accountability

When Jibrin Kolo Adamu talks about how the HumAngle Accountability Fellowship changed his life, his eyes light up with purpose. “The fellowship was impactful because I am currently working because of the skills I acquired from it,” he said. 

He added that “I learnt the art of human storytelling, and it helped me to win several grants and partnerships for my organisation. I now lead advocacy programs because of the HumAngle training.”

Jibrin is one of many young journalists and advocates from Borno State who have passed through the HumAngle Accountability Fellowship. The fellowship program was launched in 2022 with support from the MacArthur Foundation to promote transparency, accountability through storytelling, and community-driven advocacy initiatives. Over the past three years, five cohorts have been trained, with fellows drawn from the northern, central, and southern federal constituents of Borno state.

For many of them, the fellowship was a turning point.

Halima Bawah, a fellow from central Borno, said the training gave her the courage to start her own organisation. “I launched an advocacy group promoting renewable and sustainable climate action solutions. Now my company provides climate-smart solutions, recycling plastic waste, and offering consultations to other organisations,” she explained proudly.

Rukkaya Ahmed Alibe, who works with a radio station in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, said the fellowship transformed her broadcasting career. “I have integrated human-centred storytelling into my radio programs. It has made my work more impactful and connected to the people. I now produce stories that give voice to local communities,” she said.

Another alumnus, Abubakar Mukhtar Abba, from central Borno, shared how the fellowship inspired his journalism journey. “I had no background in journalism, but the fellowship gave me everything in six months. I am now a freelance journalist reporting important stories about the humanitarian crisis in the region. My stories are driven by the question of accountability and how it affects the lives of ordinary people. All thanks to HumAngle,” he said.

The fellowship aims to build a new generation of journalists and advocates who use storytelling to demand accountability and amplify community voices in conflict-affected areas.

Speaking during an alumni roundtable session held on Oct. 11 in Maiduguri, Angela Umoru-David, HumAngle Foundation’s Director, said the engagement was an opportunity to see how far the fellows have come. “Engaging with the alumni was an opportunity to experience first-hand the impact the fellowship had on the participants. We have achieved exactly what we hoped for: a network of young people pushing locally-driven solutions and demanding accountability,” Angela said.

According to Angela, many alumni are now leading organisations, winning international fellowships, and pursuing advanced studies abroad. “We have an alumnus pursuing a PhD in security studies in China, another starting a waste management and environmental protection company, and many others representing their communities on global platforms,” she added.

The stories of progress from the fellows are not limited to Borno State alone. Across Adamawa and Yobe, the fellows have similar stories. During a similar roundtable held in Yola, the Adamawa state capital, in September, fellows said HumAngle had been a major influence on how their careers are blossoming currently, expressing their willingness for collaborations in the future.

“The support HumAngle gives us goes a long way,” Habila Albert, a member of the second cohort of the fellowship noted. Fellows from Damaturu in Yobe also highlighted stories of collaboration within each other.

Salma Jumah, Senior Programme Officer of the Foundation, noted that the fellowship’s success reflects the power of knowledge and collaboration. “The learning session with the Accountability Fellows has shown us that they have built a strong network and a remarkable trail of impact. Hearing from participants across all cohorts, we’ve seen significant accomplishments and stories of change that speak to the strength of this community,” Salma said.

From classrooms to radio stations, and from local advocacy groups to international platforms, the fellows of the HumAngle Accountability Fellowship continue to inspire change and promote accountability and transparency in both private and public sectors across northeastern Nigeria.

After aiming to leap from the WNBA’s worst team to a season of triumph, the Sparks instead ended the season seeking perspective — none more so than Kelsey Plum.

In the season’s final weeks, while fighting for a playoff spot, Plum called Dearica Hamby, her closest teammate, to voice her frustration. Accustomed to winning seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, Plum sought solace after several losses, and Hamby grounded her.

“Hey, I won eight games last year,” Hamby responded. “So this looks different to me.”

Despite finishing under .500 for the fifth consecutive season and falling just short of making the playoffs, the Sparks easily more than doubled last year’s win total. Hampered by a slew of injuries that stunted momentum, they greatly improved with the league’s fourth-best record after the All-Star break.

“I really wanted to impact winning, and so it’s tough because sometimes I don’t do a great job of giving myself grace,” Plum said. “We did win 21 games, different from eight a season ago, [but] at the same time, as a competitor, I really want to be in the playoffs.”

Missing the postseason has left Plum carrying that burden, an internal battle she said she’ll have to process. The weight was heavier for Plum, after taking a leap of faith, betting on herself as a No. 1 option for the first time in her career and the motivating factor behind accepting a trade to L.A.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, who will become a free agent this offseason, drives against Dream guard Jordin Canada during a game Sept. 5.

(Paras Griffin / Getty Images)

Now, heading into the offseason, Plum’s message to her teammates is to “take that chip and that hunger,” as she will, and carry it into next season.

For Hamby, this season was a necessary dismantling and rebuilding of the organization, an essential step for lasting success.

“My optimism and perspective is I’d rather have a slow burn than a quick fix,” Hamby said. “We’re talking about long-term and wanting to build something for years to come, with the core that we have.”

For the Sparks to take the next step, head coach Lynne Roberts and general manager Reagan Pebley face a tall task: holding together a roster that finally showed promise of reaching lofty goals. Drawing on their coaching backgrounds, both have leaned on a collaborative approach to building the roster, but free agency will be a test this offseason.

Outside of second-year contributors Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, and this year’s rookie class — all locked into multi-year deals — every veteran on the roster will hit the market. That includes three players who delivered career years: Plum, Hamby and Azurá Stevens.

Plum, with Hamby seated beside her, refrained from guaranteeing her return during exit interviews Friday night. Yet her impassioned message to fans after the season finale, role as the face of the franchise, and input in offseason plans make a return likely.

Hamby, who began recruiting Plum nearly a year ago in hopes of building a legacy together, also appears committed to staying. As she put it, the two “always talked about being together, staying together, whatever we do.”

Fever forward Kelsey Mitchell, middle, tries to drive against the Sparks’ Dearica Hamby (5) and Azurá Stevens (23), who both will be free agents this offseason.

(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

For starters, retaining them along with Stevens and Julie Allemand is a priority, but it could become a bit complicated come free agency.

Stevens, the healthiest she’s been in years, delivered career highs in points (12.8), rebounds (8.0), minutes (28.4) and games (all 44) as a primary contributor, particularly when injuries plagued the team early in the season — a showing that could attract suitors in free agency.

Allemand is headed to Turkey to play professionally this offseason but hopes to return next season — a return that might hinge on a more defined role. She said she can “do a lot more” and doesn’t want “to be satisfied with this, and be like, ‘OK, let’s just come back next season,’ and it’s the same.”

“It’s always tough to run it back,” Pebley said. “Success is really hard to sustain, and momentum is really hard to hold on to. … We’ll do everything we can to make sure the right pieces stay. Maybe it’s putting people in a different spot, but also addressing some needs that we have.”

The challenge isn’t just shuffling or adding talent; it’s doing so without overcorrecting. The goal is bringing in players who add value while preserving locker-room balance — those whom both Roberts and Pebley trust to fit seamlessly into the culture, enhancing it rather than disrupting it.

Changing the culture and building an identity was Roberts’ top priority heading into her first full WNBA season, and she believes the roster has fully bought in, a process that began with earning the players’ trust.

“They don’t care what you know until they know you care,” Roberts said. “I wanted to get them on board and get them bought in. And so then next year there can be more accountability and I can do a better job.”

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts talks with guard Julie Allemand during a break in play. Allemand will become a free agent this offseason.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Pebley said missing the playoffs has left everyone focused on accountability, at times, to a fault.

Plum is carrying the weight of coming to L.A. to win and falling short. Roberts is shouldering the responsibility of missing the mark of turning a perennial losing team into a winner, like she was hired to do. Pebley herself has been reflecting on the decisions she could have made differently.

“Like mature, experienced people that can gain perspective, do hold on to that self-accountability, but also start to move things into the right place,” Pebley said. “We want to get better, and we will. We’re very committed to doing that, and grateful that it’s not just on one of our shoulders.”

In December, DeShaun Foster touted mass turnover as a reason to think he could win big in Year 2, citing the quick turnaround at Colorado under Deion Sanders.

On Saturday, UCLA’s football coach used mass turnover as an explanation for his team’s 0-2 start.

“I have a lot of new people,” Foster said after his team’s 30-23 loss to Nevada Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium left it as the only winless team in the Big Ten. “I’m not somebody who’s going to come up here and give you guys excuses and everything, but I have a lot of new people and we’re still finding ways to come together and really rely on each other and we’re going to continue to build and it’s a long season.”

In other words, said a coach making $3.1 million this season, don’t blame me.

Somebody needs to take accountability for spending all this money on such a lifeless product. New UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk posted a picture of himself at the season opener against Utah on social media, calling it a “blast” to cheer on the team, which was an admirable show of support in tough circumstances.

They just got a lot tougher for everyone in blue and gold.

Asked about his restrictive media policies before the season, Foster said winning would do the marketing for his team. Well, how’s that going?

There’s a real chance that the actual crowd inside the Rose Bowl on Friday night when the Bruins face New Mexico (1-1) could fall below 10,000, setting a record low.

Importing 57 new players on any team is going to lead to some misses, but it’s already apparent that UCLA’s talent evaluation was way off the mark. Maybe there was a reason a group filled with transfers coming off injuries and underwhelming starts to their college careers was available.

Compounding this situation in some fans’ eyes is the fact that these players are now getting paid — in some cases making CEO money — to play for a team that looks so woefully unprepared and undertalented, having fallen behind 20-0 against Utah and 23-0 against UNLV.

While quarterback Nico Iamaleava hasn’t been the savior some envisioned after arriving from Tennessee, he also hasn’t been the problem. He’s made some mistakes while also playing at a high enough level to win if he was surrounded by more talent.

He’s also been perhaps the only one associated with the team to take a measure of responsibility for UCLA’s worst start since it lost its first three games in 2019.

“I think that just starts with me, man,” Iamaleava said of the slow starts leading to losses. “I gotta be better coming out. I started off a little slow on the first drive coming out. And, yeah, I think overall, man, we got to clean up a lot of stuff.”

To their credit, UCLA coaches tried making some personnel changes after that clunker of a season opener. Edge rusher Kechaun Bennett and linebacker Isaiah Chisom moved into the starting lineup, and things started to coalesce on both sides of the ball in the second half while the Bruins outscored the Rebels, 20-7. (There was also some puzzling use of the running backs rotation when UCLA failed to score a touchdown after getting a first and goal at the UNLV one-yard line, but we digress.)

The bottom line is that there was a reason UNLV’s last win over a Big Ten team before Saturday had come in 2003 — the Rebels play in the Mountain West Conference and have far fewer resources than their Power Four conference counterparts.

So where do the Bruins go from here? Rebound and beat New Mexico before a smattering of friends and family on the way to four or five wins? Would that be good enough?

Somebody needs to step up and tell UCLA fans why they should still care about this team and spend money on a product that, frankly, isn’t even mediocre right now.

Kicker Mateen Bhaghani during the Iowa game last year.

(MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

Let’s just say if your kids got these kinds of grades two weeks into the school year, you’d be calling for a parent-teacher conference ASAP.

Quarterbacks: B. Iamaleava sparked his team’s comeback but also threw the pass that sealed defeat. It’s more than a little concerning that he’s the team’s leading rusher through two games.

Running backs: D. Jalen Berger was probably not the best option on those goal-line plays that came up empty. Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods need to be the guys moving forward.

Receivers: C. Kwazi Gilmer flashed his big-play potential again with a juggling catch and ability to continually generate separation. But it doesn’t appear he’ll need to clear room on the mantle for the Biletnikoff Award.

Offensive line: D. The lineup shuffle with Garrett DiGiorgio at left tackle and Reuben Unije at right tackle appears to be the way the rest of the season. But guard Julian Armella can’t keep committing dumb penalties.

Defensive line: C-. The Bruins got a sack! The Bruins got a sack! Sacks by Bennett and Anthony Jones that represented the team’s first of the season did little to mask the ongoing issues in generating a consistent pass rush.

Linebackers: C-. JonJon Vaughns has logged double digits in tackles in consecutive games, but does it matter when you’re 0-2?

Defensive backs: D. Getting burned by UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea for three touchdowns is not acceptable.

Special teams: B+. Kicker Mateen Bhaghani, now four for four on field goals, is on pace to be the team MVP.

Coaching: F. There’s no way you can justify falling behind 23-0 to UNLV one week after that abomination of a season opener.

Olympic sport spotlight: Men’s water polo

Ben Liechty was also a standout water polo player at Newport Harbor High.

(Raul Roa)

The best team in the country rolls on.

Having already beaten No. 14 Cal Baptist, No. 19 George Washington, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 14 UC Davis and No. 20 Navy, the top-ranked UCLA men’s water polo team notched its most impressive victory of the season Saturday with a 16-9 victory over No. 4 Fordham.

For good measure, the Bruins added a 24-10 romp over Bucknell later in the day.

The Bruins (7-0) have been so dominant that they have posted 10 or more different scorers in every game this season. Redshirt senior Chase Dodd and junior Ben Liechty led the way against Fordham with one goal and three assists apiece.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for UCLA, which plays No. 7 UC Irvine in its home opener at noon Friday before facing No. 16 Harvard later in the day. Might Bruins fans have a better time showing up at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center than the Rose Bowl?

Opinion time

Who is most culpable for the state of UCLA football?

Coach DeShaun Foster

Athletic director Martin Jarmond

Former chancellor Gene Block

The college football gods

Click here to vote in our survey

Poll results

We asked last Monday, “Does UCLA’s football team rally immediately against the soft pocket of its schedule, or fall further into despair before facing Penn State on Oct. 4 at the Rose Bowl?” The results, after 607 votes:

The Bruins go 2-1 over their next three games, 38.9%
The Bruins go 1-2 over their next three games, 29.1%
The Bruins go 3-0 over their next three games, 21.1%
The Bruins go 0-3 over their next three games, 10.9%

In case you missed it

UCLA backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson arrested on felony charges

UCLA’s loss to UNLV showcases its plethora of problems once again

Think attendance is bad at the Rose Bowl? It may be worse than you imagined

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the “endless catalogue of horrors” unfolding in Gaza after nearly two years of conflict, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens of new casualties from Israeli strikes.

As Israel’s military prepares to take control of Gaza City, the nation faces increasing domestic and international pressure to halt its offensive in the Palestinian territory, where the UN has officially declared a famine.

About two million Palestinians—the vast majority of the population—have been displaced at least once during the conflict, with humanitarian organisations warning against any expansion of military operations.

“Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law,” Guterres told journalists on Thursday, emphasising the need for accountability.

On Thursday, massive plumes of smoke were rising above Gaza City following Israeli bombardments of the city’s outskirts, as captured in video footage.

Aya Daher, displaced from Gaza City’s Zeitoun district, told the AFP news agency she had no shelter and was “just waiting for God’s mercy” outside a local hospital.

“There were explosions all night. I was injured, my husband was injured by shrapnel, and my son was also wounded in the head. Thank God we survived, but there were martyrs,” she said.

Cindy McCain, head of the UN’s World Food Programme, warned that Gaza had reached “breaking point” and called for the urgent restoration of its network of 200 food distribution points.

Following a visit to the territory, McCain reported witnessing firsthand that “desperation is soaring”.

The UN formally declared a famine in the Gaza governorate last week, attributing it to “systematic obstruction” of humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel.

Rights group says perpetrators ‘must be held to account’, a year after 24 people killed during cost of living protests.

The Nigerian government has failed to ensure accountability after police used deadly force to disperse mass 2024 demonstrations against soaring living costs, Amnesty International has said on the first anniversary of the protests.

In a statement on Friday, the human rights group said police in Nigeria “bizarrely continue to deny strong allegations of extrajudicial execution, torture and unlawful arrests of the protesters”.

An Amnesty investigation found that at least 24 people were killed when police opened fire on the protests, which erupted in August of last year under the slogan #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.

Demonstrators took to the streets across the country in anger about soaring fuel prices and inflation, spurred by government reforms aimed at reviving the economy.

“A year on, despite the gravity of these human rights violations, not a single member of the security forces has been prosecuted, as accountability remains elusive for the 24 peaceful protesters killed in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Borno, Niger and Kaduna states,” Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said in Friday’s statement.

“Those behind these atrocities must be held to account.”

A spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice did not respond to a request for comment from the AFP news agency.

Amnesty said that in all the killings, protesters were shot by police who fired live ammunition “at close range, often at the head or torso, suggesting that officers were shooting to kill”.

“The Nigerian authorities are yet to take appropriate and effective measures to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including by ending the killing, intimidation and harassment of protesters, arbitrary arrests and detention, and mass surveillance, especially in the context of protests,” Sanusi said.

The rights group also condemned what it described as “sham trials” for the hundreds of protesters who were arrested on a variety of alleged offences.

Charges include “‘levy[ing] war against the state in order to intimidate or overawe the president’” as well as “‘using WhatsApp group chats,’ ‘inciting to mutiny,’ “chanting ‘Tinubu must go’, calling on the military to take over government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” and “intent to destabilize Nigeria”, according to Amnesty.

Tinubu’s reforms – including floating the naira currency and ending a costly fuel subsidy – have been supported as long overdue by economists, but led to the cost of living to spike in the country.

Though no one has been tried for the deaths, the Nigerian government has been forced at times to step back from its prosecutions of protesters.

In November, dozens of youths, many of them children, appeared in court frail and hungry, sparking outcry over their treatment in jail. Tinubu later ordered their release.

But some trials are still under way for the roughly 700 people arrested.

In a Congress addicted to bad ideas and bloated spending — something we saw again last week — it’s rare to find a tax policy with broad, bipartisan support that also happens to be good policy. Health savings accounts, known as HSAs, are one of those rare gems. They promote individual responsibility, reduce healthcare costs and enjoy overwhelming support from voters across the political spectrum.

The good news is that for all its flaws, the “Big Beautiful Bill” that was just signed by the president includes several expansions to the program.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need tax-protected healthcare savings accounts. The tax code wouldn’t punish saving in the first place. Income would only be taxed once and not a second time through taxes on returns generated by savings. Families could set aside money for future expenses without being hit with additional penalties.

But that’s not the tax system we have. The double taxation of saving discourages people from preparing for medical and other costs.

Ideally, individuals would also be able to make their own decisions about health. But for the past century, Congress has used the tax code to pressure workers into accepting employer-controlled health insurance by penalizing those of us who choose otherwise. As Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute has demonstrated, this system effectively strips workers of control over roughly $1 trillion of their income. Imagine the possibilities if we could each demand more value and accountability for our share.

HSAs offer a partial solution to both of these problems. They can shelter a small portion of income and allow people to make their own decisions about some healthcare purchases without the government penalizing them. Since their creation in 2003, HSAs have become a lifeline for nearly 40 million account holders.

The accounts are triple tax-advantaged: Contributions go in tax-free, grow tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified medical expenses. They reward frugality, encourage price sensitivity (in a way most health insurance plans do not) and allow families to build health-related savings year after year.

Still, HSAs have benefited only a small segment of workers. To truly bring about individual healthcare freedom, it is essential that Congress expand them to everyone and end the preferential tax treatment for employer-based coverage. And to give credit where it’s due, Congress did indeed deliver on at least part of this agenda.

The House version of the budget included long-overdue HSA reforms, most notably a fix to a particularly maddening and regressive feature of current law: If you’re a working senior who needs to claim Social Security at 65 to make ends meet, you’re automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A — and disqualified from contributing to an HSA. A wealthier colleague who delays retirement can continue to enjoy tax-free contributions. Same job. Same employer. Different treatments based purely on wealth.

In addition to abolishing this injustice by allowing working seniors enrolled in Part A to remain eligible for HSA contributions, the House bill expanded the menu of healthcare options that can be paid for with HSA funds. It made gym memberships, personal training, preventive care and wellness among the new options — a smart, targeted reform.

Unfortunately, the Senate stripped many of the House’s reforms, but enough were retained in the final version of the bill for it to expand access to HSAs and make a significant difference.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Americans enrolled in Bronze or Catastrophic Affordable Care Act plans may contribute to HSAs — around 7.3 million people who previously lacked access in 2025. The bill also allows HSA funds to pay for direct primary care memberships — modernizing how Americans can save for and manage healthcare expenses — and makes permanent the ability of high-deductible health plans to waive the deductible for telehealth visits.

By some measures, these might be the most popular tax provisions in the entire package. As Cannon has pointed out, large majorities of Democrats (73%), Republicans (74%) and independents (65%) have shown past support for HSAs. A Luntz poll found 83% support for working seniors on Medicare to be allowed to contribute to HSAs.

In other words, this wasn’t just smart policy, it was a political layup.

There is still a lot of work to be done, such as delinking HSA eligibility from high-deductible plans entirely, expanding contribution limits and eliminating barriers for all Medicare recipients. These moves would further reduce tax-code distortions and reinforce a healthcare system rooted in choice and accountability.

Nevertheless, HSA reform is one instance of the “Big Beautiful Bill” producing good and popular policy.

Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate.