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Lead Without Title (2)

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Late ‘Generals’ and ‘Generals’ that lost stars:

 

Some big organizations that used to be ‘commander-in-chief’’ of their respective industry segment are no more today because they chose to lead with titles. One of such is Polaroid. Polaroid used to be a four –star General and Commander-in-Chief of photography business. But when digital technology for photography came out, ‘General Polaroid’, ( as king of photography with several past laurels as number 1 in this and that) felt it was a fluke, so it failed to embrace it and stayed with its traditional instant image photography technology. Of course, General Polaroid died in the 1990s and was buried in 2001. Similarly, Xerox lost to Sharp photocopier machine when it abandoned the lower-end of the market for high-end market segment. In a jiffy, sharp pulled the rug off the feet of General Xerox. Happily enough, General Xerox has learnt its lessons. General Daewoo, on the other hand, did not have a second chance- it collapsed and died instantly.

 

Some four-star Generals lost one or two stars to competition. Sonny of Japan used to be a four-star General in electronics and gaming. But it lost to Samsung and Ninentedos. Microsoft lost to Goggle in World Wide Web search engine technology by embracing it two years late. Dell computers eroded IBM market in personal computers in the 1990s because General IBM led with its title as the first and biggest personal computers maker in the world. Sonny, IBM and Microsoft lost grounds to competition in critical segment of the markets because they reasoned and executed as ‘’titled chiefs’’ or Generals, at a time they should not have led with title.

 

Meanwhile, we have some companies which have imbibed the culture of leading without title like: Nokia, Easy jet, Google, Linux, Red Bull, and Apple among others. These companies remain restless insurgents in words and actions without relying on titles.

 

 

In the paragraphs that follow we shall itemize five building blocks which organizations need to put in place to win in the market place without parading their titles:

 

Building block 1: Groom the ‘Joshuas’’ well ahead of time: not a few corporate analysts were surprised recently when the CEOs of Merrill and Citigroup were laid off and it was embarrassingly discovered that there were no successors on the wings to take over immediately. This is a mistake which most organizations keep making repeatedly. According to research carried out by James Collins and Jerry Porras: ‘of the 18 successful companies studied, only four times – in a combined years of 1700 years! – did one of them go outside the firm for a CEO’. It is only when companies consciously identify and groom the future leaders ahead of time will they escape the temptation of always wanting to lead with title.

 

Building block 2: Model Insurgent Leadership: to win in the present dog-eat- dog market place of the 21st century, organization needs to focus on delivering the win, the whole win and nothing but the win by erecting an idiot-proof strategy that delivers the win. Globalization cannot be shut out, it can only be beaten says Tony Blair. Many CEOs in Europe and America and Nigeria are having sleepless nights because of the Chinese insurgence marketing strategy. Companies that will be around for the next two decades are the ones which model the insurgent leadership and create a more results-focused aggressive spirit among its employees.

 

Building block 3: Choose your destiny by defining the future. Winning companies are the ones who can see the road ahead, successfully articulate it and come up with products that customers will require at the right price and quality before competition.

 

Building block 4: Remain Paranoid. Companies that get scared and remain scared play to win and don’t play to lose, and ride ahead of today’s waves of change will always be two steps ahead of competition.

 

Building block 5: Culture is king. Cult-like companies bow down to their ideologies and bounce back faster when they are faced with challenges in the macro economic milieu; unlike companies without strong in-built culture. One of the most sustainable competitive advantages for CEOs is the development of what I call ‘’ownership culture’ as opposed to ‘we’ vs. ‘they’ culture that obtains in most companies today between the management and board on one hand, and the employees on the other hand.

 

In conclusion, what leading without title teaches the CEOs and employees is that they must beware of success. As Robin Sharman succinctly put it: ‘The more successful you and your organization become, the more humble and devoted to your customers you need to be.’

 

Akano, CEO of New Horizons, is an IT specialist and one of the World’s top coaches in sixth sense corporate strategy

 

 


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Toll Collection on Lagos-Calabar Highway Begins December

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Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has announced that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled starting in December.

Umahi disclosed this during an interview for a forthcoming State House documentary marking the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said: “By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. We project a 10-year return on investment.

“The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure, and offers carbon credit advantages.

“It is more than a road; it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth.”

According to the minister, 30 kilometres of Section 1 have already been completed, with an additional 10 kilometres in Section 2 nearing delivery. Both segments feature six-lane concrete-paved carriageways, designed to meet modern standards for safety and durability.

Umahi further revealed that construction had commenced on Sections 3 and 3B of the highway, spanning a total of 65 kilometres, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom.

He described the positive response from local communities as a clear indication of the project’s wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.

“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact,” he said.

Umahi also highlighted the administration’s renewed focus on the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, which he noted was part of a broader vision dating back to colonial-era trade plans.

“The Trans-Saharan trade route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life,” the minister explained.


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Kaspersky Uncovers Dero Crypto Miner Spreading via Exposed Container Environments

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Kaspersky Security Services experts have identified a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting containerized environments to deploy a miner for the Dero cryptocurrency.

The attackers abuse exposed Docker APIs — parts of Docker, an open-source container development platform. In 2025, there are a significant number of Docker API default ports that are insecurely published, accounting for almost 500 occurrences worldwide on average each month.

In the discovered campaign, cybercriminals inject two types of malwares into the compromised systems: one is the miner itself and the other is a propagation malware that can spread the campaign to other insecure container networks.

Kaspersky experts discovered this malicious campaign as part of a compromise assessment project. According to expert estimates, any organisation that operates containerized infrastructure — while exposing Docker APIs without robust security controls — can be a potential target. These may include technology companies, software development firms, hosting providers, cloud service providers and more enterprises.

According to Shodan, in 2025, there are 485 published Docker API default ports¹ worldwide each month on average. This figure illustrates the campaign’s potential attack surface by tallying the “entry points” — or insecurely exposed ports that attackers might target.

Once attackers identify an insecurely published Docker API, they either compromise existing containers or create new malicious ones based on a legitimate standard Ubuntu image. They then inject two malware types into the compromised containers: “nginx” and “cloud”.

The latter is a Dero cryptocurrency miner, while “nginx” is a malicious software that maintains persistence, ensures execution of the miner and scans for other exposed environments. This malware allows attackers to operate without traditional Command-and-Control (C2) servers; instead, each infected container independently scans the Internet and can spread the miner to new targets.

“The campaign has the potential for exponential growth of infections, with each compromised container acting as a new source of attack, if security measures are not immediately put in place in the potentially targeted networks,” explains Amged Wageh, an incident response and a compromise assessment expert at Kaspersky Security Services.

“Сontainers are foundational to software development, deployment, and scalability. Their widespread use across cloud-native environments, DevOps, and microservices architectures makes them an attractive target for cyber attackers. This growing reliance demands organisations adopt a 360-degree approach to security — combining robust security solutions with proactive threat hunting and regular compromise assessments”.

The attackers embedded the names “nginx” and “cloud” directly in the binary — an inflexible executable file composed of instructions and data for the processor, not for humans. This is a classic masquerading tactic that lets the payload pose as a legitimate tool, trying to deceive both analysts and automated defenses.


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Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

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Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, charged five defendants before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of Premium Trust Bank.

Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

The defendants are listed as the bank’s e-payment service manager, Matthew Adeniyi; Kehinde Odeyemi, a nursing mother; Samson Latshin, Bolaji Omotosho and Sunday Okunnola.

They were charged before Justice Alexander Owoeye, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime and unlawful access to the bank’s database.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mrs. Zeenat Atiku, prosecutor, alleged that they committed the offence between April and May this year, in collaboration with three others, now at large.

Those still at large are Isa Ismaila, Victor Joshua, also known as ‘Oracle’ as well as one other, simply identified as Humble.

According to the charge, the first defendant unlawfully disclosed sensitive credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain details, to these parties.

She said this enabled an unauthorised access to the bank’s database and the consequent data breach allegedly resulted in financial gains of $10,000.

The prosecutor also alleged that the defendants attempted to intercept the bank’s network and procured a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 440 G9 laptop (serial No. SN#5CD2473N6G) configured to bypass the bank’s security systems.

The anti-graft agency said the alleged offences contravened the provisions of sections 12(1)(b), 27, 28(1)(b)(c) and 28(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).

Following their pleas, the prosecutor, requested for a trial date and sought an order to remand the defendants in custody.

Meanwhile, the court declined an oral bail by the defence counsel and directed that a formal bail application be filed.

He adjourned the case until June 30, for trial and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Nigerian correctional centre, pending bail.

The court, however, added that the defence may apply for an earlier trial date, upon filing their bail applications.

 


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