José Mourinho is back at Benfica. His resume reads like a map of footballing royalty: Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and beyond. Despite the inevitable ups and downs of a long career, the world refuses to stop believing in him. Why? Because he has the ultimate “ring” in the game, a Champions League trophy, first won with FC Porto, that cemented his status at the pinnacle of the sport.

As of late 2025, Mourinho has returned to Lisbon on a two-year deal, proving that when the world seems “tired” of a veteran, a new call inevitably comes. There is a profound business lesson here: High-performers with proven records are perpetually recycled. We see it in the C-suite every day, one CEO exits a role only to be snapped up by another firm, while the “new blood” waits in the wings.

Ancient African wisdom captures this perfectly: it takes the killing of a leopard to be called a “killer of leopards.” Once you have achieved that feat, you are addressed in the plural, “unu abiala” (you people have come), because your reputation is now larger than your physical self. You are no longer just a person; you are your record.

I remember my primary school teacher, Mr. Chigbu, using this lure of “legacy” to push us toward secondary school. He would tease us with stories of Okonkwo and Amalinze the Cat from Things Fall Apart, stopping just as the drama peaked: “If you want the rest of the story, you must get into secondary school.”

The legend of Amalinze “The Cat” was built on a record of never letting his back touch the ground. When a young Okonkwo finally threw him, that single, massive victory established a legend that lasted a lifetime.

The Lesson: Records build careers. Even when the shine begins to fade, decision-makers will always default to the person with a history of winning. If you want career longevity, put some undeniable records on your resume. Yes, win a “Champions League” in your own field.

By making S4 the sole gateway for primary auctions, the CBN has effectively rewired how Nigeria prices, allocates, and governs its sovereign debt.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the full operational deployment of its Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) as the exclusive infrastructure for primary market auctions of government securities, sealing a structural shift that fundamentally alters how Nigeria’s sovereign debt is issued, priced, and allocated.

The confirmation, given in response to a Nairametrics enquiry, establishes S4 as the only gateway for bid submission, price discovery, and allocation in the primary market for Treasury bills and, by extension, other government securities. It follows the February 2026 Treasury Bills auction, where the Federal Government offered N150 billion in 91-day bills, N200 billion in 182-day bills, and N800 billion in 364-day bills through a fully centralized electronic process.

Market participants say that the auction marked more than a routine issuance. It signaled the end of Nigeria’s hybrid primary market model, where electronic systems coexisted with physical submissions and decentralized aggregation by intermediaries. In its place is a single, regulator-controlled digital window through which all primary market activity must now pass.

According to the CBN, the change is no longer experimental or transitional.

“S4 has become the only tool used by CBN for government securities auction in the primary market. So, it is fully working now,” said Mr. Auwalu of the CBN’s Corporate Communications Department. He added that participation remains channeled through authorized deposit money banks. “But it is only banks that can send their customer bids. All investors must bid through their bank.”

That clarification ended speculation in the market over whether the February directive was a temporary operational adjustment or the final stage of full enforcement of the S4 framework.

Mr. Zeal Akariwe, chief executive of Graeme Blaque Advisory and an adviser to the CBN, said the underlying infrastructure itself is not new, but its role has changed.

“CBN has always used S4 for primary market auctions. What the apex bank is looking at is deploying it for the secondary market. Nothing significant has changed,” he said.

Even so, traders and analysts argue that the scale and exclusivity of its use now represent a decisive break from past practice.

Under the new framework, all bids for government securities are transmitted electronically by banks on behalf of their clients, converge directly within the S4 interface, and are processed for allocation and settlement without any parallel channels. Physical submissions have been eliminated, decentralized aggregation by intermediaries has been removed, and auction visibility has been centralized within the CBN’s system.

Analysts describe the consolidation as one of the most consequential microstructure changes in Nigeria’s fixed-income market in more than a decade. By collapsing multiple points of discretion into a single electronic platform, the reform reduces informational asymmetry, limits opaque pricing practices, and gives policymakers a clearer sight of demand conditions at each auction.

The February 2026 issuance also confirmed the system’s stabilization after disruptions during its expanded rollout in late 2025. Those interruptions, linked to technical adjustments, had fueled doubts about readiness and market resilience. Its reinstatement and reinforcement now suggest the CBN views digital centralization of the primary market as irreversible.

One immediate consequence is a redefinition of the role of Primary Dealer Market Makers (PDMMs). Previously, PDMMs acted as key gatekeepers, collating bids, managing access, and, in some cases, shaping price formation. Under S4, that discretionary influence is narrowed.

“The full deployment of S4 effectively redraws the governance map of Nigeria’s primary fixed-income market,” said Tajudeen Olayinka, chief executive of Wyoming Capital and Partners Limited. “Price discovery is now centralized, informational asymmetry reduced, and auction mechanics digitized within a controlled regulatory environment.”

He added that mandating a single electronic submission process shifts PDMMs away from gatekeeping toward execution and liquidity facilitation. Akariwe, for his part, said the objective is transparency rather than control, noting that the Securities and Exchange Commission remains the statutory regulator. He said the CBN’s intervention addresses structural weaknesses that previously allowed profit concealment through opaque trading arrangements.

Beyond market structure, the entrenchment of S4 carries wider implications for fiscal financing and monetary policy execution. With bid flows and rate acceptance concentrated within one institutional window, auction outcomes are more likely to align with policy direction than under the former decentralized framework. Policymakers gain near real-time visibility into sovereign funding dynamics and investor behavior, while monetary signals transmitted through Treasury bill rates face fewer distortions.

For banks, the shift formalizes a transition from informational intermediaries to execution agents, responsible primarily for transmitting client orders rather than shaping auction outcomes. For investors, it creates a more transparent environment, but one that is also more sensitive to policy signals and regulatory calibration.

The reform sits within a broader effort by the CBN to sanitize the government securities market. Although S4 has existed since 2014, it was never enforced as the dominant platform for auctions until last year. Previously, bids were often submitted physically through the CBN Issue Office in Lagos or routed through PDMMs, creating layers of opacity and uneven access.

In a circular issued last year, the apex bank said it intended to neutralize structural vulnerabilities in the market and strengthen confidence in sovereign debt issuance. The full operationalization of S4 appears to be the most concrete expression of that intent.

As Treasury bills and government bonds remain central to fiscal financing and interest rate benchmarking, the system’s activation marks a decisive shift in market administration. The CBN has placed itself firmly at the center of primary market execution by digitizing bid submission, allocation, and settlement within a unified regulatory environment.

Market participants say the next phase—potential deployment of S4 into the secondary market—could further reshape yield behavior, trading dynamics, and investor strategy across Nigeria’s fixed-income landscape.

India is intensifying its global quest for critical minerals by engaging in high-level negotiations with Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands for collaborative exploration, extraction, processing, and recycling projects, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, who spoke to Reuters.

The talks, spearheaded by the Ministry of Mines, center on securing reliable supplies of lithium and rare earth elements while gaining access to advanced processing and recycling technologies—key steps in reducing New Delhi’s heavy dependence on China, which controls the majority of global rare earth processing and a dominant share of lithium refining capacity.

The initiatives aim to replicate and expand upon the comprehensive critical minerals cooperation agreement India signed with Germany in January 2026. That pact covers joint exploration, processing, recycling, and the acquisition and development of mineral assets in both countries and third nations.

“There are requests and we are talking to France, Netherlands and Brazil while the agreement with Canada is under active consideration,” one of the sources said.

Canada’s Natural Resources Department referred to a January statement confirming that both sides had agreed to formalize cooperation on critical minerals in the coming weeks. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit India in early March, where he is likely to sign agreements covering uranium, energy, minerals, and artificial intelligence, further cementing bilateral ties in strategic sectors. Brazil’s embassy in New Delhi, India’s Ministry of Mines, and the foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The embassies of France and the Netherlands either declined to comment or did not respond. India’s expanding international engagement comes at a time when finance ministers from the G7 and other major economies met in Washington last month to discuss strategies for reducing dependence on Chinese rare earths and other critical minerals.

In 2023, India officially identified more than 20 minerals—including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements—as “critical” for its energy transition, defense needs, and growing high-tech manufacturing sector. The strategic imperative is clear: China currently dominates global supplies of many critical minerals and possesses advanced mining and processing technologies, creating significant vulnerabilities for India as it accelerates its shift to electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and electronics manufacturing.

Heavy reliance on Beijing for these materials poses both economic and national security risks, particularly amid geopolitical tensions and potential supply disruptions. Mining experts highlight the long timelines involved. From initial discovery to commercial production, developing a viable mine typically takes 10–15 years, with the exploration phase alone often requiring five to seven years and frequently ending without a commercially viable deposit.

India’s domestic reserves of many critical minerals remain limited or underdeveloped, making secure foreign partnerships essential to meet rising demand. India has already signed critical minerals pacts with Argentina, Australia, and Japan, and is engaged in broader bilateral discussions with Peru and Chile that also encompass these resources. The new talks with Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands are designed to diversify supply sources, secure technology transfers, and establish joint ventures that can accelerate India’s midstream (processing) and downstream (manufacturing) capabilities.

Canada stands out as a particularly valuable partner due to its vast reserves of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths, along with advanced mining expertise and a strong commitment to sustainable practices. A potential deal could also include cooperation on uranium—vital for India’s expanding nuclear energy program—and joint initiatives in artificial intelligence, aligning with Carney’s anticipated visit.

France and the Netherlands bring sophisticated processing and recycling technologies, areas where India is keen to build domestic expertise to move up the value chain. Brazil offers significant lithium and rare earth potential, along with established mining infrastructure in key regions. The Ministry of Mines is leading these negotiations, with an emphasis on incorporating safeguards to protect India’s industrial capacity and prevent market flooding by subsidized imports.

Officials have stressed that any agreements will prioritize long-term strategic benefits over short-term gains. This diplomatic push reflects India’s broader strategy of “friend-shoring” critical supply chains in a multipolar world. By forging partnerships with resource-rich and technologically advanced nations, New Delhi aims to secure stable supplies, attract investment, and position itself as a key player in the global clean energy transition.

The outcomes of these talks are expected to significantly influence the pace of India’s green ambitions, including its target of 30% electric vehicle penetration by 2030 and substantial growth in renewable energy storage. Success would also strengthen manufacturing competitiveness and reduce vulnerability to external supply shocks.

The agreements, if finalized, could reshape supply chains, bolster energy security, and help India reduce its strategic dependence on any single supplier.