Business
‘Stop The Killing’
Golda Mabovitz was born in Kiev, Ukraine in
1898. Her parents emigrated with their family to the United States in 1906 where she attended school and teacher training college in Milwaukee. She joined the Labour Zionist Party in 1915, an early indication of her political interest.
In 191 7 she married Morris Myerson and later changed her married name to Meir.
As a qualified teacher she taught in local schools for several years, but in 1921 she and Morris went to live in Palestine, joining a kibbutz where they helped with farm work, before moving to Tel Aviv where Golda Meir worked as a treasurer in the Office of Public Works of the Histadruth (Trades Union Federation).
From 1928, as secretary of the Working Women’s Council in Palestine, she became its representative on the executive of the Histadruth. From the following year she acted as a delegate to congresses of the World Zionist Organisation and became increasingly involved with politics as a member of the executive of the Jewish National Council in Palestine.
In 1948 Golda Meir was appointed a member of the Provisional Government and became Israel’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union. She joined the Knesset in 1949, serving as Minister of Labour and National Insurance until 1956, when she became Foreign Minister, a post she held for ten years. In this period, she came to international prominence, continuing a close relationship with the United States, and also forging links with South America and the newly independent countries of Africa.
This was a difficult period for the young state of Israel. It featured armed struggles with nearby Arab countries, including the Six-Day War in June 1967 when Israel attacked Egypt, Syria and Jordan, gaining much territory, including East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Sinai and the Golan Heights, and causing simmering Arab resentment.
Golda Meir finally become Prime Minister in March 1969, at the age of 71. In a famous address to the Knesset in May the following year, she offered to extend the hand of peace to Israel’s Arab neighbours but also voiced her fears about their aggressive intentions, warning in particular of Egypt’s military relationship with the Soviet Union.
Sadly, her worst fears were to come true with the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War on 6 October 1973, when Egypt and Syria combined forces against Israel. Meir and her Labour Party won the election of December 1973 but in 1974 she resigned, in the aftermath of the war .
… In recent months, and in the past weeks especially, the security situation worsened seriously on the southern front in particular, and the harmful effect that is felt on the other fronts also.
The main feature of this escalation and tension is an advanced and dangerous stage of Soviet involvement in Egypt, at the beck and call of Egyptian aggressive and infractions of the ceasefire. There is no precedent for this involvement in the history of Soviet penetration into the Middle East, and it is encouraging Egypt in its plan to renew the war of attrition and so move further along the path of its vaulting ambition to vanquish Israel. …
The Israel Defence Forces have punished this vainglorious aggression. I shall retell the tale of their courage and resource: the digging in, the daring operation of the Air Force, the power of the armour. Aggression has been repelled, the enemy’s timetable upset and the pressure on our front line eased by our strike at vital enemy military targets along the Canal and far behind it and confouncding his plans for all-out war. True, to our great sorrow, we have suffered losses in killed and wounded, but our vigorous self-defence has thwarted Egypt’s scheming and stultified its endeavours to wear us down and shake our southern front.
‘No small nation, no minor nation, can any longer dwell in safety within its frontiers.’
Thus bankrupt, the Cairo regime had only the choice between accepting Israel’s constant call to return to reciprocal observance of the ceasefire, as a stepping-stone to peace, or leaning more heavily still on the Soviet Union to the point asking it to become operationally involved, so that Egypt might carryon the, of attrition, notwithstanding the unpleasant repercussions of that involvement Egypt chose the second course .
… We have informed Governments of the ominous significance of this new phase in Soviet involvement. We have explained that a situation has developed which ought to perturb not only Israel, but every state in the free world. The lesson of Czechoslovakia must not be forgotten. If the free world – and particularly the United States, its leader can pass on to the next item on its agenda without any effort to deter the Soviet Union from selfishly involving itself so largely in a quarrel with which it has no concern, then it is not Israel alone that is imperilled, but no small nation, no minor nation, can any longer dwell in safety within its frontiers.
‘The aspiration to peace IS … the cornerstone of our pioneering life and labour.’
… Three years after the Six-Day War, we can affirm that two fundamental principles have become a permanent part of the international consciousness:
Israel’s right to stand fast on the ceasefire lines, not budging until the conclusion of peace that will fix secure and recognised boundaries; and its right to self-defence and to acquire the equipment essential to defence and deterrence. … The aspiration to peace is not only the central plank in our platform, it is the cornerstone of our pioneering life and labour. Ever since renewal of independence, we have based all our undertakings of settlement and creativity on the fundamental credo that we did not come to dispossess the Arabs of the land but to work together with them in peace and prosperity, for the good of all.
… We have not wearied of reiterating, day in, day out, our preparedness for peace: we have not abandoned hopes of finding a way into the hearts of our neighbours, though they yet dismiss our appeals with open animosity.
Today again, as the guns thunder, I address myself to our neighbours: Stop the killing, end the fire and bloodshed which bring tribulation and torment to all the peoples of the region! End rejection of the ceasefire, end bombardment and raids, end terror and sabotage!
To attain peace, I am ready to go at any hour to any place, to meet any authorised leader of any Arab state – to conduct negotiations with mutual respect, in parity and without pre-conditions, and with a clear recognition that the problems under controversy can be solved. For there is room to fulfil the national aspirations of all the Arab states and of Israel as well in the Middle East, and progress, development and cooperation can be hastened among all its nations, in place of barren bloodshed and war without end.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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