“We live in a world in which you can talk about international niceties and everything else,” deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told my colleague Jake Tapper recently. “But we live in a world, the real world … that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” he continued. “These are the iron laws of the world.”

From Caracas, Copenhagen, and Kiev, to Brussels, Bogota, Jerusalem, and Johannesburg, via Tehran, Ottawa, Mexico City, and beyond, this second ‘America First’ term is redefining the boundaries of American power and how it might be exercised.

“There is one thing: my own morality, my own mind.  It’s the only thing that can stop me,” Trump told the New York Times last week. “I don’t need international law.” Based on his administration’s recent actions, from the audacious capture of Nicolás Maduro to renewed threats to take Greenland by whatever means necessary, few believe he is not serious.

Eight years ago, Donald Trump strode into the Congress Hall at Davos to unbecoming gushes and gawps from delegates overcome by his celebrity, craning their necks for a glimpse of him.

This was an exclusive club of which he was never part, and one which would never previously have dreamed of welcoming him in such a way.  Now he was the center of attention, and he clearly reveled in it.

Back then, the WEF rolled out the red carpet more in hope than expectation, and Trump just about concealed his disdain for its elitist, intellectual trappings.

America was “open for business”, he told them. Yes, it would still be America First, but “not America alone.”  On the surface it was a surprisingly inclusive message.

Oh, how things have changed. Exactly how to welcome this most unpredictable of house guests into the halls of the WEF’s globalist cathedral now is anyone’s guess.

Davos is the very embodiment of “international niceties”. The foundations upon which it is built – a vision of dialogue and stakeholder capitalism and a ‘commitment to improving the state of the world’ – are shaking like never before.

As if that wasn’t enough, the WEF itself is already creaking under pressure of its own making.  Klaus Schwab, its founder and executive chairman, departed last year amid allegations of misconduct raised by anonymous whistleblowers.

An internal investigation found no evidence of material wrongdoing, but the episode was an embarrassing one for an organization facing persistent questions over its relevance.

The WEF maintains that Davos offers a unique opportunity for decision makers from multiple perspectives to collaborate, and to some extent that is true; but in the current climate the idea that it can also effect change seems absurdly unrealistic, especially when faced with a guest of honour who could easily come to dinner to unapologetically smash the crockery and pocket the silverware on his way out.

All of this begs an obvious question: if Davos is truly irrelevant, then why is Trump bothering to head up into the Swiss Alps at all?

Based on his last visit, there is no doubt that he will get attention, and any longtime observer will tell you that alone can be incentive enough for Mr. Trump.

He could simply take the opportunity to rub delegates noses in their impotence, expand the ‘Donroe doctrine’, and remind everyone that if they want a deal, they must get it on his terms – or else.

But there is also some evidence to suggest that America should be courting some of the still-powerful power brokers padding around the deep pile carpets of the Davos Congress Centre.

Ken Fisher, founder and executive chair of Fisher Investments, reminded me last week that 2025 was a better year for business outside of America than in it, while the three years prior were better for those in the United States.

“This is a world where the world’s doing business around America, and sometimes in America,” he told me.  “But the rest of the world is what’s leading the capital markets, not the United States.”

Trump is also facing hardening political realities at home.  Every U.S. president looks to the Midterms with a sense of dread, and Trump’s approval ratings are languishing behind his bluster.

Cracks are also beginning to appear in his once rock-solid MAGA Republican coalition, partly over issues such as the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, but also because of a stubborn affordability crisis and bewilderment in some quarters over recent foreign policy adventures.

He is also now in open warfare with a Fed that suddenly appears happy to fight him head-on.

Whisper it, but Trump may need friends in the international community more than he’d care to admit.  If the president is not to discover far more straightforward limits to his power than his own mind come November’s elections, he will need some economic wins that tariffs and saber-rattling are unlikely to deliver.

Of course, he is not above coercion to get a deal done, and as we have seen this month, he is willing to back those words – at least on occasion, with decisive and controversial action.

Whatever happens, Trump’s approach to Davos next week will be fascinating to observe. Most significantly, it could provide a clear vision of a new kind of Trumpian Pax Americana, at least until that changes again.

It would also be deeply ironic if this most anti-globalist president provides a shot in the arm for one of globalism’s most famous – and infamous – institutions.

This oddest of couples might actually be made for one another.

Follow Richard Quest and CNN’s coverage of Davos on CNN International and CNN.com

Ajuri Ngelale, Presidential Spokesman, in a statement on Sunday, said the President gave the assurance on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during a meeting with Hong Namkoong, the president and chief executive officer of Samsung, and Jungwook Kim, the vhairman of Samsung Investment Global.

The meeting took place on the margins of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development, currently going on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to the President, “Nigeria is a very huge country with a huge and able population. We have vibrant youths ready to learn and progress. In fact, our young do not wait for us.

“They go ahead of us in their determination to succeed. We must keep up and provide opportunities for them to excel with. We have an infrastructure deficit and you can take advantage of that and invest early and deeply in an environment that is absorptive and ready for it. It is modeled after a willing-buyer and willing-seller arrangement. Easy capital in and easy capital out.

The President took time to detail the significant opportunities across sectors for investment within the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, which involves the potential utilization of co-finance instruments on critical infrastructure and technology which Samsung is well known to produce.

President Tinubu also harped on the importance of deepening collaboration in the crude oil, natural gas, renewable energy, engineering, technology and agriculture sectors, emphasizing the potential for vast private sector participation in the establishment of fully-embedded, off-grid, cold-chain integration across sub-industries in the agriculture sector to forestall post-harvest losses with mass refrigeration capacity.

“We are ready to discuss and discover one another more. We can benefit so much from collaborative effort. You have the know-how, and we have the willingness. Seize this opportunity,” the President told the Samsung executives.

Jungwook Kim, Samsung Chairman, in his remarks, expressed Samsung’s interest in expanding its presence in Nigeria, citing the successes of sister companies already operating in the country while laying out potential new opportunities in Nigeria.

“We have built many power stations around the world. We are top of the class in gas-fired power plant construction. We have an ever-increasing portfolio in the production of renewable energy solutions around the world. We can make a lot of progress in Nigeria’s energy sector as well as bringing our technology to other key productive sectors.

“Transmission lines and smart grids are areas where we see increasing demand globally. You need infrastructure anywhere you go. We are good at metropolitan rail lines; we are good at bridge construction and any of these types of infrastructure projects, in addition to oil and gas engineering projects.

“We are looking forward to knowing Nigeria better under your leadership and to see how we can penetrate the Nigerian market deeper. This is a great opportunity for us.”

Tinubu made the remark this morning, when speaking as one of the panelists at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He justified the fuel subsidy removal, maintaining that it was needed to reset the economy.

Recall that President Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on fuel the day he was inaugurated into office with the popular “subsidy is gone” speech.

The action, however, made prices of commodities to rise through the roof, increasing hardship in the country which has made some of his critics condemn the subsidy removal as a policy not well thought out.

“For Nigeria, we are immensely consistent with belief that the economic collaboration and inclusiveness is necessary to engender stability in the rest of the world.

“Concerning the question of the subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt, to reset the economy and pathway to growth,” Tinubu said.

The Nigerian leader admitted the difficulty associated with his decision to jettison the policy which has allowed Nigerians to purchase petrol at cheaper rates for years but said that he was convinced it was in the best interest of the people.

“It is going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is taking difficult decision at the time it ought to be taken decisively. That was necessary for the country. Yes, there will be blowback, there is expectation that the difficulty in it will be felt by greater number of the people, but once I believe it is their interest that is the focus of the government, it is easier to manage and explain the difficulties.

“Along the line, there is a parallel arrangement to really cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country. We share the pain across board, we cannot but include those who are vulnerable.

“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youthful population interested in discoveries by themselves and they are highly ready for technology, good education committed to growth. We are able to manage that and partition the economic drawback and the fallout of subsidy removal.”

Tinubu said that the petrol subsidy removal equally engendered accountability, transparency and physical discipline for the country, which according to him is more important to focus on.

However, reactions followed President Tinubu’s justification for the removal of subsidy.

According an X user identify as Yaya Abdul Bello @yahayaAb, “it’s very easy to take a hard decision when the consequences doesn’t affect you personally. How can you implement a policy without accounting for the difficulty it will create.

Another X user, Waleed @Ismail42590143 said, “they should have cut out government expenses why all hardship fall on the masses”, while AA @ IsBiggty said “but subsidy is back through the back door and we pay more for subsidy now than ever”.

Tinubu’s petrol subsidy removal was quickly followed by another critical policy, the exchange rate unification, which the president equally defended during the panel session of the WEF in Riyadh.

Speaking to the currency management, Tinubu said, the management of the nation’s currency by the government was as well necessary, to allow the Naira compete favourably with other world currencies.

“The currency management was necessary equally to remove the artificial elements of value in our currency. Let our local currency find its level and compete with the rest of the world currency and remove arbitrage, corruption and opaqueness.

“That we did at the same time. That is two engine problem in a very template situation for the government, but we are able to manage that turbulence because we are prepared for inclusivity in governance and rapid communication with the public to really see what is necessary and what you must do.”

The World Economic Forum meeting focuses on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) remains a priority for Africa. The continent may not yet have the infrastructure, connectivity and technology that defines 4IR innovation and growth in other countries around the globe, but there is significant investment into Africa and its potential.

From financial institutions to organisations to the public sector, 4IR remains a priority for those that have the foresight to see how a commitment to Africa will pay dividends in the future. 

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa was developed for the sole purpose of driving 4IR within the country, and to allow for the growth and development of technologies and digital innovations that will empower organisations.

The goal of the CSIR is to enhance the foundations of technology so that 4IR can evolve smoothly and sustainably.

The CSIR also has a presence in Kenya and Ghana with similar objectives in mind – bolster each country’s confidence around 4IR and continue to build the connective tissue required to maintain momentum. 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) underscores the importance of such organisations and the need for ‘collective action in institutionalising 4IR technologies’ at a time when technology needs to follow the pathway of social good, not just innovation.

It is a sentiment echoed in a recent discussion around the start of human clinical trials for artificial intelligence (AI) brain implants – the Neuralink chip is set to enter the human brain and the most significant question raised is how this needs to be balanced with societal impact and technology for good.

This is the stance that dominates how the WEF believes 4IR should be managed across Africa as it will allow for richer collaboration and socioeconomic growth.  

However, the WEF emphasises the need for improved governance and regulation by the government to ensure that the risks that come with 4IR – security, and inequality – are managed effectively.

A sentiment shared by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) who believe that while there is potential within 4IR there is an equal need for concern. Technologies have to be harnessed and focused in the right ways to ensure that they do what they promise – revolutionise the world and transform lives – not eat into resources and create greater divides between the haves and the have-nots.  

The research firm is also paying attention to how 4IR can drive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In collaboration with the WEF, PWC believes that 4IR can be steered in the right direction to help overcome systemic challenges across Africa and resolve many of the complexities that inhibit development and growth.

This, says the firm, needs connectivity. It is connectivity that forms the backbone of 4IR, citizen service delivery, and the development of richer services and capabilities across agriculture, medicine, and education.

As the report emphasises – more than 80% of technology applications recognised as key to achieving the SDGs require internet access.  

Which is precisely what the UNDP believes to be key in driving the 4IR bus across the long stretches of Africa. In its recent playbook, the organisation emphasises the need for inclusive transformation, and the use of technology to remove the stain of the growing digital divide.

The playbook is designed to provide companies and governments with insights that allow for them to build a 4IR strategy that’s reliant on relevant technology and resilient to change and disruption. 

What all this means for the organisations that are growing their digital foundations in the region is that there is a cohesive drive towards the development of 4IR in Africa.

A drive that’s paying attention to more than just ROI and the bottom line. Rather, it is a shared vision across organisations and institutions to fully realise the potential of 4IR on a continent that could shine on the global stage with the right investment and support. To ensure this becomes a reality, companies need to collaborate and invest in technologies that will empower their evolution into 4IR.