Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the
United States of America at the just concluded General Election, it was an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U S Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden has called the president-elect, Donald Trump to congratulate him for the landslide victory and to also use the medium to invite him to the White House for the preparation ahead of the handing over in January.
The Commonwealth leaders have gathered in Samoa for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this month. This is the first time the summit has taken place on a Pacific Small Island Developing State (PSIDS).
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth nations have pressured the United Kingdom to discuss reparations, but Prime Minister Starmer is not eager.
The sudden death of the Africa giant Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja was a total shock to the whole nation, making him the 3rd COAS that will died on the seat.
Mokgweetsi Masisi concedes defeat to Duma Boko after shock outcome for the long-governing Botswana Democratic Party
And HSBC makes history in the industry as it appoints Pam Kaur as the first female Chief Financial Officer, succeedGeorges Elhedery,whowaspromotedtoCEO.
COLUMNISTS: SUSSAN WHITE CLARA YVETTE VERONICA MBAVEHEMBE
GRAPHICS EDITOR: ENIOLA PENNY BROG
GRAPHICS ARTISTS: NANCY EBITUKWE IBRAHIM FAWAZ
AS THE UNITED STATE’S 47TH PRESIDENT THE SECOND COMING
TRUMP
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the
UnitedStatesonWednesday,an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused toacceptdefeatfouryearsago, sparkedaviolentinsurrectionat theUS Capitol,wasconvictedof felonychargesandsurvivedtwo assassinationattempts
KamalaHarris,calledTrump on Wednesday afternoon to concede the race and congratulate him. A short time later,BidenalsocalledTrumpto congratulate him and to invite thepresident-electtotheWhite House, formally kicking off the transitionaheadofInauguration Day, the White House said BidenalsocalledHarris
His Democratic rival, Vice PresidentKamalaHarris,called Trump on Wednesday afternoon to concede the race and congratulate him. A short time later, Biden also called Trumptocongratulatehimand to invite the president-elect to the White House, formally kickingoffthetransitionahead of Inauguration Day, the White House said Biden also called Harris.
ForeignleaderscalledTrump too, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and French President EmmanuelMacron.
The victory validates Trump ' s bare-knuckles approach to politics He had attacked Harris in deeply personal – often misogynistic andracist–termsashepushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent
migrants The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, bitcoin all stormed higher Wednesday as investorslookedfavorablyona smooth election and Trump returningtotheWhiteHouse.In his second term, Trump has vowed to pursue an agenda centered on dramatically reshaping the federal government and pursuing retribution against his perceivedenemies.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being electedyour47thpresidentand your 45th president,” Trump told throngs of cheering supporters in Florida even before his victory was confirmed
In state after state, Trump outperformed what he did in the 2020 election while Harris failedtodoaswellasJoeBiden did in winning the presidency four years ago. Upon taking office again, Trump will work withaSenatethatwillnowbein Republicanhands,whilecontrol oftheHousewillbeinthehands oftheDemocratic
“We've been through so much together, and today you showed up in record numbers todeliveravictory,”Trumpsaid. “This was something special and we ' re going to pay you back,”hesaid.
The US stock market, Elon Musk'sTesla,banksandbitcoin all stormed higher Wednesday asinvestorslookedfavorablyon a smooth election and Trump returningtotheWhiteHouse.In his second term, Trump has vowed to pursue an agenda
centered on dramatically reshaping the federal government and pursuing retribution against his perceivedenemies.
Theresultscapahistorically tumultuous and competitive election season that included two assassination attempts targetingTrumpandashifttoa newDemocraticnomineejusta month before the party’s convention.Trumpwillinherita range of challenges when he assumesofficeonJan.202025, including heightened political polarization and global crises that are testing America’s influenceabroad
His win against Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marks the second time he has defeated a female rival in a general election.Harris,thecurrentvice president,rosetothetopofthe ticketafterBidenexitedtherace amidalarmabouthisadvanced age. Despite an initial surge of energy around her campaign, she struggled during a compressed timeline to convince disillusioned voters that she represented a break from an unpopular administration.
The vice president, who has notappearedpubliclysincethe racewascalled,wassettospeak Wednesday afternoon at Howard University, where her supporters gathered Tuesday nightforawatchpartywhilethe resultswerestillindoubt
Trump is the first former president to return to power sinceGroverClevelandregained the White House in the 1892
election. He is the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, is theoldestpersonelectedtothe office His vice president, 40year-oldOhioSenatorJDVance, willbecomethehighest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the U.S. government.
There will be far fewer checks on Trump when he returnstotheWhiteHouse He has plans to swiftly enact a sweeping agenda that would transformnearlyeveryaspectof Americangovernment HisGOP critics in Congress have largely been defeated or retired. Federal courts are now filled with judges he appointed. The U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three Trumpappointed justices, issued a ruling this year affording presidents broad immunity fromprosecution
Trump's language and behavior during the campaign sparkedgrowingwarningsfrom Democrats and some Republicans about shocks to democracy that his return to power would bring. He repeatedly praised strongman leaders, warned that he would deploy the military to target political opponents he labeled the “ enemy from within,” threatened to take action against news organizations for unfavorable coverage and suggested suspending the Constitution.
Some who served in his White House, including Vice PresidentMikePenceandJohn Kelly, Trump's longest-serving
chief of staff, either declined to endorse him or issued dire public warnings about his return
While Harris focused much of her initial message around themesofjoy,Trumpchanneled a powerful sense of anger and resentmentamongvoters.
He seized on frustrations overhighpricesandfearsabout crime and migrants who illegallyenteredthecountryon Biden's watch He also highlighted wars in the Middle East and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to cast Democrats as presiding over – and encouraging–aworldinchaos.
It was a formula Trump perfectedin2016,whenhecast himselfastheonlypersonwho could fix the country's problems, often borrowing languagefromdictators
“In2016,IdeclaredIamyour voice Today I add: I am your warrior I am your justice And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he said in March2023.
This campaign often veered into the absurd, with Trump amplifying bizarre and disprovenrumorsthatmigrants were stealing and eating pet catsanddogsinanOhiotown Atonepoint,hekickedoffarally with a detailed story about the legendarygolferArnoldPalmer inwhichhepraisedhisgenitalia.
One defining moment came inJulywhenagunmanopened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennysylvania. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear and killed a supporter His face streaked
with blood, Trump stood and raisedhisfistintheair,shouting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Weeks later, a second assassination attempt was thwarted after a SecretServiceagentspottedthe barrel of a gun poking through the greenery while Trump was playinggolf.
Trump'sreturntotheWhite Houseseemedunlikelywhenhe leftWashingtoninearly2021as a diminished figure whose lies about his defeat sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol.Hewassoisolatedthen that few outisde of his family botheredtoattendthesend-off he organized for himself at Andrews AirForce Base, completewitha21-gunsalute.
Democrats who controlled the U.S. House quickly impeached him for his role in the insurrection, making him the only president to be impeached twice He was acquitted by the Senate, where many Republicans argued that he no longer posed a threat becausehehadleftoffice.
But from his Mar-a-Lago resortinFlorida,Trump–aided by some elected Republicans –workedtomaintainhispolitical relevance Rep KevinMcCarthy, the California Republican who then led his party in the US House,visitedTrumpsoonafter he left office, essentially validating his continued role in theparty.
As the 2022 midterm election approached, Trump used the power of his endorsement to assert himself as the unquestioned leader of the party His preferred
candidates almost always won theirprimaries,butsomewent on to defeat in elections that Republicans viewed as within theirgrasp.Thosedisappointing resultsweredriveninpartbya backlash to the Supreme Court ruling that revoked a woman ' s constitutional right to an abortion, a decision aided by Trump-appointed justices. The midterm election prompted questionswithintheGOPabout whether Trump should remain theparty'sleader.
ButifTrump'sfuturewasin doubt, that changed in 2023 when he faced a wave of state and federal indictments for his role in the insurrection, his handling of classified information and election interference. He used the chargestoportrayhimselfasthe victim of an overreaching government, as argument that resonatedwithaGOPbasethat was increasingly skeptical - if not outright hostile - to institutions and established powerstructures
Special counsel Jack Smith wasevaluatingWednesdayhow to wind down the two federal criminalcasesagainstTrump.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the
Republican nomination, lamented that the indictments “suckedoutalltheoxygen”from the GOP primary. Trump easily capturedhisparty'snomination without participating in a debateagainstDeSantisorother GOPcandidates
With Trump dominating the Republicancontest,aNewYork juryfoundhimguiltyinMayof 34felonychargesinaschemeto illegally influence the 2016 electionthrougha hushmoney payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. He faces sentencing this month, though his victory poses serious questionsaboutwhetherhewill everfacepunishment
Healsohasbeenfoundliable in two other New York civil cases:oneforinflatinghisassets and another for sexually abusingadvicecolumnistE.Jean Carrollin1996.
Trump is subject to additional criminal charges in an election-interference case in Georgia that has become bogged down On the federal level, he's been indicted for his role in trying to overturn the resultsofthe2020electionand improperly handling classified material. When he becomes president,Trumpcouldappoint
anattorneygeneralwhowould erasethefederalcharges.
As he prepares to return to the White House, Trump has vowedtoswiftlyenactaradical agenda that would transform nearlyeveryaspectofAmerican government That includes plans to launch the largest deportationeffortinthenation's history, to use the Justice Department to punish his enemies,todramaticallyexpand the use of tariffs and to again pursueazero-sumapproachto foreign policy that threatens to upend longstanding foreign alliances, including the NATO pact
When he arrived in Washington2017,Trumpknew littleabouttheleversoffederal power.Hisagendawasstymied by Congress and the courts, as well as senior staff members whotookituponthemselvesto serveasguardrails.
Thistime,Trumphassaidhe would surround himself with loyalists who will enact his agenda,noquestionsasked,and who will arrive with hundreds of draft executive orders, legislative proposals and indepthpolicypapersinhand.
thing different, every day.
Winner’s Chapel, Quarry Road, Abeokuta.
SPECIALIZED IN ALL KINDS OF
LDREN EARS
COMMONWEALTH SUMMIT IN SAMOA: WHY WON'T THE UK DISCUSS SLAVERY?
Commonwealth
n a t i o n s h ave pressured the UK to discuss reparations, but PM Starmerisnoteager Commonwealthleadershave gathered in Samoa for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)thismonth.
This is the first time the summit has taken place on a Pacific Small Island Developing State(PSIDS)
Atthesummit,ademandthat the United Kingdom pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade has resurfaced Whilethesubjectis not on the official agenda, Commonwealth leaders said they would hold their own discussions – with or without the approval of the British government.
A proposed section for the summit's final communique,
making reference to reparations,hadbeenvetoedby
the UK Instead, the communique, which was released on Saturday, included only a reference to possible future discussions about “reparatory justice with regard to the trans-Atlantic trade in enslavedAfricans”.
So what is the summit, and could this pressure the UK to payreparations?
What is the Commonwealth summitandwhoattended?
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
(CHOGM) is held every two years, with each of the 56 Commonwealth member countries taking turns to host thesummit.
Thisyear ' ssummitbeganon Monday in Samoa's capital, Apia,andranuntilSaturday.
The last CHOGM, held in 2022,tookplaceinEastAfrica's Rwanda
Representatives of 56 countries, most of which have roots in the British Empire, attendedthesummit
This year, Climate change is taking centre stage in discussions. Countries are workingontheCommonwealth Ocean Declaration to protect bodies of water. Countries are also discussing how to hit climatefinancetargets
The summit also held discussions by Commonwealth
women to push for greater genderequity
S o m e l e a d e r s o f Commonwealth countries, including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa,optedtoattendthe BRICS summit in Russia this year instead of the Commonwealthsummit
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of India, Kiren Rijiju, attended the Commonwealth summit in placeofModi.
No,theywerenot,butmany people think they should have been
HSBC NAMES FIRST FEMALE CFO -PAM KAUR GETS TOP FINANCE JOB AS HER PREDECESSOR ASCENDS TO CEO
HSBCHoldingsPlc,in business for 159 years, is making history in its C-suite as it embarks on a company reorganization Pam Kaur was promoted to CFO-the first womanintherole Shewillbeginhertenureas Chief Financial Officer and an ExecutiveDirectoroftheBoard ofDirectoronJanuary1,2025.
Kaur joined HSBC in April 2013 and went on to hold several leadership roles, most recently, chief risk and compliance officer She succeeds the former CFO, Georges Elhedery, who was promotedtoCEO
HSBChasalsolandedatthe No. 12 spot on the 2024 Fortune 500 Europe list announced this week. The
London-based bank has 42 million customers in 62 countries,withHongKongand Britain being its biggest markets by some margin Its growth focus is back in Asiaparticularly mainland China, Singapore,India,andtheUAEand internationally mobile customers, who already representasixthofitstotal.
In fact, HSBC has also
announced a reorganization of the bank into four business divisions with “clear lines of responsibility”HongKong,UK, corporate and institutional banking, and international wealthandpremierbanking.Its geographical setup is revised with “Eastern markets,” comprisingAsiaandtheMiddle East, and “Western markets,” grouping the U.K., Europe and theAmericas
It's no wonder HSBC elevatedKaurtoCFOasshe'sa financial services executive with almost 40 years of international experience. She hasworkedintheU.K.andthe U.S. for British, American, and German banks. Some former roles include global head of groupauditforDeutscheBank; CFO and COO of the restructuring and risk division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc; and chief compliance officer at Citigroup International.
Kaur will receive a base salary of about $1.04 million per year, and a fixed pay allowance of approximately $1.4 million per year. She will alsogetapensionallowanceof $104,26955 per year equal to 10%ofherbasesalary
RussellReynoldsAssociates' (RRA) Global CFO Turnover indexfoundthatinthefirstsix months of 2024, of the 163 CFOs appointed globally, 44 were women. The number of women appointed as CFOs globally reached a five-year high. However, women remain underrepresented in the role, accordingtothefirm Kaur's LinkedIn bio states
that she’s a “passionate supporter of diversity and inclusion and proud to be the executive sponsor for HSBC’s Global Ethnicity Inclusion program” She also writes that she was born in India, graduated from the Punjab University with an MBA in finance, and lives in London withherhusband.
SirMarkTucker,HSBCgroup chairman, said in a statement that Kaur is “highly respected and well known to the board andwastheunanimouschoice”
Therewasastrongbenchof inte
nal candidates and Kaur was “the exceptional candidate,” Elhederysaidinastatement.
Elhedery's promotion to chief executive at HSBC was announced in July and he officiallybegantheroleonSept 2 Elhederyjoinedthecompany in2005becomingCFOinearly 2023 Before that, he held positions such as co-CEO of global banking and markets, gaining operational and strategic experience, which experts say can lead to CFOs being tapped for the chief executiveroleatacompany.
ElhederynotedthatKaur,as CFO, will become his strategic partner “I look forward to partneringwithherforthenext stageofthebank'sgrowthand development,” he said in a statement.
Leaderboard
Tom Egan was appointed CFO of Hometap, a fintech company that provides a loan alternative known as home equityinvestment Hesucceeds Eugene Wong, who left the
company in August, according to his Linkedln Egan arrives from rent-to-own company DivvyHomes,whereheserved as CFO and head of capital markets Healsospentover10 years at Barclays, eventually becoming head of EMEA leveragedcapitalmarkets.
Bhavna Kamalia was promoted to CFO of Shiftkey, a healthcare software company, effective immediately She succeeds Brian Scott, who left the company last August, accordingtohisLinkedln Kamaliajoinedthecompany in 2021 and most recently served as EVP of finance and accounting. She began her career at Cars.com, where she held roles of increasing responsibility during her eight yeartenure.
Correction, October 23, 2024:Apreviousversionofthis article incorrectly stated that themostrecentCFOofShiftkey wasnotBrianScott.
Bigdeal
Around a quarter of all U.S. households live “paycheck to paycheck,” or spend 95% or more of their income on necessities,accordingtoanew report from the Bank of AmericaInstitute
Roughly35%ofhouseholds thatbringinlessthan$50,000 per year fall under this description, up from 32% in 2019.Thatproportionfallsonly slowly as incomes rise, however, with the term applyingto20%ofhouseholds who make over $150,000 a
yearOnereason,thereportsaid, isthatbiggerhomescomewith more expensive mortgages, as well as higher insurance costs, propertytaxes,andutilitybills.
The share of paycheck-topaycheck households tends to rise with age, the report found, peaking with Gen X and the baby boomers The South Atlantic states had the highest share of such households by census division, while the MidAtlantic(consistingofNewYork, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) faredbest.
Goingdeeper
“The Strengths and Weaknesses that Set Founders Apart” is a new article in the Harvard Business Review Researchers from leadership advisoryfirmghSmartanalyzed more than 1,400 data points fromassessmentsof50founder CEOsand58non-founderCEOs in private equity-backed companies. The study found founders are typically “spikier”, meaning their strengths and weakness are more pronounced, compared to their professionalcounterparts
Overheard
“The necessity for those leaders to have worked in multiplemarketsisquitecrucial
to understand the cultural nuancesofeithertheteamsthat they're leading, the customers that they're supporting, the supply network that they're workingwith.”
Sarah Lim, managing director of board and CEO services told Fortune in an interview that achieving
meaningful scale for many Europeancompaniesinvariably meansexpandingtheirbusiness beyondhome.There’sasimilar thread among the CEOs in the Fortune 500 Europe list: Many havespentsignificantchunksof their careers overseas before landingthetopjobs.
DUMA BOKO OF UDC OUSTED BDP FROM BOTSWANA PRESIDENCY AFTER 58 YEARS
BOTSWANA OPPOSITION WINS ELECTION; BDP OUSTED FROM POWER AFTER 58 YEARS
Mokgweetsi Masisi
concedesdefeatto Duma Boko after shock outcome for the longgoverning Botswana DemocraticParty.
Voters in Botswana have delivered a shock defeat to the party that has ruled them for nearly six decades by handing victory to an opposition coalition and its presidential candidateDumaBoko.
The 54-year-old of the Umbrella for Democratic
Change (UDC) replaces President Mokgweetsi Masisi, whoonFridayconcededdefeat after his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost by a landslide forthefirsttimein58years
“From tomorrow, I will start the process of handover,” Masisisaidinanaudioclipofa phone call with Boko that the outgoingleaderpostedonsocial
media, signalling a smooth transitionofpower.
“You can count on me to always be there to provide whatever guidance you might want.…Wewillretreattobeing aloyalopposition”
Chief Justice Terence Rannowane officially declared Boko the victor on Friday afternoon “I have the honour and privilege to declare him as electedpresidentofBotswana.I
congratulateyouprofoundlyfor the confidence that the people haveshowninyou,”hesaid.
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After that, Boko was sworn induringaclosedsessionatthe officeofthechiefjustice Inhis first public remarks, the new president-elect said he was humbled by the election outcome.
“Ipledgewitheveryfibreof my being that I will do
everythingIcan,nottofail,not to disappoint, appreciating always the enormity of the responsibility bestowed upon me by the people of this republic It is their government,”hesaid
Under the country ' s electoralsystem,thefirstparty to take 31 of 61 seats in the legislature is declared the winner,andcantheninstallits candidate as president and formagovernment
The BDP was trailing in fourth place – behind UDC, Botswana Congress Party, and Botswana Patriotic Front –according to partial tallies by
theIECearlieronFriday.
“Wegotitwrongbigtimein the eyes of the people,” Masisi, whowasseekingasecondfiveyear term in Wednesday's elections, said at a news conference in the capital, Gaborone
“Wewerereallyconvincedof our message But every indication, by any measure, is that there's no way that I can pretend that we ' re going to
formagovernment.”
The BDP has governed the diamond-richSouthernAfrican nation since 1966 and was expectedtowin.
'Changeishere'
This was the third time Boko, a human rights lawyer and Harvard Law School graduate,ranforpresidentafter contesting in 2014 and 2019 HefoundedtheUDCin2012to uniteoppositiongroupsagainst
theBDP.
After his win on Friday, he postedonhisofficialpageonX: “BotswanaFirst”withapicture ofaUDCcampaignposterwith thewords“ChangeisHere.”
OutgoingPresidentMasisi,a 63-year-oldformerhighschool teacher and UNICEF worker, had been widely expected to keep his parliamentary majority and serve a second andfinalterm.
Botswana, often held up as oneofAfrica'sgreatestsuccess stories, ranks among the wealthiest and most stable democraciesonthecontinent. But a global downturn in demand for mined diamonds, which account for more than 80percentofSouthernAfrican exports,hastakenatollonthe economy.
Economic growth is expected to slow to 1 percent in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund, down from 2.3 percent last year and 5.5 percent in 2022. Unemploymenthasrisento27 percent with an even greater share of young people out of work
Before the vote, the BDP hadacknowledgedtheneedto diversify the economy, pledging to develop new drivers of growth, such as agricultureandtourism.
“I am proud of our democratic processes. Although I wanted a second term, I will respectfully step aside and participate in a smooth transition process, ” Masisisaid
More than one million peoplewereregisteredtovote out of a population of 26 million.
The BDP did not “have anythingnewtooffer”,analyst Ringisai Chikohomero of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies told the Reuters news agency. “It was very clear that the president was really relying on incumbency”
But the UDC put forward ambitiouspolicyproposals,he said,bypledgingtomorethan double the minimum wage, improve social services and create a more independent judiciary.
nigeria’s chief of army staff, lt. general taoreed abiodun lagbaja, bows out of the world
Lt General Taoreed
AbiodunLagbajahad not been seen in publicinnearlytwomonths.He is known for leading the Nigerian troops through a critical period in the fight againstIslamistextremists
Nigeria'sarmychief,Lt.Gen TaoreedAbiodunLagbaja,who led soldiers through a critical period in the fight against
Islamist extremists Boko Haram,hasdied,PresidentBola Tinubu has announced in a statement.
In a statement posted on X by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubuexpressedhis"heartfelt condolences" to Lagbaja's family President Tinubu "wishes Lt General Lagbaja eternal peace and honors his
significant contributions to the nation,"thestatementread.
Lagbaja, who was 56, "passedawayonTuesdaynight in Lagos after a period of illness,"thestatementadded.
Crucial moment in one of Africa's longest wars on militancy
Lagbaja was appointed by TinubuasChiefofArmyStaffin June, 2023 He had not been
seen in public for nearly two months Two weeks ago, the NigerianarmydeniedLagbaja's death.
He has already been replaced by Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, whom Tinubu appointedinanactingcapacity.
Lagbaja's death comes at a critical period as Nigeria
continuestofightoneofAfrica's longestwarsonmilitancyinits northeastern region, where Boko Haram launched an insurgency15yearsago.
The violent attacks have subsided in recent years. Yet, analysts say extremists in the region have sought to recruit more fighters and consolidate
their strongholds in the Lake Chadbasin
Lagbaja put discipline and professionalism in the army at the top of his agenda as he soughttorebrandaninstitution often accused of mistreating civilians and extrajudicial killingsinconflictzones.
