When democracy is in short supply humans like animals ignore commands, slow down…fight and abscond
There was once an orangutan named Ken Allen at the San Diego Zoo who was notorious for carrying out complex escape plans. He found every nut and bolt in his cage and unscrewed them; in his open enclosure he threw rocks and faeces at visitors. On one occasion, he constructed...
Pre-season: How manager and player decisions sometimes clash and adversely affect relations in the club
Plenty of Premier League clubs are currently jetting off on pre-season tours. After fights, fatherhood and fannying about, this lot were flying back earlier than anyone expected. Preseason is not always about sporting skills. It is also a test individual character. Some players and coaches have in the past fared...
Why United States and Kenya are expanding cooperation on wildlife and drug trafficking
While Kenya and the United States are known to collaborate to fighting terrorism, rarely does the searchlight turn to issues related environmental conservations and law enforcement to protect life. Cooperation between the two countries on tackling illicit trade in wildlife and narcotics has yielded some notable success in the recent...
House of Common sins: British parliament has been synonymous with sexual scandals for centuries
When the school nurse walked into the London schoolroom in 1815, she found the Member of Parliament for Barnstaple already there. Sir Eyre Coote was distinguished by a history of public service and a surpassing fondness for flagellation. Sir Eyre had popped into the school that day to pay the...
Scrappy management: In an ideal corporate environment, company ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’
Let’s get it right: you might assume that I think company culture is just something we’re stuck with, and perhaps start polishing up your resume so you can find a place with a more attractive culture. Actually, that’s not a bad idea if you’re one of the 77 per cent...
Interpol coordinated clampdown on illicit firearms in West and Central Africa seizes 480 firearms, 6,000 parts
An Interpol co-ordinated police operation targeting illicit firearms in Central and West Africa saw 120 arrests and seizure of firearms, gold, drugs, fake medication, wildlife products and cash. Operation Trigger VIII over six days in June, involved 520 law enforcement officials targeting 35 hotspots across Burkina Faso, Central African Republic...
People, livestock die in rural Somalia as Horn of Africa nation grapples with worst drought in 40 years
Faduma Hassan Mohamed has never witnessed a time like this. When rains failed to fall as in previous years, she thought the river near her village of Buulo Warbo in Somalia’s southern Kuntunwarey district would not run dry. First, the skies above became cloudless, she said, then the air hot...
‘Everything that is a success today has its foundation in failing’ – bullish investor says of African tech industry
Akintoye Akindele is a man on a mission to build a new Africa and he is not afraid to fail to get there. Changing the continent’s narrative will entail solving old problems while also harnessing the power of new technologies, says Akindele, a serial entrepreneur and investor from Nigeria. Speaking...
Going back to the roots – literally: Why scientists prefer African indigenous crops to solve food insecurity
With sweeps of his arm, Jean-Pierre Kamara showers handfuls of tiny seeds over the freshly ploughed land near his village in Senegal’s southern foothills. A team of young men ahead of him loosen more of the clay soil for sowing, while older villagers trail behind, raking the earth back over...
Scrappy management: Company culture is main reason successive projects suffer similar problems because we’re too busy to include voice of the costumer
I was recently told by some smarty-pants consultant that “As long as the team makes a logical proposal to the executives, they will support their recommendation.” My retort: “Then why do people smoke?” I mean, it’s not logical to smoke. There’s plenty of data to suggest it’s bad for your...
