As MultiChoice published its annual ESG report earlier this month, I was struck by the aptness of the term sometimes used about such documents: integrated reporting. Integration is fundamental to any kind of environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact. MultiChoice Group has had three decades to find that particular sweet spot, refining its formula of enriching lives, while transforming African entertainment and broader society. The beauty of the approach can be seen in the way key business touchpoints dovetail with ESG principles. By way of illustration, the MultiChoice commitment to hyperlocal storytelling has meant a need to create homegrown, locally relevant content. This in…
Author: TheStories
Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from across the African continent recently converged in Abuja for a crucial meeting under the aegis of the “African Caucus.” The three-day meeting, themed “Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Development in Africa,” was declared open by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima. By Kadiri Abdulrahman Established in 1963, the African Caucus aims to amplify the voice of Africa’s apex bank governors among Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) members, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). The Caucus seeks to draw attention to development issues of…
A Joint Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament, led by Nigeria’s House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, is holding an oversight meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The five-day event includes several of the Parliament’s standing committees, including those on Administration, Finance, Budget, Public Accounts, Macroeconomic Policy, and Economic Research. The theme of the event is “The Role of the ECOWAS Parliament in Community Budget Formulation and Monitoring.” The Joint Committee has been tasked with executing crucial oversight activities related to their respective mandates, as outlined in the community policy framework. The primary objective of the delocalized committee meeting is to…
Iran’s Vice President, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has resigned, leaving President Massud Pezeshkian’s cabinet just 11 days after his appointment. “I am not satisfied with my work and regret that I have not been able to fulfill expectations,” the moderate politician stated on his X platform. Zarif hinted that disagreements over the selection of ministers for Pezeshkian’s new cabinet were the primary reason for his decision. He noted that at least seven of the 19 ministers nominated were not his first choice. Zarif’s resignation marks the second major crisis for Pezeshkian since he took office at the end of July, following…
The terrifying videos were not from Hollywood movies but scenes from Northern Nigeria during the #EndBadGovernance protest. The so-called protesters invaded a Government House, vandalised public facilities, looted an ICT training centre, carted away a Police station signpost, invaded banks, destroyed a mosque, hijacked a Personnel Armour Carrier, flew foreign flags, sought foreign intervention, and chanted “Yara Me Kuke so; Wiwi Mukeso!” in Hausa. The latter means, “Children, what do you want? Cannabis (marijuana) is what we want!” The ‘protest’ in the North resembles a coup targeted at Arewa leaders. As a Northerner, I feel ashamed to be represented by…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the federal government to exercise caution amid the ongoing public dispute between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) concerning the supply of crude oil to the refinery. In a series of posts on his X handle @Atiku on Saturday, Atiku emphasized the importance of ensuring the success of the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, which is expected to play a pivotal role in addressing Nigeria’s energy needs and reducing the country’s reliance on foreign exchange for fuel imports. “Just as parents eagerly awaiting the arrival of a child take every necessary…
Multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine concealed in heavy-duty automobile pivot shafts and Ghanaian fabric, Kente, among others, have been recovered in a nationwide intelligence-led operation by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). While 2.32 kilograms of cocaine concealed in Ghanaian traditional Kente materials heading to the United Kingdom were intercepted at a courier firm in Lagos on Monday, 5th August 2024, 10.494 kg of the same class A drug buried in heavy-duty pivot shafts heading to the United States were recovered at the same logistics company after the NDLEA sniffer dogs detected the automobile spare parts containing the…
Nothing illustrates the dreadful and dire consequences of our situation in Nigeria—especially those of us living in northern Nigeria—better than the quote from the French political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “When the poor have nothing more to eat, they eat the rich.” I came across this quote in an article sent to me by a friend, and I know it was made popular during the French Revolution. It was meant as a warning to the rich, who build their wealth at the expense of everyone else, drawing attention to the fact that if things continue this way, the poor will eventually…
The ongoing tales of death, degradation, and destruction of public property coming from the northern part of our country, Nigeria, as a result of protests over what the demonstrators call bad governance, suggest that the North is overdue for a reassessment of its values. As a society, the North needs to take a second look at its long-established rules of public behavior and moral rectitude. Something has gone wrong—either by design or by accident—that seems to have eroded our values, virtues, and collective sense of correctness. This erosion is particularly evident among our youth, as demonstrated by the recent episodes…
Today, I woke up with a sigh of relief, expressing happiness because Nigeria has reached the terminal date of the nationwide protests organized in opposition to what the protesters called “bad governance.” Bad governance is an abominable act that causes hatred, disgust, and repulsion among the people. It is a leadership style so detestable that, in political vocabulary, it is sometimes referred to as “kakistocracy.” This term describes a government considered corrupt or incompetent. In other words, when a government is composed of the worst people in charge, the stage is set for the arrival and eventual settlement of kakistocracy.…