Author: damazah@gmail.com

Udo Ngele Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining conversations in boardrooms across Nigeria. Over the past year, I have participated in numerous conversations with business leaders about artificial intelligence. The enthusiasm is understandable. AI is changing how organizations operate, make decisions, engage customers, and deliver services. Hardly a boardroom meeting takes place today without some discussion around automation, machine learning, generative AI, or digital transformation. Recent workplace research also suggests that AI adoption is accelerating rapidly among Nigerian professionals, reinforcing that the conversation has moved beyond curiosity to practical business application. Yet I have noticed a recurring pattern.…

* Trains over 130 young Nigerians in sales and workplace readiness Ayodeji Ake HYT Consulting has completed the third edition of its Employability Bootcamp, training over 130 graduates, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) members and early-career professionals in practical sales, workplace readiness and employability skills. The five-day bootcamp, which held from June 22 to 26 2026, focused on Financial Services and FMCG sales, was designed to address a persistent gap in Nigeria’s labour market: young people are leaving school with qualifications, but many still require practical exposure, and workplace skills to compete for available jobs. Through the Sales Cohort, HYT…

The Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chambers (GFSC), Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, is set to host its flagship annual conference, Convergence 2026, with a focus on promoting the inclusion of young voices in Nigeria’s nation-building process. The conference, themed “Inclusion of Young Voices in Nation Building,” is scheduled to hold on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at the Jelili Adebisi Omotola Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. According to the organisers, the conference is dedicated to advancing meaningful dialogue between young people and leaders shaping Nigeria’s future, particularly at a time when conversations around governance, innovation, economic transformation and national development…

ToplineWednesday marks new changes to how borrowers take out federal student loans and pay them off, as new rules largely enacted through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” take effect and overhaul the federal student loan system.A Department of Education sign is displayed outside of their federal student aid office on June 3 in Washington, DC.Getty ImagesKey FactsLast year’s spending bill imposed a number of changes on how student loans are capped, regulated and repaid, including establishing new repayment plans and caps on loans.The legislation established two new repayment plans—a standard plan and a new income-based “Repayment Assistance Plan,” or…

O’hayo, Victoria from Techpoint here, Here’s what I’ve got for you today: Vodacom gains majority control of Safaricom CA moves to penalise telcos for poor service MTN says migration protests haven’t hit operations Vodacom gains majority control of Safaricom Vodacom Vodacom has officially taken majority control of Safaricom after completing its $2.1-billion acquisition of the Kenyan government’s 15% stake in the telecom giant, just days after the Court of Appeal cleared the long-delayed transaction. The deal, completed on June 30, increases Vodacom’s shareholding from 35% to 55%, making the South African operator the controlling shareholder in East Africa’s largest telecom…

Long-range Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have resulted in serious fuel shortages across the country. They compelled Moscow, a major hydrocarbon producer, to begin purchasing fuel abroad. Ukraine has also disrupted Russian supply routes north of the Sea of Azov, causing acute fuel shortages and blackouts in the occupied Crimean peninsula.The attacks have generated spectacular videos of refineries on fire and clickbait headlines claiming that “Russia is losing”.But what they have failed to achieve so far is changing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculus. After a long silence, Putin recently admitted that the strikes were indeed painful for Russia.…

Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf – which fans can revisit in a new novel out this monthNobby Clark/Popperfoto via Getty Images I am on holiday later this month, so I’m pleased to find there’s a really wide range of intriguing new science fiction to take with me. I’m particularly keen to get cracking on a tale by Sheila Armstrong about strange ancient things found in a bog, but I’m also excited to read a new book by one of my favourite authors, Paul Tremblay (even if it does sound very disturbing). And I’m looking forward to the…

Centre-back Luka Vuskovic is set to join Brighton from Tottenham.The deal agreed between the clubs is for around £50m, made up of £46m plus £4m in very achievable add-ons. There is also a 20-per-cent sell-on clause and matching rights in the deal. It is an improvement on Brighton’s previous bid of £45m in total, including add-ons, which was rejected by Spurs. The impending transfer is another bit of business between the two Premier League clubs this summer. In June, Spurs completed a £52m deal for Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video…

Fans and colleagues continue to mourn the death of Mount Zion actor Olusegun Oyeyemi as his family announces his burial arrangements. Oyeyemi, who was 38, died on 10 June. He played Flora’s husband in the popular gospel series Abattoir, directed by Damilola Mike-Bamiloye, under the banner of Mount Zion Film Productions. The grief surrounding his passing carries added weight, given that Flora herself—played by Tolu Adegboyega in the same film—died on 4 February 2025, a year before him. Oluwasegun Oyeyemi’s burial arrangements Adegboyega had sustained critical injuries in a tragic car accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in December 2024, an…

The death toll from the twin earthquakes that turned entire residential neighbourhoods into piles of rubble in Venezuela has risen to 1,943. AFP reports that the disaster also injured more than 10,500 people and displaced around 15,000 Venezuelans. The earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and the southeast of Yumare last week. Rescue efforts continue for thousands of people who remain missing or trapped beneath the rubble, although the critical 72-hour window for rescuing victims after a natural disaster passed on Saturday evening. Authorities believe that tens of thousands of people are…