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A Thriving Approach in Artificial Intelligence World:  A Making of Prosperous 2024

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2 years ago

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In today’s world, with the rapid advancement and integration of artificial intelligence (AI), it has become crucial to understand how to thrive in an AI-driven environment. The integration of AI is reshaping numerous industries, from healthcare and finance to entertainment and transportation, and is impacting our personal and professional lives in unprecedented ways. To thrive in this AI-driven world, it is essential to adapt and evolve with the technology, leveraging its capabilities to fast-track personal and professional development.

The most effective method to flourish in an AI-driven world and quickly track the turn of events is to be passionate with thriving interests. All in all, what can be done, at this moment, to guarantee your endurance in an undeniably AI-driven world and workplace remains trendingly inevitable. Well, you can start by improving your skills, especially in soft skills. As was mentioned earlier, people who want to make a name for themselves at work are likely to develop soft skills into superpowers.

However, how else would it be advisable for you to set yourself up? The following are some of the most important pointers that will help you get through any upcoming challenges.

  1. Embracing Continuous Learning and Upskilling.

One of the fundamental ways to thrive in an AI-driven world is to adopt a mindset of continuous learning and upskilling. With AI automating routine tasks, there is a growing need for individuals to develop skills that are complementary to AI technologies. This could involve learning to work alongside AI systems, understanding their capabilities, and leveraging them to enhance productivity and decision-making. Moreover, acquiring skills in data analysis, machine learning, and programming languages can enable individuals to work in collaboration with AI systems, opening up new career opportunities and enhancing professional development.

  1. Understanding the Impact of AI on Industries.

To thrive in an AI-driven world, it is essential to gain a deep understanding of how AI is impacting various industries. From healthcare diagnostics and precision medicine to personalized marketing and smart manufacturing, AI is revolutionizing traditional practices and creating new paradigms. By staying informed about these advancements, individuals can identify opportunities to apply AI in their respective fields and drive innovation. Furthermore, understanding the ethical and societal implications of AI is crucial for shaping its responsible and sustainable integration into different sectors.

  1. Fostering Creativity and Critical Thinking.

While AI excels at processing vast amounts of data and performing repetitive tasks with accuracy, human skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence remain invaluable. To thrive in an AI-driven world, individuals should focus on honing these uniquely human skills that cannot be replicated by machines. Creativity and critical thinking enable individuals to approach problems from unconventional angles, devise innovative solutions, and adapt to dynamic challenges, setting them apart in an AI-dominated landscape.

  1. Adopting an Agile and Adaptive Mindset.

In an AI-driven world where technological advancements occur at a rapid pace, individuals must adopt an agile and adaptive mindset to thrive. Secure position jobs that tick your cases as a whole even when not feeling fulfilled in your ongoing profession. You can utilize AI to secure positions that suit your abilities, experience, and interests collaboratively. In addition, it can assist you in polishing your CV and cover letter, automating job applications, and getting ready for interviews. This involves being open to change, embracing new technologies, and continuously refining one’s skill set. By remaining flexible and proactive in learning and adapting to emerging trends, individuals can position themselves at the forefront of technological innovation, driving their personal and professional growth in tandem with AI advancements.

  1. Collaborating with AI Systems.

Rather than perceiving AI as a threat to job security, individuals can seek to collaborate with AI systems to enhance their productivity and decision-making. AI is proficient at processing and analyzing vast datasets, providing insights, and automating routine tasks. By leveraging AI tools and platforms, individuals can augment their abilities, streamline workflows, and focus on value-adding aspects of their work. This collaborative approach can empower individuals to achieve higher levels of efficiency and performance, thereby accelerating their professional development.

  1. Embracing Ethical Considerations in AI.

As AI continues to permeate various aspects of our lives, it is imperative to consider the ethical implications of its use. Thriving in an AI-driven world entails embracing a thoughtful and responsible approach to the development and deployment of AI technologies. Ethically automate your tedious undertakings. Whether or not you can cut down on the amount of time you spend researching, writing, analyzing, or planning, having AI automate those mundane and repetitive tasks at work will give you more time to work on the things that pique your interest. This involves promoting fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI systems, and ensuring that the benefits of AI are accessible to all segments of society. By actively engaging in discussions surrounding AI ethics and advocating for responsible AI practices, individuals can contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable AI-driven world.

  1. Building a Network in AI Community.

To thrive in an AI-driven world, building a network within the AI community can be immensely beneficial. It means you have to establish solid relationships. The human association can’t at any point be duplicated by AI, so you ought to make the most of that. Utilize your interactive abilities and systems administration capacities to cause associations that will serve to develop your vocation and free you up to a universe of chances. You must frequently engage with professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts in the field of AI to provide opportunities for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and mentorship. By participating in industry events, online forums, and AI-focused initiatives, individuals can stay abreast of the latest developments in AI, access valuable resources, and forge meaningful connections that can accelerate their professional growth in the AI domain.

  1. Investing in AI Education and Training.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, investing in education and training focused on AI technologies is critical for personal and professional development. You should figure out how to utilize AI prompts. Everybody will begin utilizing AI to make their functioning lives simpler – so you should jump aboard. Begin figuring out how to utilize AI prompts for your potential benefit, and you’ll probably dazzle at work. This could involve enrolling in AI-focused courses, obtaining certifications in machine learning and data science, or pursuing advanced degrees in AI-related disciplines. By acquiring a strong foundation in AI and staying updated on its advancements, individuals can position themselves as experts in the field and unlock diverse opportunities for career advancement and innovation.

Conclusively, thriving in an AI-driven world requires individuals to embrace a mindset of continuous learning, understand the impact of AI on different industries, foster creativity and critical thinking, and collaborate with AI systems. By adopting an agile and adaptive mindset, embracing ethical considerations, building a network within the AI community, and investing in AI education and training, individuals can fast-track their personal and professional development in the era of artificial intelligence. As AI continues to redefine the landscape of work and innovation, individuals who proactively engage with the opportunities presented by AI will be well-positioned to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the AI-driven world.

♦ Ojo Emmanuel Ademola is a college professor 

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Anthony Obi Ogbo

When Air Power Becomes a Christmas Performance: The Illusion of Success in Trump’s Nigerian Strike

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2 weeks ago

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December 28, 2025

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“Bombs alone do not defeat ideology. Precision without intelligence is noise.“ —Anthony Obi Ogbo

When President Trump announced his authorized United States air strike against ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day, there was an immediate burst of celebration on Nigerian social media. For a country exhausted by years of kidnappings, massacres, and territorial insecurity, the announcement sounded like long-awaited international support. Memes circulated, praise poured in, and some Nigerians hailed Trump as a decisive global sheriff finally willing to act where others hesitated.

But after the initial euphoria settled, a sobering assessment emerged: the strike appeared less like a strategic military intervention and more like a made-for-television spectacle designed to burnish Trump’s international strongman image.

This was not the first time the United States has launched air strikes in Africa or the Sahel under the banner of counterterrorism. From Libya to Somalia, from Syria to Yemen, U.S. “precision strikes” have often been announced with confidence and celebrated with press briefings—only for the targeted groups to regroup, mutate, and, in some cases, expand their reach. In Nigeria itself, years of foreign-backed security assistance have failed to decisively neutralize Boko Haram or its ISIS-affiliated offshoots. Instead, violence has fragmented, spread, and grown more complex.

No verifiable evidence has been produced to confirm high-value ISIS targets were eliminated

The Nigerian strike followed a familiar pattern. U.S. officials framed it as a blow against ISIS-West Africa Province (ISWAP), a group aligned with the global ISIS network. Trump’s language suggested a decisive intervention—an act of muscular diplomacy signaling that America still projects power where it chooses. Yet no verifiable evidence has been produced to confirm high-value ISIS targets were eliminated, leadership structures dismantled, or operational capacity degraded.

What followed was a digital smokescreen. Social media accounts, many anonymous and unverified, began circulating gruesome images of dead bodies and destroyed villages—photos long associated with banditry in Nigeria’s northwest. These images were quickly repurposed to “prove” the success of Trump’s strike. However, this is where the narrative falls apart under scrutiny.

Trump’s mission, as publicly stated, was to target ISIS. Not bandits. Not kidnappers. Not rural criminal gangs. ISIS is a transnational terrorist organization with ideological, financial, and operational links across continents. Bandits, by contrast, are primarily armed criminal groups—motivated by ransom, cattle theft, and territorial control, not global jihad. Conflating the two may be politically convenient, but it is analytically dishonest.

Killing or displacing bandits does not equate to dismantling ISIS. In fact, indiscriminate or poorly targeted air strikes often worsen the situation, pushing criminal groups to radicalize, splinter, or align with extremist factions for protection and legitimacy. This pattern has been observed repeatedly in conflict zones where military force substitutes for intelligence-driven strategy.

A truly successful counterterrorism raid is not measured by dramatic announcements or viral images. It is measured by clear, verifiable outcomes, including the confirmed elimination of high-ranking commanders, disruption of recruitment and financing networks, seizure of weapons caches, and—most importantly—sustained reductions in civilian attacks. None of these benchmarks has been credibly demonstrated in the aftermath of Trump’s Nigerian air strike.

Instead, Nigeria wakes up to the same grim reality: villages remain vulnerable, highways unsafe, and communities terrorized. The strike did not change the security equation. It did not empower Nigerian forces. It did not restore civilian confidence. And it certainly did not neutralize ISIS as a strategic threat.

This air strike offered Nigerians symbolism, not security.

In that sense, the air strike was not merely ineffective—it was a failure dressed in the language of strength, executed for optics, and amplified for political gain. It offered Nigerians symbolism, not security.

If the goal is truly to eliminate ISIS and its affiliates in West Africa, the path is neither theatrical nor unilateral. It requires robust intelligence sharing, sustained training, and real-time coordination with Nigerian and regional forces. It demands targeted arms assistance, logistical support, and investments in surveillance capabilities that allow local militaries to act decisively and lawfully. Above all, it requires a long-term commitment to strengthening state capacity—not fleeting air shows announced from afar.

Bombs alone do not defeat ideology. Precision without intelligence is noise. And celebration without results is self-deception. Trump’s Nigerian air strike may have produced headlines, but history will remember it for what it was: a failed mission masquerading as success.

♦ Publisher of the Guardian News, Professor Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D., is on the Editorial Board of the West African Pilot News. He is the author of the Influence of Leadership (2015)  and the Maxims of Political Leadership (2019). Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

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Trump’s Nigeria Strike: Bombs, Boasts, and the Illusion of Victory

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December 26, 2025

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“With Obama, Al-Qaeda was not eliminated by noise; it was suffocated by intelligence.“ —Anthony Obi Ogbo

It has now been confirmed that the United States acted in collaboration with Nigeria in the recent strike on Islamic State elements in northwest Nigeria. That cooperation deserves recognition. Intelligence-sharing between Washington and Abuja is necessary, overdue, and welcome. Terrorism is transnational; defeating it requires allies, not isolation.

But let us be clear: bombs alone do not defeat terror. And Donald Trump’s strike—trumpeted loudly on social media before facts, casualties, or strategy were disclosed—was less a turning point than a performance.

Trump’s announcement was a classic spectacle: “powerful,” “deadly,” “perfect strikes.” No numbers. No clarity. No accountability. Just noise. It was the same choreography America has deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia—places where U.S. airpower landed hard, headlines screamed victory, and instability deepened afterward. Violence escalated. Militancy adapted. Civilians paid the price.

History is unkind to airstrikes sold as solutions.

Nigeria knows this better than anyone. Long before Trump’s tweet, the Nigerian military had already conducted multiple operations in the same terror corridor. At least five major strikes and offensives stand out:

  • First, Operation Hadarin Daji, launched to dismantle bandit and terror camps across Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto, involving sustained air and ground assaults.
  • Second, Operation Tsaftan Daji, which targeted terrorist hideouts in the Kamuku and Sububu forests—precisely the terrain now in the headlines.
  • Third, repeated Nigerian Air Force precision strikes in the Zurmi–Shinkafi axis, neutralizing commanders and destroying logistics hubs.
  • Fourth, joint operations with Nigerien forces, disrupting cross-border supply routes used by ISIS-linked groups.
  • Fifth, recent coordinated offensives involving intelligence-led raids, special forces insertions, and follow-up ground clearing in the northwest.

These were not symbolic gestures. They were Nigerian-led, Nigerian-funded, Nigerian-executed. And yet, there were no fireworks on social media. No flag-waving hysteria. No intoxicated praise of Nigerian commanders as saviors of civilization.

Why? Because there is a dangerous segment of Nigerians who suffer from what can only be called the American Wonder mentality—a colonial hangover that applauds anything louder simply because it comes from Washington. The same Nigerians who ignore their own soldiers dying in silence suddenly abandon Christmas meals to celebrate Trump’s tweets, typing incoherent praise, mangling grammar, and mistaking spectacle for substance.

It is embarrassing. And it is intellectually lazy.

Terrorism is not defeated by volume or virality. It is defeated by intelligence—quiet, patient, unglamorous work. The United States knows this. Barack Obama understood it. Al-Qaeda was not dismantled through social media theatrics or chest-thumping declarations. It was weakened through intelligence fusion, financial disruption, targeted operations, local partnerships, and relentless pressure on leadership networks—mostly without fanfare.

Obama did not tweet. He acted. So what actually works against groups like ISIS in Nigeria?

First, intelligence supremacy. Human intelligence from local communities, defectors, and infiltrators matters more than bombs. Terror groups survive on secrecy. Break that, and they collapse.

Second, financial and logistical strangulation. Terrorists run on money, fuel, arms, and food. Cut access to smuggling routes, illicit mining, ransom flows, and cross-border trade, and their operational capacity withers.

Third, community stabilization and governance. Terrorism thrives where the state is absent. Roads, schools, policing, and justice systems matter. People who trust the state do not shelter terrorists.

Fourth, regional coordination, not episodic strikes. Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso must sustain joint pressure, not reactive operations driven by headlines.

Airstrikes can support these strategies—but only as tools, never as substitutes.

Trump’s strike may have killed militants. It may have disrupted camps. That is commendable. But it is not a solution. It is a moment. And moments, without strategy, fade.

If Nigerians truly want terror defeated, they should stop worshiping foreign loudness and start demanding disciplined intelligence, consistent policy, and respect for the men and women already fighting on the ground.

Real victories are quiet. Real security is built, not tweeted.

♦ Publisher of the Guardian News, Professor Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D., is on the Editorial Board of the West African Pilot News. He is the author of the Influence of Leadership (2015)  and the Maxims of Political Leadership (2019). Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

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Texas’ 18th Congressional District Runoff: Amanda Edwards Deserves This Seat

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3 weeks ago

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December 18, 2025

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“Her persistence and long-term investment make a clear case: she has earned this opportunity.“ —Anthony Obi Ogbo

In the special election to fill Texas’s 18th Congressional District, no candidate won a majority on November 4, 2025, leading to a January 31, 2026, runoff between Democratic frontrunners Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards. Menefee, Harris County Attorney, led the field with roughly 29% of the vote, while former Houston City Council member Edwards finished second with about 26%. Both are vying to represent a district left vacant after the death of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner.

The 18th Congressional District is far more than a geographic area. Anchored in Houston’s historic Black communities, it is a political and cultural stronghold shaped by civil rights history, faith institutions, and grassroots activism. Sheila Jackson Lee represented this district for nearly three decades (1995–2024), becoming more than a legislator—she was a constant presence at churches, funerals, protests, and community milestones. For residents, her leadership carried spiritual weight, reflecting stewardship, protection, and a deep, almost pastoral guardianship of the district. Her tenure symbolized continuity, cultural pride, and a profound connection with the people she served.

Houstonians watched as Jackson Lee entered the 2023 Houston mayoral race, attempting to transition from Congress to city leadership. Despite high-profile endorsements, including outgoing Mayor Sylvester Turner and national Democratic figures, she lost the December 9, 2023, runoff to State Senator John Whitmire by a wide margin. Following that defeat, Jackson Lee filed to run for re-election to her U.S. House seat, even as Edwards—who had briefly joined the mayoral race before withdrawing—remained in the congressional primary.

At that time, Jackson Lee’s health was visibly declining, yet voters still supported her, honoring decades of service. She defeated Edwards in the 2024 Democratic primary before announcing her battle with pancreatic cancer. Her passing in July 2024 left the seat vacant.

Edwards, already a candidate, sought to fill the seat, but timing and party rules intervened. Because Jackson Lee died too late for a regular primary, Harris County Democratic Party precinct chairs selected a replacement nominee. Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a retired but widely respected figure, narrowly edged out Edwards for the nomination, effectively blocking her despite her prior campaigning efforts. Turner won the general election but died in March 2025, triggering a special election in 2025, in which Edwards advanced to a runoff.

The January 31, 2026, runoff will hinge on turnout, coalition-building, and key endorsements. Both candidates led a crowded November field but fell short of a majority, with Menefee narrowly ahead. Endorsements such as State Rep. Jolanda Jones’ support for Edwards could consolidate key Democratic blocs, particularly among Black women and progressive voters. In a heavily Democratic district where voter confusion and turnout patterns have been inconsistent, the candidate who best mobilizes supporters and unites constituencies is likely to prevail.

Amanda Edwards’ case is compelling. Although both candidates share similar values and qualifications, her claim rests on dedication, consistency, and timing that have been repeatedly denied. She pursued this seat with focus and purpose, maintaining a steady commitment to the district and its future. Her path was interrupted by the prolonged political ambitions of Jackson Lee and Turner—figures whose stature reshaped the race but delayed generational transition. Edwards did not step aside; she remained visible, engaged, and prepared. In a moment demanding both continuity and renewal, her persistence and long-term investment make a clear case: she has earned this opportunity.

This race comes down to trust, perseverance, and demonstrated commitment. Amanda Edwards has consistently shown up for the district, even when political circumstances repeatedly delayed her chance. Her dedication reflects readiness, respect for the electorate, and an unwavering commitment to service. Voting for Amanda Edwards is not only justified—it is the right choice for Houston’s 18th Congressional District.

♦Publisher of the Guardian News, Professor Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D., is on the Editorial Board of the West African Pilot News. He is the author of the Influence of Leadership (2015)  and the Maxims of Political Leadership (2019). Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

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