and narcotics, significantly disrupting the flow of potentially harmful products.” 

 The CG however lamented the rate of management team members exited the service.

He stated that  60 percent of them left in  2022, 36 percent in 2023, and  40 percent expected to quit this year.

[TheNation]

Two Nigerian leaders shared their stance on japa over the same weekend, but their thoughts diverged. One was former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who, at the convocation ceremonies of Elizade University, Ondo State, urged youths to resist the temptation of pursuing greener pastures outside Nigeria. Leaders do not run away, he said. Former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, on the other hand, while visiting Peter University and School of Nursing Sciences in Anambra state, encouraged those who had the means to japa saying they could always return when Nigeria improves.

Let us start with Fashola who reportedly said that though things have always been hard, oil magnates like Folorunso Alakija and Tunde Afolabi flourished, nevertheless. He is correct that there is no time in history that humans have not experienced hardship. We frequently look back at the “good old days,” but what we express is mostly nostalgia for a world that never really was. From listening to Fela and older generations of musicians, one learns that there was no time Nigerians have not faced the problems of “water, light, food, house… yeeparipa o!”

Forget about the nonsense APC apologists trot about when they need to justify this present hardship, Nigerians have never really had it good. The current clowns in power claim that the difficulties of the present are consequences of the excess of the past. To bolster their ahistorical arguments, they call up ridiculous instances such as subsidized social service as proof that we have always had it easy and that we are now a broke country because we squandered our patrimony. It is on that basis that they preach a gospel of suffer-now-enjoy-later. Thanks to Fashola for reminding his peers that whatever abundance existed in the past was unfairly distributed. There has always been suffering, which is why some of us reject the political agenda that asks us to endure for a better tomorrow. We have always suffered; we deserve a reprieve, not more suffering.

But the historical perspective is also where even Fashola failed to reflect enough on his argument. If Victor Olaiya’s song about hardship as the order of the day still has currency 40-plus years later, to what end is staying back in Nigeria and merely enduring? Fashola is one of the leaders who did not run away from the warfront called Nigeria. He served in various capacities until 2024, but what has he changed for Nigerians? For a minister under a leader who turned the face of Nigerians to the midnight sun, what did Fashola do other than regularly appear on television to justify the inhuman administration?

The same Fashola should not have the boldness to criticize those fleeing the crime scene of Muhammadu Buhari’s grossly inept government for “running away.” Why should a younger generation fritter away the time of their life trying to repair what he and his boss damaged? You have not even owned up to your failures nor been held accountable for the corruption and serial abuse of public trust under your watch, but here you are on a moral high table telling us that things are as bad as they have always been, and people should keep striving.

There are matters on which Fashola should never have a mouth to talk, and Japa is one of them. Instead of blaming people who are “running away,” he should shift his perspective to see people as being “driven away.” Nobody, says the poet Warsan Shire, runs away from home unless home is the mouth of a shark or the barrel of a gun. Each exiting youth is a body of evidence, a living proof of the imprudent management of national resources.

Leaders like Fashola should redirect their focus from those leaving to leaders like himself and what they have failed to do over the years. Mounting a campaign against Japa with the same mouth you consistently used to justify bad governance makes Fashola look like a phoney. If you were born in 1999—the same year Fashola started serving in Lagos—you would be among a generation of very young Nigerians who have grown old enough to reproduce but have no memories of a country that has ever functioned to pass on to your children. Any patriot, no matter the level of fanaticism, who witnessed Nigeria while Fashola was the minister of power and now must live with the frequent national grid collapses under Adebayo Adelabu will eventually get to a point where they will wonder if there is not more to life than “on-ing” and “off-ing” generator until they grow grey hair.

The responsibility of nation-building should be placed on the leaders and not those who left because they could no longer see a future for themselves in a country that eats its children. Fashola is a smart guy, and I am sure he already knows that. If he is evading the matter where it truly lies, it is because he cannot bring himself to confront the brutal truth of how he and his fellow travellers in leadership failed Nigeria. Once upon a time, Fashola was the poster boy for good governance in not just the southwest but the whole of Nigeria. He went to work for Buhari’s government, the government that was supposed to “change” the course of our destiny and set us on the right path. What happened? Abuja completely demystified Fashola, revealing him as a mere blowhard. He went there as a tribune of our hope but returned as an emblem of dreams deferred.

Obi was at least more practical in his approach to the thorny issue of japa. He said those who have the means to leave should take their chances; when Nigeria gets it right, they can always return. To that, I should add that there is a lot to suggest that Nigeria is not even trying to improve. Look at the present crop of our leaders and truthfully consider if their actions in government indicate that they have any sustained interest in making things better. These are people merely marking time and racking up the resources with which they will contest the next election in their respective home states. Nigeria does not exist for them as anything more than a feeding trough.

Rather than improve, Nigeria is waiting for those who left home to become something so that their designated appointee, Abike Dabiri, can pursue them all over the diaspora to pin their supposed “Nigerianness” on them. Look at all the fuss people have been making over Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Conservative Party who happens to have a Nigerian heritage. Badenoch is an example of one person who left the country and, having succeeded in her career path, Nigeria wants to claim her by fire by force. She has, so far, not played their game and in the past week, a brigade of hurt Nigerian men have been having a meltdown over her snobbish attitude to Nigeria.

But imagine for a moment that Badenoch had taken Fashola’s advice and remained home. The highest she would probably have ever ascended as a female politician would be Minister of Women Affairs or even Minister of State, positions she would attain after bowing before a dozen godfathers who would keep her on their leash. Someone like that would have had to face the national assembly for confirmation of her ministerial appointment, and a bunch of horny lawmakers would be openly leering at her as if she was an assemblage of meat part to be consumed with their eyes. I can bet that for the young women looking at her as a model of what is possible for them out there, Fashola’s admonition goes through one ear and comes out of the other.