The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • How to end insecurity, by Bishop Kukah

    Bishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah says Nigerians must rise above ethnic and religious differences to tackle insecurity challenges bedeviling the country.
    Kukah made the call on Friday while delivering a homily at the funeral mass of Chief Michael Onyema, father of the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Mbosi in Anambra.
    The cleric noted that Nigeria was presently going through turbulent times characterized by banditry, kidnapping and herders/farmers’ clashes.
    He, however, expressed optimism that the country would overcome these problems if it was able to properly harness and maximise its diversity.
    “The greatness of this country is its diversity. We have not been able to manage our diversity.
    According to him ‘U.S. is the most diversified country in the world.
    He said Americans had been able to harness its diversity by giving inclusion to all groups, adding that Nigeria should adopt a similar approach.
    Kukah said it was unfortunate that herdsmen were now being accused of any criminal acts across the country, stressing that it was wrong to classify all herdsmen as criminals.
    He eulogised the deceased for living an exemplary Christian life and bringing up his children to be detribalised which had made his first son, Allen to marry from Kogi State.
    Kukah said Air Peace boss had followed the footsteps of his father by giving employment to Nigerians without tribal or religious considerations.
    Also speaking, Onyema urged Nigerians to continue to live in love and unity, adding that other criminal elements were taking advantage of the division in the country to carry out their nefarious actions.
    He described his late father as a man who lived a life of piety and made tremendous impact on his community.
    Speaking on behalf of the governors, Willy Obiano of Anambra described the event as a celebration of life because the late Onyema lived a fruitful life.
    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the service was graced by eminent personalities including Governors Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta.
    Others were former Anambra Governor, Dr Peter Obi, and Mr Timi Alaibe, former Chairman, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) among others.

  • For Rohr, time to raise the bar

    Gernot Rohr doesn’t want any other coach to benefit from his rebuilding of the Super Eagles, despite the team’s bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations. Rohr cherishes labelling the Eagles as the team with the youngest crop of players at most competitions, indicating a new dawn. But Nigerians can’t wait for this meal to be prepared. They want quick fixes, pointing at what befell others who won bronze medals. They are miffed over the ceremony surrounding Rohr, given the ease with which the coach who won the Africa Cup of Nations’ title for Nigeria in 2013 was sacked. Indeed, Nigerians are insisting on the observance of the coaching mantra – a coach being as good as his last match.

    But do you change a winning team, especially when the players have said Rohr should stay? Possibly, especially where there are issues, such as indiscipline, absence of a discerning future with the coaching crew and the need to upgrade to outwit our competitors, which is critical. Rohr has met all the conditions given to him, which cynics say were the minimal, insisting that such feats had been achieved in the past. The flipside to this is the fact that Nigeria was not at two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations  (2015 and 2017). It is appropriate to fix the minimal standard achievable, before raising the bar.

    The time to raise the bar is here. A lot of people feel strongly that Rohr can’t meet the standard without defaulting. This school doesn’t want any gamble since we have been rebuilding the Eagles for a while. The rebuilding which has been on in the last two decades is long overdue for completion. It isn’t enough to celebrate parading the youngest team. It will be worth the wait, if the team wins laurels, as this will encourage investors to promote their goods and services using the Eagles.

    Read Also: OSIMHEN REVEALS: I can’t wait to play

    The Eagles are the biggest brand to market if they are excelling in competitions. We need to build this team on solid foundations, but this appears far-fetched for Rohr, given the potentials available at the 774 local government areas. We will forever be rebuilding the Eagles, if our foreign coaches live outside the country. Eagles need nurseries where players to replace the injured and ageing ones are taught the basic skills of the game, through clinics and competitions. No country measures her growth in soccer by listing 22 foreign-based players with one home-based goalkeeper. It raises the poser over the quality of the youth developmental programmes and what the federation is doing with its grassroots programmes.

    This tardy practice didn’t start with Rohr. It began when we recruited journeymen foreign coaches who insulted our sensibilities by telling us that our best players were in Europe, hence their preference for remaining outside the country under the guise of monitoring our Euro-based lads. Happily, Rohr is different. He visited our players everywhere. Rohr sat down with the coaches which had Nigerian players to find out what the problems were, for those not playing regularly. Even the injured players were visited to show that the manager and indeed, the federation’s chieftains didn’t forgot them. But, that didn’t make it right because the pool of talents needs to be enhanced with new kids. To buttress this point, I need to stress here that England has a succession programme of world beaters at all the levels, except that most of these young kids are Nigeria-born. Little wonder, we are ready to convince them to play for their fatherland – Nigeria.

    But Nigerians can’t ask Rohr to discover players where they don’t exist. He needs to show up at playgrounds, academies, camping sites of our domestic clubs where kids play competitions and graduate to the senior team. Consider Steven Gerard coming out from the Liverpool youth system to become a world-class star captaining his club and country.

    England has collegiate systems which work. These systems support certified soccer academies at all levels to groom talents, including coaching institutes, to train and retrain the coaches.

    Gone are days when school boys played for our national teams. Thrown into the lagoon is the tradition where our local clubs had national team players. Many recall with anguish the yesteryears when soccer faithful left the states to watch IICC versus Rangers International FC either in Ibadan or Enugu or anywhere in the country, simply because they paraded the bulk of the Green Eagles players. Other clubs not lucky to have such a galaxy of national team players, welcomed them to their homes during league games. Such teams smiled to the bank after the game, with  the stadium filled to capacity. With time, local clubs strove to either buy some of the national team players to get the fans to watch them weekly or recruited younger players who gained national recognition, which helped to boost the clubs’ revenue.

    In those days, playing for Nigeria meant being a Green Eagles star. But FIFA’s developmental programmes threw up competitions for younger lads who eventually played for the country as Flying Eagles, Golden Eaglets, CHAN Eagles, U-23 Olympic Games etc squads, which were essentially filled with products of the Principals Cups, Governors’ Cups, National Sports Festival, state sports festivals, NUGA Games, polytechnics games, etc. The system made conscious attempts at training coaches at all levels. It also sent overseas those who were interested in coaching. These educational exchange programmes helped the coaches at the grassroots to update their knowledge. Such solid foundation for the coaches impacted on the athletes’ development to compete with the best anywhere.

    We cannot continue to rely on new lads from Europe. Otherwise, the emerging players will sneak out of the country to play for countries of their choices. We must fix our domestic leagues and make them competitive. We must encourage our retired stars to take to coaching and urge the clubs, states and local governments to recruit them. Many of our former stars live in penury. A system where they can go to school and be gainfully employed such that our new lads can learn from their practical experiences is very important for growth. It will help develop our budding young talents and produce a crop of young talents that will be available to our national teams coaches for selection.

    Despite some of these inadequacies in the nation’s football, Rohr must seek for greater rapprochement with the coaches and young players at the grassroots. It is not just enough to assume our best legs are overseas.  This might not be true because almost monthly, quality players from Nigeria sneak out in search of greener pastures. They measure up abroad and become stars that national teams coaches call upon for national assignments. The flip side, however, is that some of these talents end up with unfavourable contracts that destroy their careers.  This defeats the argument that there are no good players in the country. A better structure for the discovery and nurturing of these players must be put in place. It will help the country and these young players since it is easier to guide them at this early stage.

    The mistake most of our foreign coaches who don’t work in Nigeria make is that they judge the game from the achievements of the clubs and academies that they see in place, forgetting that they were founded under frivolous circumstances. How many of these academies, for instance, have trained coaches and the right logistics to do the business? Do you expect an untrained coach to transfer the right skills to the talents under his tutelage? Can such poorly trained players compete with the well trained ones in Europe? No way. Hence, Gernot Rohr must live here and set up his own structures which others can key into to standardise the process. Some of the monies accruing to the country for the game’s development can be channelled into building centres of excellence for football. In other countries, this process ensures that all the national teams play the same way.

    Players discovered are nurtured, exposed and monitored when they eventually become big stars. The essence of having good cadet teams nurtured from these nurseries is for them to grow and garner the experience needed to graduate into the senior national team. A situation where Rohr shuts the gates against our cadet stars leaves them with one option – to play in just any country under the guise of playing overseas.

    The NFF should organise competitions for professional clubs’ youth teams as obtains in Europe. We know of competitions, such as the FA Cup and League Cup, among others involving youth teams of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, etc, organised by the English FA. The result of this is that the youth club players are constantly kept in top shape making them ready to fit into any position available in the senior teams.

     

    Read Also: Rohr roars: Chukwueze will EXPLODE in 2020

  • PMB, statesmanship and national security

    One of the most thorny security challenges that has confronted Nigeria in this democratic dispensation has been the incessant clashes between Fulani herdsmen moving their cattle southward in search of grazing land and water and sedentary farming communities particularly in the middle belt states of Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa and Taraba as well as parts of the Southeast and South-south. The violent confrontations have resulted in large scale destruction of farms and crops, wholesale razing and displacement of entire communities and the loss of thousands of innocent lives.
    While the menace of herdsmen-farmers clashes appears to have abated significantly in the North-central zone, there has been a sharp rise in cases of kidnapping, rape, armed robbery and other crimes perpetrated in the Southwest allegedly by Fulani herdsmen or bandits who have reportedly invaded and occupied many of the forests in the region. Indeed, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, have publicly drawn the Federal Government’s attention to the prevailing combustible situation in Yoruba land.
    While the Ooni personally visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential Villa, Abuja, to formally complain about the invasion of forests in Yoruba land by ‘strangers’ as well as request the Federal Government’s support in enabling affected communities in the region defend themselves, the Alaafin wrote an open letter to the President urging him to arrest the country’s slide to anarchy as well as warning of the readiness of the Yoruba to protect their lives and property if the present situation is allowed to continue.

    Read Also: Leave Buhari, Tinubu, Osoba out of my cabinet list delay — Dapo Abiodun

    The Ooni again led a formidable 12- man delegation of prominent traditional rulers from Yorubaland to deliberate with the President on the precarious situation in the South West and proffer solutions. A positive fallout of these initiatives was the promise by President Mhuhammadu Buhari that drones and Closed Circuit television (CCTV) will be deployed in the Southwest to monitor and guarantee the safety of lives on the highways as well as in the region’s numerous forests. Suffice it to say that this commendable move should not be limited to the Southwest but rather must be part of a wholistic plan encompassing the entire country, where citizens are daily victims of assorted acts of criminality.
    The murder on the Ondo-Benin-Ore highway of Mrs. Funke Olakunri, daughter of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, brought to the forefront of national consciousness, once again, the gravity of the security challenge in the Southwest. Yet, it also drew attention to the danger of reflexively ascribing every crime of kidnapping or armed robbery on highways in the region to Fulani herdsmen without thorough investigation. Some sources, for instance, quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the murder of Mrs Olakunrin was perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen even before the police authorities had made any statement on the matter.
    On his part, the Ondo state police commissioner, Mr. Udie Adie, blamed bandits for the murder with armed robbery as the probable motive. Pa Fasoranti’s son and the deceased’s junior brother, Mr. Kehinde Fasoranti, sharply disagreed with the police commissioner insisting that officers at the Ore police station had told him the act was the handiwork of Fulani herdsmen. In any case, if it was a case of armed robbery, how come that none of the deceased’s valuables were touched by the assailants he asked?
    Neither party, in my view, should jump to a premature conclusion. Only a thorough and unbiased investigation can unravel the truth. It is immaterial whether Mrs Olakunrin died at the hands of herdsmen or bandits. What matters is that a crime has been committed and those responsible must be brought to book and urgently too. There have been too many cases of unresolved murders since the commencement of this political dispensation in 1999. A not insignificant number of Nigerians believe that only half-hearted efforts were made by the relevant security agencies to get to the root of these homicidal acts as well as apprehend and bring their perpetrators to justice.
    However, a serious danger of instinctively blaming Fulani herdsmen for kidnapping and armed robbery on many of the highways in the Southwest without prior investigation by security agencies is that it gives ample room for other individuals and groups to violate the law with impunity with the very high possibility of getting away with such lawlessness. This is because once there is the mindset that it is only one group responsible for crimes, there will be the tendency for investigations to be flawed from the onset as the real criminals will not even be on the radar of the security agencies at all. It certainly cannot be the case that the violent crimes of armed robbery, kidnapping and rape in vulnerable areas of the South West are the brainchild only of Fulani herdsmen.
    In any case, is it not possible that forces bent on destabilizing the country and sabotaging her unity can perpetrate heinous crimes in the Southwest and attribute it to the Fulani herdsmen? That would instigate bad blood, bitterness and hostility between the two parts of the country and give those with a separatist and secessionist agenda more ammunition for their divisive weapons. There is also the danger of unfairly profiling one ethnic group as criminal and making them the target of vindictiveness and possibly misdirected retaliatory, even genocidal, violence by other ethnic groups.
    These are delicate times in Nigeria that requires wise, restrained and mature leadership. In the highly inflammable situation in which we find ourselves, a careless or unthinking word by irrational leaders or opinion moulders can set the whole country ablaze. And the sad thing is that, it is only possible to know how a bloody crisis that can consume millions of lives starts, it is always difficult to say how or when it will end and at what cost to human lives and property as well as a national cohesion that has taken a great deal of sacrifice to forge even as it remains a work in progress.
    Of course, none of this is to peremptorily absolve herdsmen of blame for this or any other alleged crime in the Southwest or any part of the country. This would be as criminal and unjust as instinctively blaming the group for acts of kidnapping, rape or arson without proof. I think the standard requirement should be: Focus on the crime and not on the ethnic origin of the criminal. Don’t stigmatize any ethno-regional group. Stigmatize, apprehend, prosecute and punish the individual criminal.
    It is the seeming inexplicable paralysis of the will on the part of the security agencies to do this with a sense of purpose, professionalism and decisiveness that have spawned assorted and damaging conspiracy theories. A situation in which the President is Fulani and virtually all his security chiefs are from the north and are also Muslims does not help matters in terms of trust and confidence between the government and governed in a complex country like ours.
    It is, of course, easier for partisans on different sides of the political divide to make emotive statements in the kind of situation in which Nigeria finds herself today in order to play to the gallery and win cheap popularity. The path of statesmanship is a far harder one to chart. It is that of pursuing the middle course and appealing to reason and restraint in the interest of peace, stability and unity without which the pursuit of justice such as bringing to book the killers of Mrs. Olakunri cannot be meaningfully undertaken. It is this narrow path that I see Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu striving delicately to tread. Pa Fasoranti himself has struck a remarkably restrained note in the face of this grave tragedy that has befallen his family. He has said that what he desires most is the restoration of peace and security to all parts of the country.
    The greatest challenge of statesmanship, however, rests today on the shoulders of President Muhammadu Buhari who has been given an emphatic renewed mandate for a second term in the February, 23, 2019, presidential election. A necessary but admittedly not sufficient imperative for enhancing national security and halting what is widely perceived as a gradual slide to anarchy, is for the President to urgently reconstitute his military/security high command both to more accurately reflect the country’s ethno-regional balance as well as bring on board no less qualified officers with fresh ideas and strategies to build as well as improve on what the current team of service chiefs have achieved in the last four years.

  • Fund threatens D’Tigress African title defence

    African champions D’Tigress of Nigeria are expected to depart Lagos for Dakar on Monday but that plan is now doubtful as the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) is yet to raise the needed fund to execute the trip.

    The Vice President of NBBF, Babs Ogunade confirmed to Extrasportsnigeria.com yesterday that cash was still far from being available for the 2019 AfroBasket for Women billed to start in Senegal August 10. The Nigeria women won the last competition held two years ago in Mali.

    Ogunade said, “The only challenge now is how to get the team (D’Tigress) to Dakar and it is a real problem. There’s no fund available for now. We have never had it this challenging and it is quite a battle to get the team going.

    “It is tough like this because we have virtually all the competitions holding so close to each other.”

    The sports ministry serves as the last resort for many of the federations even though the NBBF board has embarked on quite elaborate self-funding and corporate sponsorship in the past three years. They are hoping this time that the sports ministry could be of help.

    “What we have been told by the ministry is to hold on but I can’t for now say how much that could translate to,” Ogunade added.

    Extrasportsnigeria learnt that the basketball federation has only been able to get refund for their expenditure towards the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup held in Spain after so many reminders. The refund was received by mid-July, 2019.

    D’Tigress are already expected to check out of their Eko Hotel on Sunday for the flight on Monday as the NBBF begins to cut down bills in preparation for the arrival in Lagos of the men’s team before their journey to China for the FIBA World Cup. D’Tigers are already in camp in the USA and having two friendly matches against Dominican Republic.

     

    Read Also: Musa, Quadri, Diogu nominated for 2018 Nigerian Sports Award

  • FA Community Shield live on DStv, GOtv Max, Plus

    The 2019/2020 football season gets underway tomorrow with the FA Community Shield match between Liverpool and Manchester City scheduled for Wembley Stadium.

    The game will be broadcast live at 3pm on all DStv packages as well as GOtv Max and Plus packages. The match will be available to DStv subscribers on SS3 and SS10, while GOtv subscribers will have access to it on SS Select 2.

    “True to our promise to enrich the lives of our customers, we felt it important to kick off this new football season with a wider broadcast of the anticipated clash and make it inclusive for all our valued customers,” said Martin Mabutho, Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria.

    The Community Shield, the traditional curtain raiser of English football, will see the revival of the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester City, the top two teams in England and, perhaps, all of Europe. While the Citizens dominated domestically by winning a treble of Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup, the Reds picked up the UEFA Champions League.

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    The two clubs have set incredible standards and will head into the start of the new Premier League campaign the following weekend as the clear favourites for the title.

    In terms of off-season business, City have been the busier. Manager Pep Guardiola has brought in Angelino from PSV Eindhoven and midfielder Rodri from Atletico Madrid, with the latter viewed as a key acquisition and long-term successor to Fernandinho in the midfield.

    Liverpool have been very quiet on the transfer marker, with their only signings being two teenagers-defender Sepp van den Berg from Dutch team, PEC Zwolle, and midfielder Harvey Elliot from Fulham. Meanwhile, they have released Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge.

    Yet, it is the tactical battle between Jurgen Klopp and Guardiola that will be the fascinating aspect of this clash. The German will seek to refine his high-pressing style, while the Spaniard will once again bank on flexibility, fluidity and a crisp passing game to keep the team in light blue on top.

     

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  • OSIMHEN REVEALS: I can’t wait to play

    Lille Metropole of France new signing, Victor Osimhen is still basking in the euphoria of his historic signing for the French Ligue 1 giants and has told AOIFootball.com that he is eager to kick his first football in the colours of the club.

    Osimhen signed a five-year contract on Wednesday evening and will line up with the Christophe Galtier- tutored team alongside other exciting talents like United States’ Timothy Weah, former Newcastle and Chelsea forward, Loic Remy and Brazilian forward Luis Araujo, among others.

    Speaking to AOIFootball.com after signing the dotted lines, the former Wolfsburg forward, expressed his delight at completing the move whilst adding that he is looking forward to playing for the team.

    “I am so delighted this dream has finally come to reality. I cannot wait to kick my first ball for Lille. I am ready to work hard to make the first team and also win the love of the fans,” said the Super Eagles striker.

    Osimhen also revealed his love to play in the UEFA Champions League which is a competition for the biggest players in the world.

    “The Champions League is an exciting competition and I feel good that I will be participating in it this season with my new club,” he added.

     

    Read Also: Osimhen may face AS Roma today as Rohr tips youngster to succeed 

  • Ondo APC commends Akeredolu over vehicles’ refurbishment

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ondo State, has commended Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for taking steps to reduce wastage in governance.

    The party applauded, recently, Akeredolu’s refurbishment of government vehicles that had been abandoned by previous administrations.

    By the initiative, the government has been able to save the state money that would have been expended on the purchase of new vehicles.

    Such money could be expended on other sectors in need of funding, according to the party.

    A statement by the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Alex Kalejaye, said, “The array of cars, refurbished with warranty, and being commissioned today are products of ingenuity.

    ”The current administration inherited a state that was hugely indebted. The usual practice of placing orders for new vehicles would have further plunged the State deeper into debt.”

    The party urged drivers and others users of the vehicles to adopt good maintenance attitude and thus preserve the vehicles in good condition.

    Read Also: Communal clash: Ondo towns petition IGP, accuse Akeredolu of bias

    Kalejaye said the economic reality in the country “compels the necessity for governments at all levels to look inwardly and make the best of what is available”.

    Ogun to rehabilitate three federal roads

    Abeokuta- The Ogun State government yesterday announced its plan s to rehabilitate three major federal roads linking the state and Lagos in view of the economic importance of the roads.

    Earmarked for rehabilitation,according to Governor Dapo Abiodun, are the Ikorodu – Ogijo – Shagamu; the Epe – Ijebu/Ode and the Lagos – Ota – Abeokuta roads.

    The state government,he said, was already seeking permission and support of the Federal Government and the World Bank over the matter.

    Abiodun  noted that the Lagos – Ota – Abeokuta road has  remained a gory sight particularly whenever it rains resulting in hardship for Ogun residents who need to commute to and from Lagos State.

    ”People who shuttle through Iyana / Ilogbo axis of the road often talk about the nightmare they encounter everyday because of potholes and endless gridlock,” the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kunle Somorin,said in a statement.

    ”This is a road under the fourth addendum and requires about N26 billion for complete rehabilitation.

    ”As a responsible government, we cannot fold our arms while our people suffer,” the statement quoted Abiodun as saying.

    The governor explained further that the Epe – Ijebu/ Ode and the Ikorodu – Ogijo roads required similar intervention.

    He noted that Lagos State had completed its own end of the Epe- – Ijebu/Ode road.

    ”What we need to make it a total package is about 14.4km stretch.

    ”So, we are taking it over because the welfare of our people is paramount to us.

    ”When completed, it will become an alternative route to motorists going to the Eastern part of the country,” he said.

  •  Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet: Lagos Assembly C’ttee screens 18 nominees

    The Lagos State House of Assembly’s 16-man ad-hoc committee for screening Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s nominees for the offices of Commissioner and Special Adviser, on Friday, screened 10 nominees.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this brings to 18, the total number of nominees so far screened by the Assembly.

    The committee headed by Rotimi Abiru (Somolu Constituency II), had on Thursday, screened eight of the 25 nominees .

    Seven nominees will be screened on Saturday.

    The screening is being conducted at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Assembly Complex, Ikeja.
    At its first session on Thursday, the committee screened Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Aderemi Adebowale, Tunji Bello, Adekemi Ajayi-Bembe, Wale Ahmed and Akin Abayomi.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu assures Lagosians of improved security of lives, property

    The others are Hakeem Fahm and Gbenga Omotoso.
    At its second session on Friday, it screened Bolaji Dada, Lere Odusote, Moyo Onigbanjo (SAN), Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf and Segun Dawodu.
    The others are Folashade Adefisayo, Ponnle Ajibola, Rabiu Olowo, Olatunbosun Alake and Samuel Egube.
    The seven yet-to-be screened are Idris Salako, Frederic Oladeinde, Gbolahan Lawal, Aramide Adeyoye, Ruth Olusanya, Afolabi Ayantayo, and Femi George.
    Since the commencement of the exercise, on Thursday, only one nominee, Ahmed, was told to take a bow and go.

    Ahmed was a member of the House during the Fourth Assembly (1999-2003). He is currently the state Secretary of APC.
    Speaking with newsmen after the exercise, on Friday, Abiru expressed confidence in the competence of the nominees which, he said, reflected in the way they all responded to questions from the lawmakers.
    NAN reports that the exercise, which started at 10.00a.m. on each of the two days, ended at 6.00pm on Thursday and 8.00p.m. on Friday.

  • Sanwo-Olu assures Lagosians of improved security of lives, property

    Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, assured Lagosians that all security operatives in the state are geared to secure lives and property in the domain.

    The governor stated this while briefing newsmen after a security meeting with heads of security agencies at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.

    Sanwo-Olu said, that, the security of lives and property in the state remains a cardinal thrust of his administration and that efforts will be intensified across waterways and pipeline networks, to improve the security architecture of the state and combat all forms of crime before they unfold.

    The governor said his administration will continue to engage the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to find lasting solution to activities of pipeline vandals.

    He added, that, some properties revealed by aerial surveillance to be hideout or loading bay for pipeline vandals across the state may have to be removed in some locations.

    ”We are saying now that government is coming to remove these structures and destroy those facilities and in their own interest they should start removing them before we come”, he said.

    Sanwo-Olu assured the citizenry that Lagos will continue to be home for people with legitimate businesses and activities, that contributes positively to the socio-economic development of the state.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu’s Cabinet: Lagos Assembly screening c’ttee grills additional 5 nominees

    Earlier in his remarks, the representative of the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Alli, said the state security council is determined to rid Lagos of lawless motorists, kidnappers and waterways robbers.

    And as part of his efforts to provide improved healthcare services in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, flagged off a free healthcare programme aimed at combating organ impairment and life-threatening ailments in children.

    The initiative, tagged, ”Healthy Bee Project” is a component of the governor’s development agenda to reposition healthcare and give disadvantaged children access to quality medical care.

    The free medical mission is organised in collaboration with Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat (BOSKOH) Healthcare Mission International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    The four-week programme will commence with a six-day screening in seven Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state, after which those whose conditions require higher medical examinations and surgeries will be taken to the tertiary healthcare facilities for the exercise, free of charge.

    Flagging off the project at a ceremony held at the LTV’s Blue Roof in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Governor Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, said the programme was designed to keep children fit for their study and activities that would make them attain their full potential.

    He encouraged parents to utilise the opportunity to take their children for screening and treatment for medical conditions that can limit their mental and physical development.

    He said: “If children lack access to good health facilities and quality medical attention, they might lose their ability and functionality. We want to help them fight ailments that can put them at disadvantage. This is the reason the programme is essential to make sure our children live a good and fulfilling life.

    ”On behalf of the people of Lagos State and for the benefit of our children in Lagos and on behalf of the Governor of Lagos State, I flag off this programme for the benefit of our children.”

    Executive Director of the NGO, Nike Osai, praised the state government for approving the medical intervention, stressing that it was an investment the state would not regret.

    She said part of the objectives of the partnership was to enable Lagos government meet the Item Three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to realise universal health coverage for children and reduce poverty.

    She said: “Those found to have visual or hearing impairments will be provided with glasses and hearing aids to help them overcome the condition. Even though children are the prime targets of this programme, vulnerable adults will also be given health counselling and screening for tuberculosis and HIV. Those found to be positive will be managed using the established channel of treatment of these illnesses.”

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Titilayo Goncalves, said the programme signalled the implementation phase of Sanwo-Olu’s healthcare initiative.

    She said the medical outreach was targeted at children between ages 0 to 12, stressing that the choice of the demographic was strategic, because of the need to protect the children from sickness that may impede their potential.

    The healthcare programme will be carried out at Ajara PHC in Badagry, Akerele PHC in Surulere, Ikotun PHC in Alimosho, Iga Iduganran PHC on Lagos Island, Epe PHC in Epe, Onigbongo PHC in Ikeja, and Ita-Elewa PHC in Ikorodu.

  • Malaria

    If I am ever asked to list ten things that I do not like, mosquitoes will be on the list. I don’t even know if they are beautiful insects. Even though a lover of nature and life, I have never tried to admire these particular creatures.  Nobody poisoned my mind about them.  I have experienced their habits. They invade my environment and they bite painfully and leave a bump on my skin. They are so persistent in following their target that they can make a person paranoid.  They suck blood and they cause malaria.  It is because of the latter that most people do not like mosquitoes.

    The World Health Organization tells us about malaria: “Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable”.  The WHO estimates of 2017 tell us of 219 million cases of malaria in 87 countries that year with 435 000 malaria deaths.  Africa was “home to 92% of malaria cases and 93% of malaria deaths” (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria).

    Malaria is caused by parasites called plasmodia (singular: plasmodium). Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are recognized as the most dangerous of plasmodia, to humans: P. vivax in the Americas and P. falciparum in the rest of the tropical world, particularly in Africa.  The mosquito is the vector that carries the parasites from person to person.  Mosquitoes have killed many more Africans than snakes or lions.

    It is raining season in Nigeria, a time when the incidence of malaria may sky rocket if people are careless about their environment and the parasite is easily transmitted. The WHO summarizes that: ‘The intensity of transmission depends on factors related to the parasite, the vector, the human host, and the environment.”  All four factors are important for us to take care of for good health and we shall discuss each of them.

    During the raining season, we can save our communities from an outbreak of malaria by vector control.  WHO recommends two forms of vector control – insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying.  These are the basics.  There are other measures we can take.  We shall discuss them.

    One of the challenges humans face in tackling or even in eradicating malaria is the problem of resistance.  The malaria parasite involved may be resistant to known drugs.  The mosquito vector may be resistant to known insecticides.

    The plasmodium parasite that causes malaria is one of the most perfectly adapted parasites know, with characteristics that enable it to conquer its host and also to assure its own propagation.  We shall discuss this parasite.

    Wikepedia tells us that: “Over 200 species of Plasmodium have been described” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium). Microorganisms often undergo genetic mutations and give rise to changed offshoots.  Some of the changed offspring have characteristics that make them survive drugs and other factors.  They survive and then proliferate and form new generations or new lines of parasites that are resistant to used drugs.

    WHO tells us that “There are more than 400 different species of Anopheles mosquito; around 30 are malaria vectors of major importance”.  It is possible that new mosquito species keep evolving and some may have characteristics that help them survive human weapons.  WHO tells us that “According to the latest World malaria report, 68 countries reported mosquito resistance to at least 1 of the 5 commonly-used insecticide classes in the period 2010-2017; among these countries, 57 reported resistance to 2 or more insecticide classes.”

    Some scientists have come up with a malaria vaccine.  This is a good prospect for children especially.  Young children, unlike many adults, do not yet have partial immunity to malaria.

    Other scientists may finish the story.  They have come up with genetic modification of mosquitoes that could eliminate them from the surface of the earth (at least those that are vectors, the others do not bother humans).  This is a hot topic.  A Smithsonian article deliberates on the question: “New gene-editing technology gives scientists the ability to wipe out the carriers of malaria and the Zika virus. But should they use it?” (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/kill-all-mosquitos-180959069/).  Every time I see a mosquito now, I might as well study it and admire the skinny legs that land on our skins, the dangerous proboscis that pricks us, the expert antenna  that finds us, the slender body that balloons up when filled with blood, the hunch back that pretends humility, and pointed bottom that lays 300 eggs at a time –  because very soon indeed, we may never see them again.

    Dr. Theresa Adebola John is a lecturer at Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and an affiliated researcher at the College of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis.  For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 08160944635